Rolex 3009 Oyster Chronometre Scientific
Oyster -> 3009
The most distinctive 3009 dial is white vitreous enamel, with separate hour and minute tracks, an outer fifths-of-a-second scale and a red centre-seconds hand. Auction records also show champagne, silvered, 24-hour, California and silvered sector dials; one Observatory example has subsidiary seconds.
Most auction descriptions identify manual movements. Sotheby’s June 2026 lot is titled “Bubbleback Flatback”; Antiquorum has also used Bubbleback and Oyster Perpetual headings while describing manual winding in the lot text. Two Lacy Scott & Knight entries repeat the same “automatic” description. Their catalogues do not identify the movement caliber, and the repeated wording remains unresolved. Hodinkee describes its pictured 3009 as a manual-wind flatback.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 3009 |
| model designations | Oyster Chronometre "Scientific"; also catalogued as Oyster Royal, Observatory, and Oyster Chronometer |
| production | no documented range; Glasgow import mark for 1937 and a presentation inscription dated 1947 are the firm dated observations |
| case diameter | 30–33mm in catalogues, most often 31mm |
| observed dimensions | 10mm thick on several catalogue records; 17mm lug width and 27.3g on one LSK example |
| case shape | tonneau / barrel |
| case construction | catalogued as two- or three-body; screw-down back and crown |
| case materials | 9ct gold, 14K yellow gold, 14K pink gold, 18K yellow gold, 18K pink gold |
| crystal | material not established across the cited catalogues |
| movement | manual 10½-ligne movements documented; Aegler Hunter / Cal. 700 is a probable family attribution, not a visible caliber marking |
| jewels | 17 or 18 |
| adjustment | variously "timed to 6 positions", "adjusted to seven positions", "adjusted in eight ways" |
| seconds | centre seconds on most catalogued watches; subsidiary seconds on the Observatory example |
| signature dial | two-piece white vitreous enamel, three tracks, fifths-of-a-second outer scale |
Where it sits in the line
Antiquorum records several names on ref. 3116, including Royal, Viceroy and Imperial, as well as chronometer-labelled Imperial and Observatory variants.
Ref. 3009 follows the same pattern. Auction catalogues use Chronometre Scientific, Oyster Royal, Observatory, Oyster Chronometer and Speedking Precision. “Scientific” appears on the white enamel dial, but it does not identify a single case material, movement grade or seconds layout.
David Boettcher describes Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima as movement grades separate from calibers. The documented 3009 jewel counts and adjustment descriptions do not map cleanly onto that broader ladder, so the dial wording should not be used to infer a grade.
Production outline
Auction catalogues date individual 3009s from circa 1930 to circa 1944, but those estimates do not form a consistent case-number sequence. Bonhams records a Glasgow import mark for 1937 on case 37845. That dates its assay or import, not the watch’s manufacture. A separate 1947 presentation inscription documents the date of the presentation; Antiquorum’s circa-1959 estimate for that watch remains unresolved.
The observed case numbers include 12818, 37791, 37840, 37845, 39218, 39250, 39251, 46704, 56568 and 474700. The last belongs to the watch Antiquorum dated circa 1959 and titled Oyster Perpetual despite describing manual winding. Its outer caseback has a presentation inscription dated 1947, which also conflicts with the catalogue date. Neither date establishes the production run.
Lacy Scott & Knight sold consecutive cases 39251 and 39250 four weeks apart in 2025. Both are 9ct-gold watches with later monograms. The records suggest a relationship but do not prove shared delivery or continuous paired ownership.
Movement notes
The 3009 catalogues say 10½ lignes but do not show a Cal. 700 marking. Boettcher identifies the 10½-ligne Aegler Hunter family as Rolex Cal. 700, and Bonhams describes ref. 6210 as using a 10½-ligne Cal. 700 base modified into Cal. 720. Those sources make Cal. 700 plausible for ref. 3009, but neither is a direct caliber identification of a 3009 movement.
