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[[File:Ref 1873 hero.webp|thumb|right|340px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 salmon dial, case 100498|Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498 — salmon dial with black round indexes and subsidiary seconds at 6, on a beaded steel bracelet. Antiquorum Geneva, November 2024.]]
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Oyster Royal 1873}}
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 | Rolexopedia
|description=Collector guide to the hand-wound Rolex Oyster Royal 1873: movement grades, dial examples, case details and auction records.
|keywords=Rolex, Oyster Royal, reference 1873, Extra Prima, Ultra Prima, flat back
|image=Ref 1873 hero.webp
|image_alt=Steel Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498, with salmon dial
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}


The 1873 is one of the rarest references in the early Oyster catalogue, and one of the most
<small>Oyster → '''1873'''</small>
consistently mis-filed. Collector reference lists place it in the 1933 founding group of
Bubblebacks, a sibling of the 1858 with the same three-piece case and the same new Perpetual
rotor. The two examples that have actually reached public auction are neither. Both are
hand-wound, and both have flat casebacks — the 2021 Antiquorum lot says so in its title. The
dial reads Oyster Royal, not Oyster Perpetual.


Antiquorum's own catalogue note on the 2024 Geneva example is the best measure of how thin
<div class="rp-lead">
the ground is here: the house described it as one of very few examples of the reference to
[[File:Ref 1873 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Steel Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498, salmon dial, Antiquorum Geneva 2024|Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498. Antiquorum, Geneva 2024.]]
have appeared publicly in thirty years. The archive bears that out. Two lots, both at
</div>
Antiquorum, three years apart. Nothing at Phillips, Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams or
 
Heritage.
Reference 1873 is a hand-wound Oyster Royal. Auction catalogues also call it Oyster Royal Chronometre or Oyster Royal Extra Precision. Eight catalogue entries describe manual-wind watches, mostly dated to the 1930s or around 1940. The Cambi auction catalogue's 2022 entry gives one steel example a date of circa 1954 and describes central seconds; that entry differs from the other records and is treated separately below.
 
Hodinkee distinguishes the early automatic “Bubbleback” from Rolex's parallel manual-wind “flatback” line. The [[Reference:bubbleback|family guide]] lists 1873 with the manual-wind Oyster references, in keeping with the auction descriptions.


==Core facts==
==Core facts==


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
|-
! detail
! detail
Line 22: Line 29:
|-
|-
| reference
| reference
| 1873
| <code>1873</code>
|-
|-
| family
| model names in catalogues
| Oyster (manual-wind)
| Oyster Royal; Oyster Royal Chronometre; Oyster Royal Extra Precision
|-
|-
| production
| movement
| 1930s; no firm start or end year documented
| hand-wound; catalogues report 15–18 jewels and Prima grades, identified by grade and jewel count
|-
|-
| case diameter
| case material
| 31mm (2024 lot) / 31.5mm (2021 lot)
| stainless steel in seven entries; one 9K-gold example
|-
|-
| case shape
| case size
| tonneau
| 31–32mm in the catalogued examples with measurements
|-
|-
| caseback
| case form
| flat, screw-down
| Tonneau in Bonhams' 2021 and 2023 descriptions; other catalogues call it an Oyster case
|-
|-
| bezel
| caseback and crown
| smooth, polished
| screw-down on several documented examples; Antiquorum's 2021 title calls its watch a flat back
|-
|-
| crystal
| seconds
| acrylic
| subsidiary seconds at 6 in most descriptions; The Cambi catalogue records central seconds on its circa-1954 entry
|-
| crown
| screw-down
|-
| winding
| manual
|-
| movement
| 17-jewel Extra Prima; 18-jewel chronometer. No caliber number published
|-
| case materials
| stainless steel (both documented examples)
|-
| dial designations
| Oyster Royal; Oyster Royal Chronometre
|-
| notable dial
| salmon "Scientifical" with black round indexes
|-
|-
| documented case numbers
| documented case numbers
| 48634; 100498
| 30,967; 37,029; 48,xxx; 48,634; 81,343; 100,459; 100,498; one Watches of Knightsbridge entry gives no number
|}
|}


==Where it sits in the line==
==Place in the line==


Rolex built two parallel populations of Oyster wristwatches through the 1930s and 1940s. One
Rolex sold hand-wound Oysters alongside the automatic Oyster Perpetual line. Hodinkee describes these as parallel “flatback” watches and uses Bubbleback for a loose group of early automatic references. The 1873 auction descriptions identify manual movements, placing it in the hand-wound Oyster branch.
took the Perpetual rotor and the domed caseback that collectors later nicknamed the
Bubbleback. The other stayed hand-wound and kept a flat back, because there was no rotor to
make room for. Hodinkee's collecting guide to the Bubbleback names this second group directly
— the "flatbacks", manual-wind watches and early chronographs that Rolex was making at the
same time and that get much less attention. The 1873 is one of them.


