Rolex 3064 Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback

A checked version of this page, approved on 29 September 2026, was based on this revision.

Rolex 3064 Bubbleback, pink gold and steel, pink dial — Rolex 3064 Bubbleback, pink gold and steel, retailed by Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi

The 3064 is a tonneau-shaped Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback from around 1940, built in pink gold and stainless steel with hooded lugs and a pink dial. The cited example was retailed by Dobbies Ltd. of Nairobi and carries the retailer name on the dial. No broader 3064 production or retailer census is established here.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	3064
family	Oyster Perpetual (Bubbleback)
common name	"Bubbleback"
production	documented example dated circa 1940
case	32mm, tonneau-shaped, stainless steel with 18k pink gold bezel and hooded lugs, screw-down back and crown
movement	self-winding, caliber sized 9¾ lignes, 18 jewels, chronometer-certified
dial (documented)	pink, luminous Arabic and baton numerals, luminous hands, subsidiary seconds, signed by Rolex and further signed by retailer Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi
documented examples	Christie's Geneva, 12 May 2014, sale 1401, lot 240, case no. 282'453

Where it sits in the line

The 3064 belongs to the same tonneau-cased, pink-gold-and-steel bi-metal group as the 3130 and 3133, sharing the 9¾-ligne movement class and hooded-lug case style common to Rolex's early automatic Oyster Perpetuals. The cited example is distinguished by the Dobbies Ltd. of Nairobi retailer signature. That lot-level provenance does not establish how widely the reference was sold or signed.

Production outline

The only documented 3064 is dated circa 1940 by Christie's, case no. 282'453, and sold at the house's Geneva sale on 12 May 2014 (sale 1401, lot 240) for CHF 10,000 against a CHF 8,000–12,000 estimate. Christie's own cataloguing calls it directly a "bubble back type case" watch, removing any ambiguity about family classification.

Movement notes

Caliber 9¾ lignes (ligne class), automatic, 18 jewels, chronometer-certified — the same movement-size class documented on the 3130, 3133, and 3725 references from the same generation.

Dial map

The dial is pink with luminous Arabic and baton numerals and luminous hands, a subsidiary seconds sub-dial, and dual signatures: Rolex's own maker's signature alongside the retailer's mark for Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi. Retailer-signed Bubbleback dials are documented across several references from major houses like Serpico y Laino and Bucherer; a colonial East African retailer signature is a less common variant of the same practice.

Dial detail, case no. 282'453 — Rolex Oyster Perpetual signature above the retailer's mark for Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

32mm tonneau-shaped case in stainless steel, with an 18k pink gold bezel and hooded lugs, screw-down case back and crown, the crown itself in pink gold. The bi-metal construction, with a steel case body and gold bezel and lugs, is also documented on other Bubbleback references of the period.

Hooded lug and pink gold crown, case no. 282'453

Related references

Bubbleback 3130 — same movement class, same bi-metal construction
Bubbleback 3133 — same generation, pink gold and steel
Bubbleback 3725 — same generation, documented in multiple metal configurations

Auction record

Sale	Lot	Case no.	Configuration	Estimate	Result
Christie's, Geneva, 12 May 2014	240	282'453	Pink gold and stainless steel, tonneau-shaped, pink dial, hooded lugs, retailed by Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi, with box	CHF 8,000–12,000	CHF 10,000

Only one 3064 has a located auction result; no second case number or dial variant has surfaced to compare it against.

Rolex 3064 Bubbleback, pink gold and steel, retailed by Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi
Dial detail, case no. 282'453
Hooded lug and pink gold crown, case no. 282'453