Reference:3348: Difference between revisions
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<small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback]] -> '''3348'''</small> | <small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback]] -> '''3348'''</small> | ||
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[[File:Ref 3348 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex 3348 Bubbleback, Serpico y Laino signed, pink gold and steel|Rolex 3348 Bubbleback, Serpico y Laino-signed pink gold and steel example]] | |||
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The 3348 is a stainless steel Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback, 29mm, that Sotheby's catalogued under the nickname "Lifesaver Bubbleback" when it came up for sale in New York in 2018. The name is Sotheby's own, not an official Rolex term or one otherwise documented in wider collector use — worth noting rather than repeating uncritically. What is well documented is the retail history: the dial carries a second signature for Mappin & Webb, the British jeweller and silversmith, placing this example through one of Rolex's established period retail partners. | The 3348 is a stainless steel Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback, 29mm, that Sotheby's catalogued under the nickname "Lifesaver Bubbleback" when it came up for sale in New York in 2018. The name is Sotheby's own, not an official Rolex term or one otherwise documented in wider collector use — worth noting rather than repeating uncritically. What is well documented is the retail history: the dial carries a second signature for Mappin & Webb, the British jeweller and silversmith, placing this example through one of Rolex's established period retail partners. | ||
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== Core facts == | == Core facts == | ||
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== Production outline == | == Production outline == | ||
[[File:Ref 3348 hero 2.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Rolex 3348 "Lifesaver Bubbleback," case no. 154006, Sotheby's New York 2018|The Sotheby's-catalogued "Lifesaver Bubbleback," case no. 154006, retailed by Mappin & Webb (New York, 24 May 2018, sale N09879, lot 136)]] | [[File:Ref 3348 hero 2.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Rolex 3348 "Lifesaver Bubbleback," case no. 154006, Sotheby's New York 2018|The Sotheby's-catalogued "Lifesaver Bubbleback," case no. 154006, retailed by Mappin & Webb (New York, 24 May 2018, sale N09879, lot 136)]] | ||
The Sotheby's example is dated circa 1940, case no. 154006, retailed through Mappin & Webb. It went to auction at Sotheby's New York on 24 May 2018 (sale N09879, lot 136) against a $5,000–7,000 estimate and did not sell — a genuine market data point worth recording alongside the successful results documented for other Bubbleback references, not every catalogued example finds a buyer at its estimate. | The Sotheby's example is dated circa 1940, case no. 154006, retailed through Mappin & Webb. It went to auction at Sotheby's New York on 24 May 2018 (sale N09879, lot 136) against a $5,000–7,000 estimate and did not sell — a genuine market data point worth recording alongside the successful results documented for other Bubbleback references, not every catalogued example finds a buyer at its estimate. | ||
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[[File:Ref 3348 caseback.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Rolex 3348 Bubbleback screw-down steel caseback with Rolex coronet|Screw-down steel caseback of the Serpico y Laino-signed example, on its bi-metal bracelet]] | [[File:Ref 3348 caseback.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Rolex 3348 Bubbleback screw-down steel caseback with Rolex coronet|Screw-down steel caseback of the Serpico y Laino-signed example, on its bi-metal bracelet]] | ||
[[File:Ref 3348 clasp.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Rolex 3348 Bubbleback folded clasp stamped Swiss Made Steelinox|Folded clasp on the bi-metal bracelet, stamped "Swiss Made Steelinox"]] | [[File:Ref 3348 clasp.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Rolex 3348 Bubbleback folded clasp stamped Swiss Made Steelinox|Folded clasp on the bi-metal bracelet, stamped "Swiss Made Steelinox"]] | ||
29mm stainless steel case with a flat bezel — plainer than the domed or engine-turned bezels documented on other Bubbleback references — screw-down case back and crown. Sotheby's lists an associated (non-original) expansion bracelet sold with the watch. | 29mm stainless steel case with a flat bezel — plainer than the domed or engine-turned bezels documented on other Bubbleback references — screw-down case back and crown. Sotheby's lists an associated (non-original) expansion bracelet sold with the watch. | ||