Within the manual line, "Oyster Royal" is a grade-and-market designation rather than a model
Auctioneers use Oyster Royal, Oyster Royal Chronometre and Oyster Royal Extra Precision for the model. The movement descriptions use grades and jewel counts rather than a caliber designation.
in the modern sense. It sits alongside Oyster Precision, Oyster Chronometer and, on some
references, Oyster Scientific — dial names that told a buyer what timing work the movement had
received. The 1873's two documented examples happen to bracket that range: one is marked
Royal with an Extra Prima movement, the other Oyster Royal Chronometre with an 18-jewel
chronometer-grade movement behind a salmon "Scientifical" dial.


The reference sits close to the 1858 numerically, and that proximity is almost certainly why
==Production outline==
it ended up on the Bubbleback lists. Rolex allocated reference numbers by case and market
position, not by movement type, so numerical neighbours in this era are frequently different
kinds of watch. The 2764 and 2765 pair make the same point three hundred numbers further on:
one automatic Bubbleback, one manual flatback, adjacent references, same case diameter.


==Production outline==
Auctioneers date most 1873 examples from circa 1930 through circa 1940. Sotheby's dates case 30,967 to circa 1930; Antiquorum dates cases 48,634 and 100,498 to the 1930s; Bonhams dates case 81,343 to circa 1939; and Christie's dates case 100,459 to circa 1940. Watches of Knightsbridge also catalogued a 1930s example. Together, the lot estimates cluster around 1930–1940.


Neither documented lot gives a year. Antiquorum dated both examples only to "circa 1930s",
Bonhams records a London import mark dated 1937 on the 9K-gold case 37,029. The mark records assay/import in 1937; the case and movement may have been made earlier. Read the hallmark date separately from the case number and movement.
and no dealer listing, editorial article or book citation surfaced that narrows it. The 1933
start year that circulates for this reference comes from the same collector list that assigns
it to the wrong family, and carries no independent support.


Two case numbers are on record — 48634 on the 2021 Hong Kong example and 100498 on the 2024
The Cambi auction catalogue's 2022 entry lists a steel Oyster Precision Royal, case 48,xxx, as circa 1954. It describes a 17-jewel manual movement and central seconds. This entry gives a later date and a different seconds layout from the other records, which cluster around 1930–1940 and mostly describe subsidiary seconds. Treat the Cambi date and configuration as claims for that lot.
Geneva example — which is a spread of roughly fifty thousand and two data points. That is
enough to say the reference ran for a while and not enough to say anything else. No production
figures exist in any published source.


Both documented examples are stainless steel. Whether Rolex built the 1873 in gold or
The case numbers published across these lots are 30,967, 37,029, 48,xxx, 48,634, 81,343, 100,459 and 100,498. These numbers offer individual comparison points; Rolex production limits and a serial-to-year mapping remain unestablished.
two-tone, as it did across much of the contemporary Oyster range, is simply not known from
the surfaced record.


==Movement notes==
==Movement notes==


Both documented movements are manually wound, and the two lots describe different grades.
All eight catalogue entries describe hand-wound movements. The records give different grades and jewel counts: Sotheby's, Antiquorum's Hong Kong lot and Watches of Knightsbridge list 17-jewel Extra Prima movements; Christie's lists a 15-jewel Extra Prima; Antiquorum's Geneva lot calls its 18-jewel movement an Ultra Prima chronometer; The Cambi catalogue gives 17 jewels without a grade; and Bonhams records an 18-jewel manual movement numbered 11,250 on the gold watch. The 2023 Bonhams entry describes a jewelled manual movement without a jewel count.
 
