Reference:3133: Difference between revisions

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The 3133 is a 32mm Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback, documented across three separate Antiquorum auction lots plus a forum owner who dates his example to 1938 — a year earlier than any of the catalogued examples. All three auctioned watches pair pink gold with stainless steel, but in three different splits: solid pink gold body with a steel bezel band on one, a steel case with a pink gold bezel on another, and a mixed steel-and-pink-gold construction on the third. None of the three carries the same case number, and no two share a sale.

The reference is a small case study in what originality does to a Bubbleback's value. Two of the three documented 3133s carry original, unrestored dials and sold for HKD 50,000 and HKD 37,500 (roughly USD 6,400 and USD 4,800). The third — mechanically identical, same caliber, same case metal split — has a dial the cataloguer notes as "reprinted" and hands with relumed luminous material. It sold for CHF 1,625, about USD 1,850. Same reference, same era, a 3.5x gap driven entirely by whether the dial in front of you is the ~~one Rolex put there~~.

The reference is a small case study in what originality does to a Bubbleback's value — see the Auction record below.

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32mm across all three documented examples. The pink-gold-to-steel construction varies: one lot describes the case itself as "18K pink gold and stainless steel," a second specifies a pink gold bezel on a stainless steel case, and a third describes the case generally as "steel and pink gold" without further detail — three watches, three ways of splitting the same two metals across the same case architecture. Screw-down crown and caseback throughout, consistent with the Oyster line's water-resistant construction.

== Auction record ==

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Sale !! Lot !! Case no. !! Configuration !! Estimate !! Result

|-

| Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 31 May 2026 || 46 || 49184 || 18K pink gold and stainless steel, black gilt dial, original, circa 1947 || HKD 30,000–60,000 || HKD 50,000 (≈ USD 6,400)

|-

| Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2025 || 301 || not listed || Steel and pink gold, small seconds at 6, original dial, circa 1940s || HKD 28,000–50,000 || HKD 37,500 (≈ USD 4,800)

|-

| Antiquorum, Geneva, 10–11 May 2025 || 160 || 488378 || Pink gold bezel, stainless steel case, center seconds, dial reprinted and hands relumed, circa 1940s || CHF 1,000–2,000 || CHF 1,625 (≈ USD 1,850)

|}

The three results track condition and originality closely: the two original-dial examples sold for USD 4,800–6,400, while the mechanically identical example with a reprinted dial and relumed hands sold for roughly a third of that. Same reference, same era, same case-metal split — the gap is entirely about whether the dial in front of a buyer is the one Rolex applied.

== Related references ==

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 The 3133 is a 32mm Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback, documented across three separate Antiquorum auction lots plus a forum owner who dates his example to 1938 — a year earlier than any of the catalogued examples. All three auctioned watches pair pink gold with stainless steel, but in three different splits: solid pink gold body with a steel bezel band on one, a steel case with a pink gold bezel on another, and a mixed steel-and-pink-gold construction on the third. None of the three carries the same case number, and no two share a sale.
-The reference is a small case study in what originality does to a Bubbleback's value. Two of the three documented 3133s carry original, unrestored dials and sold for HKD 50,000 and HKD 37,500 (roughly USD 6,400 and USD 4,800). The third — mechanically identical, same caliber, same case metal split — has a dial the cataloguer notes as "reprinted" and hands with relumed luminous material. It sold for CHF 1,625, about USD 1,850. Same reference, same era, a 3.5x gap driven entirely by whether the dial in front of you is the one Rolex put there.
+The reference is a small case study in what originality does to a Bubbleback's value — see the Auction record below.
 <span id="core-facts"></span>
@@ Line 89: / Line 89: @@
 mm across all three documented examples. The pink-gold-to-steel construction varies: one lot describes the case itself as "18K pink gold and stainless steel," a second specifies a pink gold bezel on a stainless steel case, and a third describes the case generally as "steel and pink gold" without further detail — three watches, three ways of splitting the same two metals across the same case architecture. Screw-down crown and caseback throughout, consistent with the Oyster line's water-resistant construction.
+<span id="auction-record"></span>
+== Auction record ==
+{| class="wikitable"
+|-
+! Sale !! Lot !! Case no. !! Configuration !! Estimate !! Result
+|-
+| Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 31 May 2026 || 46 || 49184 || 18K pink gold and stainless steel, black gilt dial, original, circa 1947 || HKD 30,000–60,000 || HKD 50,000 (≈ USD 6,400)
+|-
+| Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2025 || 301 || not listed || Steel and pink gold, small seconds at 6, original dial, circa 1940s || HKD 28,000–50,000 || HKD 37,500 (≈ USD 4,800)
+|-
+| Antiquorum, Geneva, 10–11 May 2025 || 160 || 488378 || Pink gold bezel, stainless steel case, center seconds, dial reprinted and hands relumed, circa 1940s || CHF 1,000–2,000 || CHF 1,625 (≈ USD 1,850)
+|}
+The three results track condition and originality closely: the two original-dial examples sold for USD 4,800–6,400, while the mechanically identical example with a reprinted dial and relumed hands sold for roughly a third of that. Same reference, same era, same case-metal split — the gap is entirely about whether the dial in front of a buyer is the one Rolex applied.
 == Related references ==