Rolex Oyster 3358
Oyster Perpetual → 3358
The Rolex ref. 3358 is a manual-wind Oyster found with more than one dial name. Antiquorum catalogued a 1942 example as an Oyster Chronomètre with a 10½-ligne Cal. 700 and subsidiary seconds; an earlier Auctionata listing calls a separate example an Oyster Viceroy. The surviving records establish features of individual watches, not a complete production span.
Core facts
| Detail | Documented record |
|---|---|
| Reference | 3358 |
| Family | Manual-wind Oyster |
| Production dates | Auction catalogues date examples to circa 1940 and 1942; no start or end year is established |
| Movement | Cal. 700 named on Antiquorum case 51,419; Auctionata describes its separate example as manual-wind without naming a caliber |
| Case | Three-body steel Oyster case with pink-gold bezel documented; a gold crown is described on the Antiquorum watch |
| Diameter | 28 mm (Auctionata); 29 mm (Daisy Exclusive); 30 mm (Antiquorum). The records do not establish one standard diameter |
| Seconds | Subsidiary seconds on the Antiquorum watch; Auctionata's description records hours, minutes and seconds |
| Dial names and signatures | “Oyster Chronomètre” (Antiquorum); “Oyster Viceroy” and W. Rosch, Berne (Auctionata) |
| Bracelet | No original bracelet fitment established in the cited records |
Where it sits in the line
The 3358 is a manual-wind Oyster in the same small-case group as the 3359, separate from the automatic Bubblebacks. Antiquorum says the two references differ in their seconds display: subsidiary seconds on the 3358 and center seconds on the 3359. Its catalogue describes case 51,419 with a hand-wound Cal. 700; Auctionata also describes a manual movement and steel caseback. A table in The Vintage Rolex Field Manual lists a 3358/0 as Perpetual, but these lot-specific records identify the watches they describe as manual. The table does not resolve whether it refers to another configuration.
The dial wording varies in the records. One watch is catalogued as “Oyster Viceroy”; the Antiquorum watch reads “Oyster Chronomètre.” Those labels should stay attached to their examples unless another documented watch establishes a broader pattern.
Production and dating
Auctionata dates case 299,752 to circa 1940. Antiquorum dates case 51,419 to 1942. Reconstructed Rolex serial charts place 51,419 earlier in the sequence, between their 1935 and 1940 entries; those charts are estimates, and they do not settle the conflict. The two auction dates are useful descriptions of individual watches, not reliable endpoints for the reference.
The case numbers also caution against a neat year-by-year chronology. Check the number between the lugs against the dial, movement and any assay marks present. The catalogue dates alone cannot show when the case was made, assembled or sold.
Movement
Antiquorum identifies Cal. 700 in its 1942 case 51,419. Its catalogue records a 10½-ligne, rhodium-plated movement with 18 jewels, a straight-line lever escapement, Superbalance adjusted to six positions and a self-compensating Breguet balance spring. The dial, case and movement were signed. Antiquorum's note says Cal. 700 was created in 1938 and entered regular production in 1944–1951, which does not align with its 1942 date for this watch. Auctionata's separate manual-wind 3358 record gives no caliber number.
Dial map
The Antiquorum example has a matte pink dial with printed Roman numerals at the quarters, dot indexes, an outer minute track and subsidiary seconds. Blued-steel baton hands match that layout. Auctionata records an off-white dial signed W. Rosch, Berne, with Roman numerals and baton indexes, plus rose-gold feuille hands. Daisy Exclusive lists a 29 mm steel example with a champagne dial, Arabic numerals at 12, 2, 4, 8 and 10, and rose-gold baton hands. These records show three different dial layouts; they do not establish the full range.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
Antiquorum describes a polished, three-body, bi-colour case with a screwed-down steel back, gold crown and pink-gold engine-turned bezel with hour divisions. Its dial has sunken dot indexes; these are separate from the divisions on the bezel. Auctionata records a stainless-steel case and back with an 18-carat rose-gold bezel and crown. Daisy Exclusive also describes a steel case and rose-gold bezel. Auctionata gives its case as 28 mm across and 10 mm thick; Antiquorum gives 30 mm and 11 mm; Daisy lists 29 mm excluding the crown. Antiquorum calls its lot water-resistant; Daisy marks its watch as not water-resistant. Neither catalogue establishes current water resistance. Neither auction catalogue specifies the crystal material.
Bracelet, clasp, and packaging
The two catalogued watches were shown on leather straps, not a reference-specific bracelet. Auctionata gives a 16 mm lug width for its example. The Antiquorum lot included a gold-plated Rolex buckle. That buckle belongs to the lot; it does not establish a standard 3358 bracelet or clasp fitment.
Auction record
Antiquorum sold case 51,419 as lot 225 in its Geneva sale of 14 May 2006. The catalogue dated it to 1942 and recorded the pink-dial Chronomètre, Cal. 700 and 30 mm case described above. The sale result was CHF 15,340. Auctionata separately catalogued case 299,752 at circa 1940 with the W. Rosch, Berne signature and 28 mm case.
Sources
- Antiquorum, The Mondani Collection of Rolex Wristwatches, Geneva, 14 May 2006, lot 225; image credited to Antiquorum
- Auctionata / Auction.fr, lot 65, case 299752
- Daisy Exclusive, ref. 3358 listing; dealer description and images
- Collectors Square, ref. 3358 index; contains a conflicting Orchid entry, not used to identify the 1940s watches
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra; 3358/0 Perpetual table entry, treated here as unresolved against the lot-specific manual-wind records
- RolexHaven, serial-number chart photographs reproduced in the serial-number reference