The Hong Kong 2021 example carried an Extra Prima with 17 jewels. The Geneva 2024 example
carried an 18-jewel chronometer-grade movement. Neither Antiquorum catalogue names a caliber
number, and no other published source supplies one.


Naming a caliber here would be a guess. "Extra Prima" is a grade, not a caliber. David
Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima are movement grades, not caliber designations. David Boettcher's review of the surviving examples says Extra Prima commonly appears with 18 jewels while Prima commonly appears with 15; the 17-jewel catalogue descriptions and Christie's 15-jewel Extra Prima entry show why each grade and jewel count should stay tied to its own lot. Boettcher dates the first located Ultra Prima registration to 9 December 1930 and says surviving evidence leaves the distinction between Extra Prima and Ultra Prima unclear.
Boettcher documents the hierarchy at vintagewatchstraps.com: Prima, Extra
Prima and Ultra Prima were Rolex and Aegler designations separating otherwise comparable
movements by how many positions and temperatures they had been adjusted in, with "Ultra
Prima" registered as a mark by Hans Wilsdorf in 1930. Reading a grade word as a caliber
number is a recurring error in dealer listings for early Rolex, and the 1873 has too few
documented examples to absorb a guess. Until a movement photograph or a Rolex parts document
supplies a caliber, the grade and the jewel count are the record.


==Dial map==
==Dial map==


Two dials are documented, one described at length in the catalogue and one legible only from
The records show several dial layouts. Sotheby's describes a black lacquer dial with luminous indexes and hands, signed for Beyer. Christie's records a black dial with raised baton markers, luminous hands and subsidiary seconds. Watches of Knightsbridge describes a sector dial. Bonhams' 2021 gold watch has a silvered dial with an applied gilt minute track and luminous Arabic numerals; its 2023 steel example has alternating baton and Arabic markers. Antiquorum's Hong Kong example has a patinated dial with original hands, while its Geneva example has a salmon dial with black round indexes. The Cambi catalogue's circa-1954 entry describes a silvered sector dial and central seconds.
the lot photography.
 
[[File:Ref 1873 dial-detail-salmon.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex 1873 salmon dial detail showing Oyster Royal and Chronometre text|The salmon dial in detail: ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over CHRONOMETRE, black round indexes, blued steel hands and a sunk subsidiary seconds register at 6.]]
 
The salmon "Scientifical" dial on the Geneva 2024 example is the reference's signature.
Antiquorum put it in the lot title and described it as an extremely rare original, with black
round indexes and original hands, on a 31mm steel case numbered 100498. Salmon dials from this
period are sought in their own right, and one on a reference that surfaces roughly once a
decade is an uncommon combination.


The catalogue photography settles what the word is doing there. The dial reads ROLEX OYSTER
Antiquorum's Geneva title and note use “Scientifical” for the salmon dial's black round indexes. The photographed dial reads ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over CHRONOMETRE; “Scientifical” is Antiquorum's catalogue term, not visible dial wording. Antiquorum also calls the dial original, which remains its assessment of that individual watch.
ROYAL over a CHRONOMETRE marking above the subsidiary seconds, and nothing else — "Scientifical"
appears in Antiquorum's lot title and in quotation marks, not on the dial. The house's own
subtitle for the lot calls it a salmon "dot" index dial. The term is best read as a descriptor
the trade has attached to this dial layout rather than as period Rolex dial text.


The word is not confined to this reference. "Oyster Scientific" is reported as one of several
The two Antiquorum images below show the salmon dial and the two-tone silvered dial on case 48,634. The latter's catalogue description calls the dial patinated and the hands original; the layout details are visible in the photograph.
dial markings used on the ref 2765, a near-contemporary manual Oyster with the same flat-back
construction, so the vocabulary travelled. What has not been shown is a photographed dial
carrying either spelling: the 2765 attribution rests on dealer listings rather than on
catalogue photography, and the one 1873 dial that can be examined does not carry the word.
Whether Rolex ever printed Scientific or Scientifical on a dial, or whether the term belongs
entirely to the trade, is unresolved.