That base was not exclusive to Rolex. Aegler supplied it to Gruen as the calibres 825, 826 and 827, and Boettcher documents a Gruen 826 with indirect centre seconds. Aegler also supplied this movement family to Gruen as calibres 825, 826 and 827; Boettcher documents a Gruen 826 with indirect centre seconds.
Catalogues record both 17- and 18-jewel movements, with varying adjustment language. No source explains the split, and the records do not map cleanly onto Boettcher's general grade hierarchy. Bridge wording such as “Timed 6 Positions” documents one movement’s marking; it does not date the watch.
Indirect centre seconds
Boettcher describes this Aegler family's centre-seconds option as indirect: an extra wheel on an extended third-wheel arbor drives the centre pinion. This mechanism applies to the centre-seconds 3009 configurations; the subsidiary-seconds Observatory watch uses a different arrangement.
The indirect seconds pinion can flutter because it sits outside the main gear train. A friction spring damps that motion; Jack Forster notes that poor adjustment can add load and reduce balance amplitude.
Dial map
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The Scientific dial at close range, from the 9K gold example sold at Antiquorum Hong Kong, 2019, case 39218: hours on the inner ring, minutes outside them, an outer scale to fifths of a second, and the red centre seconds hand. Hairlines run through the enamel and the word SCIENTIFIC has begun to lose paint. -
The plain silvered configuration in 18K yellow gold, applied gold Arabic numerals and a blued centre seconds hand, catalogued simply as an Oyster Chronomètre. -
A 24-hour dial on the same case reference: luminous Arabic hours with the 13 to 24 numerals printed in red inside them, case 46704. -
The champagne dial signed ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over OBSERVATORY, case 37840, here with subsidiary seconds at 6 rather than the centre seconds of the Scientific. -
The California dial, case 12818: painted luminous Arabic and Roman numerals with baton indexes. One documented lot, not a production configuration on this evidence.
Seven dial configurations appear in the auction and photographed record reviewed here.
The white enamel Scientific dial is the most recognizable configuration. Antiquorum’s 2019 Hong Kong catalogue describes inner Arabic numerals, separate hour and minute tracks, and an outer scale marked in fifths of a second. Several catalogues call the dial two-piece. The available descriptions do not establish how its inner disc is mounted.
Other catalogued examples include champagne Oyster Royal/Observatory, restored two-tone silvered centre-seconds, 24-hour, copper-coloured California, silvered baton and silvered sector dials. The California layout is supported by one lot; the records do not establish a factory dial list.
How the enamel dial is made
The dials are vitreous enamel, easily mistaken for porcelain at a glance. Boettcher describes powdered glass fired onto a copper base, with numerals and tracks added in vitreous painting enamel. The fired substrate resists fading, while impacts, flexing and later painted text can still leave visible damage.
Hairline cracks do not prove originality. Boettcher identifies flexing during removal or tightening as common causes, although the photographs cannot establish when each crack occurred. Christie's records five separate cracks on its pink-gold example.
Boettcher separates fired numerals and tracks from names painted onto the finished enamel surface. He treats unnaturally fresh painted wording as a flag for closer inspection; it doesn't by itself confirm the work happened later. Christie's records paint loss on “chronometre” and “scientific,” and Lacy Scott & Knight records red loss from a seconds hand.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
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Inner caseback of a 14K example: the 31 Victoires legend, the R.W.C. LTD sponsor's mark in its oval, the 0.585-14K fineness mark, and the reference number stamped down the left edge. -
The same case in 18K, marked 0.750-18K under the coronet with the reference number below. -
The 18K pink gold example, catalogued at 33mm and the only one in the record above 31mm.
The catalogued tonneau cases have screw-down backs and crowns. Auction descriptions vary between two- and three-body construction. No steel example appears in the sourced record; documented materials include 9ct, 14K and 18K yellow or pink gold.
Catalogued diameters range from 30 to 33mm and most are 31mm. The records do not establish whether the spread comes from measurement method or a larger case variant.
