Reference:3525: Difference between revisions

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|title=Rolex 3525 Chronograph "Monoblocco" — BezelBase

|description=The 3525 is the first Oyster chronograph. That is why it matters. Everything from the 6034 through the Daytona sits downstream of that move.

}}

<small>Chronograph → '''3525'''</small>

The 3525 is ~~the~~ first. ~~Before it,~~ Rolex ~~had built~~ chronographs ~~(the 2021 single-pusher, the 2508 with its Valjoux 22, the 3330 with its hinged gold case)~~, but none ~~inside the patented Oyster case. The 3525 put a chronograph movement behind~~ a screw-down ~~crown and a screw-down caseback for~~ the ~~first time, and it sits as~~ the technical ~~ancestor of everything that runs from~~ the 6034 ~~through the~~ 6238 ~~to the~~ Daytona. ~~Italian collectors gave the reference two names that both stuck:~~ ''Monoblocco'' for the ~~construction (~~upper ~~half — bezel, mid-~~case~~, lugs — machined from one block of metal, only the caseback separate),~~ and ''Barilotto'' ~~(“little barrel”)~~ for ~~the silhouette~~.

The 3525 is Rolex’s first Oyster chronograph. Earlier Rolex chronographs existed, but none in a screw-down Oyster case. That makes the 3525 the technical starting point for the later 6034, 6238, and Daytona line. Collectors call it ''Monoblocco'' for the one-piece upper case and ''Barilotto'' for its barrel-like profile.

It is also the watch that Rolex shipped, on credit, to Allied officers held in German prisoner-of-war camps during the Second World War. One of those watches ended up at Stalag Luft III, the camp of the Great Escape. That example, with its paperwork fully intact, sold at Antiquorum in 2007 for £66,000.

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 |title=Rolex 3525 Chronograph "Monoblocco" — BezelBase
 |description=The 3525 is the first Oyster chronograph. That is why it matters. Everything from the 6034 through the Daytona sits downstream of that move.
+}}
 <small>Chronograph → '''3525'''</small>
-The 3525 is the first. Before it, Rolex had built chronographs (the 2021 single-pusher, the 2508 with its Valjoux 22, the 3330 with its hinged gold case), but none inside the patented Oyster case. The 3525 put a chronograph movement behind a screw-down crown and a screw-down caseback for the first time, and it sits as the technical ancestor of everything that runs from the 6034 through the 6238 to the Daytona. Italian collectors gave the reference two names that both stuck: ''Monoblocco'' for the construction (upper half — bezel, mid-case, lugs — machined from one block of metal, only the caseback separate), and ''Barilotto'' (“little barrel”) for the silhouette.
+The 3525 is Rolex’s first Oyster chronograph. Earlier Rolex chronographs existed, but none in a screw-down Oyster case. That makes the 3525 the technical starting point for the later 6034, 6238, and Daytona line. Collectors call it ''Monoblocco'' for the one-piece upper case and ''Barilotto'' for its barrel-like profile.
 It is also the watch that Rolex shipped, on credit, to Allied officers held in German prisoner-of-war camps during the Second World War. One of those watches ended up at Stalag Luft III, the camp of the Great Escape. That example, with its paperwork fully intact, sold at Antiquorum in 2007 for £66,000.