[[File:Ref 1873 dial-variant-two-tone.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 two-tone silvered dial, case 48634|Two-tone silvered dial with gold Arabic 12, 3 and 9, applied gold indexes and subsidiary seconds at 6, on a riveted Oyster bracelet. Antiquorum Hong Kong, April 2021, case 48634.]]
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 1873 dial-detail-salmon.webp|Case 100,498: salmon dial with black round indexes; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
File:Ref 1873 dial-variant-two-tone.webp|Case 48,634: two-tone silvered dial with Arabic 12, 3 and 9; Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021
</gallery>


The Hong Kong 2021 example carried a patinated dial with original hands, and the catalogue
==Case, bezel, crystal and crown==
says no more than that. The lot photography fills in the layout: a two-tone silvered dial with
a sunk outer track, gold-toned Arabic numerals at 12, 3 and 9, applied bâton indexes at the
remaining hours, luminous plots around the chapter ring, and a subsidiary seconds register at
6, with blued steel hands carrying luminous inserts. It is a markedly different watch from the
salmon example — dress-sector layout against plain dot indexes — on the same reference number.


That is the whole documented dial range for the reference. Anything more specific about 1873
Catalogue measurements range from 31 to 32mm. Bonhams describes tonneau-form cases for its two examples; Sotheby's, Christie's and other catalogues describe Oyster cases. Antiquorum's Hong Kong entry and several other descriptions specify screw-down casebacks, while its title identifies case 48,634 as a flat back. The Geneva photographs show the crown and case flank; its catalogue does not specify the crown's construction. Check case and crown details on each watch.
dial configurations would be extrapolation from sibling references.


==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==
[[File:Ref 1873 case-profile.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 case 100498 viewed three-quarter, showing tonneau flank and crown|Case 100,498, three-quarter view. Antiquorum, Geneva 2024.]]


[[File:Ref 1873 case-profile.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 three-quarter view of case 100498|Three-quarter view of case 100498, showing the tonneau flank and the screw-down crown.]]
Crystal and bezel descriptions vary in detail across the catalogues; this set records no distinct bezel variant.


Stainless steel tonneau with a screw-down caseback and screw-down crown, smooth polished
==Bracelet and strap==
bezel, acrylic crystal. Measured at 31mm in the 2024 catalogue and 31.5mm in the 2021
catalogue — ordinary measurement-method variance across houses on a tonneau case, the same
half-millimetre spread that follows the 31/32mm Bubblebacks around.


The caseback is flat. The 2021 Hong Kong lot title puts "FLAT BACK" in capitals, which is
The Sotheby's 2020 watch has a Gay Frères bamboo bracelet with a steel case; the catalogue title and Chinese description identify a two-tone bracelet. Antiquorum's 2021 lot came on a Rolex steel rivet bracelet measuring about 170mm. Its 2024 lot came on a steel bracelet it called “Private Eyes,” about 175mm long. Bonhams lists associated leather straps and gilt buckles on both of its watches. These catalogue descriptions document the accessories supplied with each lot. Original bracelet fitment remains specific to the individual watch.
Antiquorum flagging the trait as identifying rather than incidental, and neither lot
description mentions a dome, a rotor or self-winding anywhere. On a reference this scarce,
that is the first thing to check on any example offered for sale: a domed back on a 1873 means
either the wrong caseback or the wrong reference.
 
==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==
 
The 2021 Hong Kong example was accompanied by a Rolex stainless steel rivet bracelet measuring
roughly 170mm overall. Rivet-link Oyster bracelets are period-plausible for a 1930s steel
Oyster, but a bracelet dates itself and not the watch head, and Antiquorum did not present it
as original delivery. It counts as accompanying hardware and nothing more. No end-link or
clasp reference is documented for the 1873 anywhere in the published record.


