Rolex 3548 Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback "Empire"

Rolex 3548 Bubbleback, Empire case, salmon dial — Rolex 3548 Bubbleback, "Empire" case style, salmon dial, centre seconds

The 3548 is documented alongside the sub-seconds 3716 in the case style collectors call the “Empire” Oyster. The cited examples are round, about 32 mm, with elongated sloped lugs rather than the hooded-lug profile common on many Bubblebacks. Specialist case-history research describes the group as automatic and chronometer-marked; the auction records here establish those details only for the individual lots.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	3548
family	Oyster Perpetual (Bubbleback)
common name	"Bubbleback"; collector name "Empire" for this case style (shared with the sub-seconds 3716)
production	documented examples span circa 1941 to circa 1943
case	32mm, round, elongated rectangular sloped lugs ("Empire" style), stainless steel, brushed and polished, screw-down back and crown
movement	self-winding; chronometer wording documented on cited lots
dial (documented)	salmon/orange, black Arabic numerals, black outer 1/5th-second divisions with Arabic 5-minute markers, blued steel pointed baton hands, gilt centre seconds
documented examples	Antiquorum (steel, sold CHF 9,375, lot 477); Bonhams Paris, 24 May 2022, sale 27810, lot 268, movement no. 93792

Where it sits in the line

"Empire" is a collector name, not a Rolex one, for a specific case profile: round rather than tonneau, but with distinctively elongated, sloped, rectangular lugs in place of the hooded-lug style common across the rest of the Bubbleback range. The 3548 is documented as the centre-seconds reference in this case style, paired with the sub-seconds 3716; a rose-gold variant of the case appears on related ref. 3877. The cited records describe these examples as round, about 32mm, and automatic. The “bubble” in Bubbleback refers to the domed caseback used for the rotor.

Production outline

A steel example sold at Antiquorum for CHF 9,375 (lot 477); a second steel example, movement no. 93792, dated circa 1943 by Bonhams, sold at the house's Paris sale on 24 May 2022 (sale 27810, lot 268) for €3,570. A rose-gold example of the sibling case style, ref. 3877, is documented separately in the auction record. Its sale does not establish a price rule for steel 3548 watches.

Movement notes

The cited auction records describe automatic movements, and Bonhams records movement number 93792. The chronometer wording belongs to the individual dial or catalogue description; no caliber number is published for the lot.

Dial map

The Bonhams-documented example carries a salmon or orange-toned dial with black Arabic numerals, a black outer fifth-second track with Arabic five-minute markers, blued pointed baton hands, and gilt centre seconds. Those details describe that lot; they do not establish a complete 3548 dial inventory.

Rolex 3548, Antiquorum lot 477, sold CHF 9,375 — a second documented steel example
Dial detail: coronet signature, "Rolex Oyster Perpetual" and "Chronometre" text, Arabic numerals

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

32mm round stainless steel case, brushed and polished finish, screw-down case back and crown, and the elongated rectangular sloped lugs that define the "Empire" style. The cited 3548 examples share the round case and elongated sloped-lug profile. Other Oyster references from the period should be compared from their own case records rather than assumed to share this silhouette.

Rolex 3548 case flank and screw-down crown — Case flank and screw-down crown, Bonhams sale 27810, lot 268 example

Related references

Bubbleback 3353: same broader generation, tonneau case.
Bubbleback 3131: earliest automatic reference, same family.
Bubbleback 3133: same era, pink gold and steel.

Auction record

Sale	Lot	Case/movement no.	Configuration	Estimate	Result
Antiquorum	477	—	Steel, "Empire" case	—	CHF 9,375
Bonhams, Paris, 24 May 2022	268	movement 93792	Steel, salmon dial, centre seconds, date, folding clasp	—	€3,570

Rolex 3548 Bubbleback, "Empire" case, salmon dial, centre seconds
Antiquorum lot 477, sold CHF 9,375
Dial detail: coronet, signature, Chronometre text
Case flank and screw-down crown, Bonhams lot 268 example

Sources