Reference:971: Difference between revisions
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The 971 is the original Brancard. Rolex launched the Prince family in 1928 around an Aegler-patented shaped movement, and the 971 is the reference that opened the line: a flared "stretcher" rectangular case (the French word ''brancard'' means stretcher), a duo-dial with an oversized sub-seconds register at six, and a chronometer-grade movement built to compete with the best of Swiss observatory-tested calibers. The watch acquired the "doctor's watch" nickname because the large sub-seconds register made it usable for counting a patient's pulse off the dial. Production runs from a documented 1928 English hallmark through at least 1938, with the larger 1490 Brancard taking over as the headline reference of the line through the mid-1940s. The 971 is rarer than the 1490 and comes in more documented sub-references (971A, 971U, 971S, plus the Zebra and Tiger Stripe bicolor variants). | The 971 is the original Brancard. Rolex launched the Prince family in 1928 around an Aegler-patented shaped movement, and the 971 is the reference that opened the line: a flared "stretcher" rectangular case (the French word ''brancard'' means stretcher), a duo-dial with an oversized sub-seconds register at six, and a chronometer-grade movement built to compete with the best of Swiss observatory-tested calibers. The watch acquired the "doctor's watch" nickname because the large sub-seconds register made it usable for counting a patient's pulse off the dial. Production runs from a documented 1928 English hallmark through at least 1938, with the larger 1490 Brancard taking over as the headline reference of the line through the mid-1940s. The 971 is rarer than the 1490 and comes in more documented sub-references (971A, 971U, 971S, plus the Zebra and Tiger Stripe bicolor variants). | ||
==Core facts== | ==Core facts== | ||
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==Sub-references — 971, 971A, 971U, 971S, Zebra, Tiger Stripe, Pink Zebra== | ==Sub-references — 971, 971A, 971U, 971S, Zebra, Tiger Stripe, Pink Zebra== | ||
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180"> | |||
File:Ref 971 zebra-9k.webp|alt=Rolex 971 9K Zebra bicolor|9K Zebra — Antiquorum 2020 lot 235, yellow + white gold (Antiquorum convention: 9K = Zebra, 18K = Tiger Stripe) | |||
File:Ref 971 tiger-stripe.webp|alt=Rolex 971A 18K bicolor Tiger Stripe canonical|971A 18K Tiger Stripe — Antiquorum NY 2008 lot 266, canonical reference example, hammer USD 14,400 | |||
</gallery> | |||
The 971 has the deepest sub-reference taxonomy of any Prince. The convention is not entirely settled, but the documented usage breaks down as follows. | The 971 has the deepest sub-reference taxonomy of any Prince. The convention is not entirely settled, but the documented usage breaks down as follows. | ||
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The 1990s Antiquorum prices (CHF 9,775–11,500 for 971U 9K bicolor) versus the 2006 record CHF 29,500 for an 18K Tiger Stripe show that the bicolor 971A premium grew markedly across the decade as collector interest in shaped Rolex matured. The platinum band tracked the same trajectory: CHF 35,000 in 2013, CHF 48,750 in 2017, CHF 55,440 in 2021. Sterling silver 971s have been more stable, sitting in the GBP 3,500–4,500 band consistently from 2018 through 2024, with the 2024 Antiquorum stainless example at USD 12,134 (with original box and rate certificate) as the upper anchor for non-precious-metal configurations. | The 1990s Antiquorum prices (CHF 9,775–11,500 for 971U 9K bicolor) versus the 2006 record CHF 29,500 for an 18K Tiger Stripe show that the bicolor 971A premium grew markedly across the decade as collector interest in shaped Rolex matured. The platinum band tracked the same trajectory: CHF 35,000 in 2013, CHF 48,750 in 2017, CHF 55,440 in 2021. Sterling silver 971s have been more stable, sitting in the GBP 3,500–4,500 band consistently from 2018 through 2024, with the 2024 Antiquorum stainless example at USD 12,134 (with original box and rate certificate) as the upper anchor for non-precious-metal configurations. | ||
== Related references == | == Related references == | ||
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== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080215/210 "Rolex Prince Reference 971 Platinum", Phillips, 2015-05-09] | * [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080215/210 "Rolex Prince Reference 971 Platinum", Phillips, 2015-05-09] | ||