==Auction record==
==Auction record==
Line 188: Line 107:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! Venue
! Auction entry
! Date
! Case number
! Lot
! Catalogue details
! Case No
! Published result
! Dial
! Movement
! Result
|-
|-
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong
| Watches of Knightsbridge, 24 June 2017, lot 339
| 2021-04-25
| not stated
| 233
| 1930s; stainless steel Oyster; sector dial; 17-jewel manual Extra Prima, timed to six positions
| 48634
| 2,600 in the result sheet; currency not stated
| Patinated, original hands
| Extra Prima, 17 jewels
| Est. HKD 40,000–60,000; result not published
|-
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva
| Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 11 July 2020, lot 2174
| 2024-11-09
| 30,967
| 282
| circa 1930; steel case; 17-jewel Extra Prima; Beyer-signed black dial; Gay Frères bamboo bracelet
| 100498
| Estimate HKD 20,000–28,000; result not shown on the public lot page
| Salmon "Scientifical", black round indexes
|-
| 18-jewel chronometer
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 25 April 2021, lot 233
| CHF 10,625 (est. CHF 8,000–12,000)
| 48,634
| circa 1930s; 31.5mm steel case; 17-jewel Extra Prima; flat-back title; Rolex rivet bracelet
| Estimate HKD 40,000–60,000; result not shown on the lot page
|-
| Bonhams, London, 7 September 2021, lot 51
| 37,029
| 9K gold; London import mark for 1937; 18-jewel manual movement No. 11,250
| GBP 2,167.50 including premium
|-
| Cambi auction catalogue, Milan, 30 November 2022, lot 129
| 48,xxx
| circa 1954; steel; silvered sector dial; central seconds; 17 jewels, manual wind
| Estimate EUR 1,300–2,200; catalogued as sold
|-
| Bonhams, London, 22 November 2023, lot 54
| 81,343
| circa 1939; 32mm steel case; silvered dial; jewelled manual movement
| GBP 1,280 including premium
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva, 9 November 2024, lot 282
| 100,498
| circa 1930s; 31mm steel case; salmon “Scientifical” dial; 18-jewel Ultra Prima chronometer
| CHF 10,625 (estimate CHF 8,000–12,000)
|-
| Christie's, archived lot 782241
| 100,459
| circa 1940; 31mm steel case; black dial; 15-jewel Extra Prima; subsidiary seconds
| Sale date and result are absent from the archived listing
|}
|}


The Geneva 2024 result is the only realised price on record for the reference. CHF 10,625
==Related references==
against an CHF 8,000–12,000 estimate is a mid-estimate result, which for a reference this
scarce says less about the 1873 than it might seem to: with two lots in the public record
there is no series to read a trend from. The Hong Kong 2021 estimate of HKD 40,000–60,000
converts to roughly CHF 4,800–7,200, so the house was pricing the Extra Prima example well
below where it later pitched the salmon-dial chronometer.


The more useful number is the one Antiquorum wrote in prose rather than in the estimate line —
* [[Reference:1858|Oyster Perpetual 1858]] , an automatic Oyster Perpetual
that this was one of very few examples to appear publicly in thirty years. The house's own
* [[Reference:2574|Oyster Royal 2574]] , a manual-wind Oyster Royal
archive, which reaches back to 1974, holds exactly these two lots.
* [[Reference:2765|Oyster Chronometer 2765]] , a manual-wind Oyster
* [[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback family guide]] , which separates automatic Bubblebacks from manual-wind Oyster references


==Sources==
See also [[Reference:Movements|Movement reference]] and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|Serial numbers]].


* <code>src-antiquorum-1873-geneva-2024-lot282</code> — Antiquorum, Geneva, 9–10 November 2024, lot 282: Oyster Royal Chronometre, salmon "Scientifical" dial, case 100498, sold CHF 10,625
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
* <code>src-antiquorum-1873-hk-2021-lot233</code> — Antiquorum, Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces, Hong Kong, 25 April 2021, lot 233: Royal, flat back, steel, Extra Prima 17 jewels, case 48634
File:Ref 1873 hero.webp|Case 100,498, salmon dial; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
* <code>src-boettcher-prima-grades</code> — David Boettcher, "Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima", vintagewatchstraps.com
File:Ref 1873 dial-detail-salmon.webp|Salmon dial detail; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
* <code>src-hodinkee-bubbleback-collecting</code> — Hodinkee, "Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Rolex Bubbleback And Why It Still Matters"
File:Ref 1873 dial-variant-two-tone.webp|Two-tone silvered dial; Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021
* <code>src-robbreport-bubbleback-collector-guide</code> — Robb Report, "A Collector's Guide to Rolex Bubbleback Watches, From 1931 to the 1950s"
File:Ref 1873 case-profile.webp|Tonneau case and screw-down crown; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
* <code>src-antiquorum-2765-ny-2009-lot223</code> — Antiquorum, New York, 9 December 2009, lot 217: ref 2765, the near-contemporary manual flat-back Oyster
</gallery>
* <code>src-rolexforums-wvm-bubbleback-list</code> — RolexForums, "List of Bubbleback models" (user w-v-m), the circulating list that files 1873 as a Bubbleback