Bracelets, end links, and clasps
No original-delivery bracelet is established. The Antiquorum Hong Kong example had a GEMEX integrated bracelet; another wore a 9ct Rolex expandable bracelet stamped 4.67, a clasp code that dates only the bracelet. Other examples appear on leather straps.
Dreweatts records the 18ct gold indirect-centre-seconds watch, case 37791, with a Manchester retailer’s presentation box.
Retailer and provenance branches
One pink-gold example sold by Antiquorum in 2006 has a caseback engraving reading “Officers of the 107th Cavalry to Col. Woods King, Nov. 29, 1943.” The engraving documents a presentation; it does not establish military issue.
Retailer signatures appear on the wider Scientific family more than on the 3009 itself. The Asprey-retailed Imperial Chronometre Scientific carries reference 3116, a separate case reference from the 3009. Among documented 3009s the Manchester box is the only retailer artefact to have surfaced, alongside an unnamed English retailer's dial signature on the sibling 2942.
Auction record
Fifteen sourced auction appearances across seven houses.
| Sale | Date | Configuration | Case | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sotheby's, Hong Kong HK0206 | 27 Apr 2004 | pink gold, centre seconds | — | not sold |
| Antiquorum, New York 151 | 7 Dec 2006 | pink gold, brown dial, 17j; Woods King presentation | — | USD 3,776 |
| Bonhams, New York 15422 | 6 Dec 2007 | 9ct, restored two-tone silvered, 18j, 30mm | — | USD 1,080 |
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong 252 | 25 Jun 2011 | 9ct, champagne, Oyster Royal / Observatory, 17j | 37840 | HKD 35,000 |
| Antiquorum, New York 271 | 10 Apr 2013 | 14K yellow gold, California dial, 17j | 12818 | USD 2,500 |
| Dreweatts, Donnington Priory | 26 Mar 2015 | 18ct, enamel, indirect centre seconds, retailer box | 37791 | est. GBP 4,000–6,000 |
| Heritage, sale 5309 | 24 Oct 2017 | 14K pink gold, silvered baton, 17j, Speedking Precision heading | 56568 | result not published |
| Christie's, Swiss Icons | 8 May 2018 | 18K pink gold, white enamel, 33mm | — | est. USD 4,000–6,000 |
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong | 28 Apr 2019 | 9K, white enamel Scientific, 31mm | 39218 | HKD 42,500 |
| Bonhams, London 25397 | 19 Sep 2019 | 9K, enamel, Glasgow import mark 1937 | 37845 | withdrawn |
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong 351 | 29 May 2022 | 18K yellow gold, silvered, centre seconds, catalogued Oyster Perpetual | 474700 | est. HKD 30,000–40,000 |
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong 361 | 13 Jun 2023 | 14K yellow gold, 24-hour dial, centre seconds, catalogued Bubbleback | 46704 | est. HKD 35,000–50,000 |
| Lacy Scott & Knight | 20 May 2025 | 9ct, white enamel Scientific, 31mm | 39251 | GBP 5,200 |
| Lacy Scott & Knight | 14 Jun 2025 | 9ct, white enamel Scientific | 39250 | GBP 4,000 |
| Sotheby’s, Fine Watches | 17 Jun 2026 | 18K pink gold, silvered sector, 18 jewels, titled “Bubbleback Flatback” | 278072 | result not published
Lacy Scott & Knight sold the consecutive-numbered 9ct enamel examples, cases 39251 and 39250, for GBP 5,200 and GBP 4,000. The auction sample mixes metals and dial condition, so it does not isolate an enamel-dial premium. Two Lacy Scott & Knight entries describe an “automatic 18-jewel movement,” using the same catalogue paragraph. Indirect centre seconds does not contradict automatic winding, so that line cannot be dismissed on mechanical grounds alone. The wider auction record describes manual movements, including Antiquorum's lots titled Bubbleback and Oyster Perpetual. Without a clear movement identification for the LSK watches, the repeated automatic wording remains an open catalogue discrepancy — neither a confirmed variant nor a disproved claim. Related references
Image gallery
Sources
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