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
Line 238: Line 173:
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1873-oyster-royal-chronometre-lot-372-282 "ROLEX, SWITZERLAND, REF. 1873, OYSTER ROYAL CHRONOMETRE, SALMON SCIENTIFICAL DIAL, STAINLESS STEEL", Antiquorum, 2024-11-09]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1873-oyster-royal-chronometre-lot-372-282 "ROLEX, SWITZERLAND, REF. 1873, OYSTER ROYAL CHRONOMETRE, SALMON SCIENTIFICAL DIAL, STAINLESS STEEL", Antiquorum, 2024-11-09]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1873-royal-lot-338-233 "ROLEX REF 1873, ROYAL, FLAT BACK STEEL", Antiquorum, 2021-04-25]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1873-royal-lot-338-233 "ROLEX REF 1873, ROYAL, FLAT BACK STEEL", Antiquorum, 2021-04-25]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/26685/lot/51/rolex-a-9k-gold-manual-wind-wristwatch-oyster-royal-chronometre-ref-1873-london-import-mark-for-1937/ "Rolex. A 9K gold manual wind wristwatch, Oyster Royal Chronometre, Ref: 1873, London Import mark for 1937", Bonhams, 2021-09-07]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28035/lot/54/rolex-a-stainless-steel-manual-wind-wristwatch-ref-1873-circa-1939/ "Rolex. A stainless steel manual wind wristwatch, Ref: 1873, Circa 1939", Bonhams, 2023-11-22]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/blogprima.php David Boettcher, "Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima", vintagewatchstraps.com]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/blogprima.php David Boettcher, "Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima", vintagewatchstraps.com]
* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-rolex-bubbleback-and-why-it-still-matters "Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Rolex Bubbleback And Why It Still Matters", Hodinkee]
* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-rolex-bubbleback-and-why-it-still-matters "Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Rolex Bubbleback And Why It Still Matters", Hodinkee]
* [https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/lists/rolex-bubbleback-watches-collector-guide-1931-1950s-1235893131/ "A Collector's Guide to Rolex Bubbleback Watches, From 1931 to the 1950s", Robb Report]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/important-watches/rolex-oyster-royal-extra-precision-reference-1873 "Sotheby’s Oyster Royal Extra Precision ref. 1873, lot 2174", Sotheby’s, 2020-07-11]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-223-217 "Rolex Oyster Chronometer, Ref. 2765, retailed by Murdock's, Cape Town", Antiquorum, 2009-12-09]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-782241 "Christie’s Oyster ref. 1873, case 100,459", Christie’s]
* "List of Bubbleback models (user w-v-m)", RolexForums
* [https://watchesofknightsbridge.com/auctions/wp-content/uploads/24th-June-2017-SaleResults-1.pdf "Watches of Knightsbridge Rolex ref. 1873 sector dial, lot 339", Watches of Knightsbridge, 2017-06-24]
== Related references ==
* [https://www.cambiaste.com/uploads/auctions/868-cambi_orologi_795_2022_11_eb.pdf "Cambi Oyster Precision Royal ref. 1873, lot 129", Cambi Casa d’Aste, 2022-11-30]
 
* [[Reference:2765|Oyster Chronometer 2765]] — manual flat-back sibling, shares the "Scientific" dial vocabulary
* [[Reference:2574|Oyster Royal 2574]] — pre-war manual Oyster, boy's size
* [[Reference:1858|Bubbleback 1858]] — the first Oyster Perpetual, 1933
* [[Reference:2240|Bubbleback 2240]] — self-winding contemporary
* [[Reference:2764|Bubbleback 2764]] — Cal. 620N "Super Precision"
 
See also the [[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].


[[Category:Oyster]]
[[Category:Oyster]]
[[Category:References]]

Latest revision as of 22:28, 27 September 2026


Oyster → 1873

Steel Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498, salmon dial, Antiquorum Geneva 2024
Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498. Antiquorum, Geneva 2024.

Reference 1873 is a hand-wound Oyster Royal. Auction catalogues also call it Oyster Royal Chronometre or Oyster Royal Extra Precision. Eight catalogue entries describe manual-wind watches, mostly dated to the 1930s or around 1940. The Cambi auction catalogue's 2022 entry gives one steel example a date of circa 1954 and describes central seconds; that entry differs from the other records and is treated separately below.

Hodinkee distinguishes the early automatic “Bubbleback” from Rolex's parallel manual-wind “flatback” line. The family guide lists 1873 with the manual-wind Oyster references, in keeping with the auction descriptions.

Core facts

detail value
reference 1873
model names in catalogues Oyster Royal; Oyster Royal Chronometre; Oyster Royal Extra Precision
movement hand-wound; catalogues report 15–18 jewels and Prima grades, identified by grade and jewel count
case material stainless steel in seven entries; one 9K-gold example
case size 31–32mm in the catalogued examples with measurements
case form Tonneau in Bonhams' 2021 and 2023 descriptions; other catalogues call it an Oyster case
caseback and crown screw-down on several documented examples; Antiquorum's 2021 title calls its watch a flat back
seconds subsidiary seconds at 6 in most descriptions; The Cambi catalogue records central seconds on its circa-1954 entry
documented case numbers 30,967; 37,029; 48,xxx; 48,634; 81,343; 100,459; 100,498; one Watches of Knightsbridge entry gives no number

Place in the line

Rolex sold hand-wound Oysters alongside the automatic Oyster Perpetual line. Hodinkee describes these as parallel “flatback” watches and uses Bubbleback for a loose group of early automatic references. The 1873 auction descriptions identify manual movements, placing it in the hand-wound Oyster branch.

Auctioneers use Oyster Royal, Oyster Royal Chronometre and Oyster Royal Extra Precision for the model. The movement descriptions use grades and jewel counts rather than a caliber designation.

Production outline

Auctioneers date most 1873 examples from circa 1930 through circa 1940. Sotheby's dates case 30,967 to circa 1930; Antiquorum dates cases 48,634 and 100,498 to the 1930s; Bonhams dates case 81,343 to circa 1939; and Christie's dates case 100,459 to circa 1940. Watches of Knightsbridge also catalogued a 1930s example. Together, the lot estimates cluster around 1930–1940.

Bonhams records a London import mark dated 1937 on the 9K-gold case 37,029. The mark records assay/import in 1937; the case and movement may have been made earlier. Read the hallmark date separately from the case number and movement.

The Cambi auction catalogue's 2022 entry lists a steel Oyster Precision Royal, case 48,xxx, as circa 1954. It describes a 17-jewel manual movement and central seconds. This entry gives a later date and a different seconds layout from the other records, which cluster around 1930–1940 and mostly describe subsidiary seconds. Treat the Cambi date and configuration as claims for that lot.

The case numbers published across these lots are 30,967, 37,029, 48,xxx, 48,634, 81,343, 100,459 and 100,498. These numbers offer individual comparison points; Rolex production limits and a serial-to-year mapping remain unestablished.

Movement notes

All eight catalogue entries describe hand-wound movements. The records give different grades and jewel counts: Sotheby's, Antiquorum's Hong Kong lot and Watches of Knightsbridge list 17-jewel Extra Prima movements; Christie's lists a 15-jewel Extra Prima; Antiquorum's Geneva lot calls its 18-jewel movement an Ultra Prima chronometer; The Cambi catalogue gives 17 jewels without a grade; and Bonhams records an 18-jewel manual movement numbered 11,250 on the gold watch. The 2023 Bonhams entry describes a jewelled manual movement without a jewel count.

Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima are movement grades, not caliber designations. David Boettcher's review of the surviving examples says Extra Prima commonly appears with 18 jewels while Prima commonly appears with 15; the 17-jewel catalogue descriptions and Christie's 15-jewel Extra Prima entry show why each grade and jewel count should stay tied to its own lot. Boettcher dates the first located Ultra Prima registration to 9 December 1930 and says surviving evidence leaves the distinction between Extra Prima and Ultra Prima unclear.

Dial map

The records show several dial layouts. Sotheby's describes a black lacquer dial with luminous indexes and hands, signed for Beyer. Christie's records a black dial with raised baton markers, luminous hands and subsidiary seconds. Watches of Knightsbridge describes a sector dial. Bonhams' 2021 gold watch has a silvered dial with an applied gilt minute track and luminous Arabic numerals; its 2023 steel example has alternating baton and Arabic markers. Antiquorum's Hong Kong example has a patinated dial with original hands, while its Geneva example has a salmon dial with black round indexes. The Cambi catalogue's circa-1954 entry describes a silvered sector dial and central seconds.

Antiquorum's Geneva title and note use “Scientifical” for the salmon dial's black round indexes. The photographed dial reads ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over CHRONOMETRE; “Scientifical” is Antiquorum's catalogue term, not visible dial wording. Antiquorum also calls the dial original, which remains its assessment of that individual watch.

The two Antiquorum images below show the salmon dial and the two-tone silvered dial on case 48,634. The latter's catalogue description calls the dial patinated and the hands original; the layout details are visible in the photograph.

  • Case 100,498: salmon dial with black round indexes; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
    Case 100,498: salmon dial with black round indexes; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
  • Case 48,634: two-tone silvered dial with Arabic 12, 3 and 9; Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021
    Case 48,634: two-tone silvered dial with Arabic 12, 3 and 9; Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021

Case, bezel, crystal and crown

Catalogue measurements range from 31 to 32mm. Bonhams describes tonneau-form cases for its two examples; Sotheby's, Christie's and other catalogues describe Oyster cases. Antiquorum's Hong Kong entry and several other descriptions specify screw-down casebacks, while its title identifies case 48,634 as a flat back. The Geneva photographs show the crown and case flank; its catalogue does not specify the crown's construction. Check case and crown details on each watch.

Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 case 100498 viewed three-quarter, showing tonneau flank and crown
Case 100,498, three-quarter view. Antiquorum, Geneva 2024.

Crystal and bezel descriptions vary in detail across the catalogues; this set records no distinct bezel variant.

Bracelet and strap

The Sotheby's 2020 watch has a Gay Frères bamboo bracelet with a steel case; the catalogue title and Chinese description identify a two-tone bracelet. Antiquorum's 2021 lot came on a Rolex steel rivet bracelet measuring about 170mm. Its 2024 lot came on a steel bracelet it called “Private Eyes,” about 175mm long. Bonhams lists associated leather straps and gilt buckles on both of its watches. These catalogue descriptions document the accessories supplied with each lot. Original bracelet fitment remains specific to the individual watch.

Auction record

Auction entry Case number Catalogue details Published result
Watches of Knightsbridge, 24 June 2017, lot 339 not stated 1930s; stainless steel Oyster; sector dial; 17-jewel manual Extra Prima, timed to six positions 2,600 in the result sheet; currency not stated
Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 11 July 2020, lot 2174 30,967 circa 1930; steel case; 17-jewel Extra Prima; Beyer-signed black dial; Gay Frères bamboo bracelet Estimate HKD 20,000–28,000; result not shown on the public lot page
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 25 April 2021, lot 233 48,634 circa 1930s; 31.5mm steel case; 17-jewel Extra Prima; flat-back title; Rolex rivet bracelet Estimate HKD 40,000–60,000; result not shown on the lot page
Bonhams, London, 7 September 2021, lot 51 37,029 9K gold; London import mark for 1937; 18-jewel manual movement No. 11,250 GBP 2,167.50 including premium
Cambi auction catalogue, Milan, 30 November 2022, lot 129 48,xxx circa 1954; steel; silvered sector dial; central seconds; 17 jewels, manual wind Estimate EUR 1,300–2,200; catalogued as sold
Bonhams, London, 22 November 2023, lot 54 81,343 circa 1939; 32mm steel case; silvered dial; jewelled manual movement GBP 1,280 including premium
Antiquorum, Geneva, 9 November 2024, lot 282 100,498 circa 1930s; 31mm steel case; salmon “Scientifical” dial; 18-jewel Ultra Prima chronometer CHF 10,625 (estimate CHF 8,000–12,000)
Christie's, archived lot 782241 100,459 circa 1940; 31mm steel case; black dial; 15-jewel Extra Prima; subsidiary seconds Sale date and result are absent from the archived listing

Related references

See also Movement reference and Serial numbers.

  • Case 100,498, salmon dial; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
    Case 100,498, salmon dial; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
  • Salmon dial detail; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
    Salmon dial detail; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
  • Two-tone silvered dial; Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021
    Two-tone silvered dial; Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021
  • Tonneau case and screw-down crown; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
    Tonneau case and screw-down crown; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024

Sources

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