Rolex Oyster Perpetual 5002

Rose-gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual reference 5002 with silver dial and subsidiary seconds — Schmitt Horan & Co., 10 August 2024, lot 250. The auction describes the dial as restored and the crown as replaced.

Rolex ref. 5002 is a small, automatic Oyster Perpetual with subsidiary seconds. Christie's dates case 614945 to about 1945; later catalogues describe steel and gold examples through about 1952. Antiquorum calls “Bubble Back” a qualified collector label. The records document several dial layouts and date individual watches; the factory variant range and production span remain unsettled.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	5002; the Vintage Rolex Field Manual also lists suffixes 5002/7 and 5002/8
model	Oyster Perpetual; “Super Precision” appears in catalogues
family	Oyster Perpetual; grouped with Bubblebacks by collectors
dated examples	Auction catalogues date individual watches from about 1945 to about 1952; production endpoints are not established
movement	Automatic; exact caliber unresolved. James Dowling assigns Cal. 420, but its centre-seconds description conflicts with the subsidiary-seconds layouts catalogued for 5002
cases	Stainless steel, steel and pink gold, yellow gold, and pink or rose gold appear in individual records; 23–26 mm in cited measurements
dial	Silver or silvered dials with subsidiary seconds; numeral and marker layouts vary by example
bracelet	One Antiquorum lot lists Oyster ref. 7834/11 with end-links 266; other records show gold bracelets or associated replacements

Where it sits in the line

The catalogues identify the 5002 as a ladies' Oyster Perpetual. Antiquorum's 2020 entry uses “Oyster Perpetual, Super Precision; so-called, Bubble Back,” which keeps the collector nickname separate from Rolex's model name. Colin A. White's The Vintage Rolex Field Manual (2020) groups the 5002 with Bubbleback references and lists two suffix configurations. Treat the suffix descriptions as collector-book entries.

Production outline

Christie's dates case 614945 to circa 1945. Antiquorum dates a stainless-steel example, case 689220, to circa 1948. Christie's lists a pink-gold watch as circa 1949; Cambi dates case 848921 to about 1950; Bonhams dates case 848950 to about 1952. These catalogue estimates date individual watches. They leave the reference's first and last production years unsettled.

Movement notes

The catalogues describe automatic movements and subsidiary seconds on the dial. Christie's notes a nickel movement with a monometallic balance in case 614945. Antiquorum records an 8-ligne movement size for case 689220; Schmitt Horan reports 18 jewels and adjustment in six positions on its 2024 example. James Dowling assigns Cal. 420 to a 5002 listing. Rolex's spare-parts catalogue identifies Cal. 420 as automatic centre-seconds and prints “7¾” and Ø 19.4 mm in separate fields. That seconds configuration conflicts with the subsidiary-seconds descriptions on the 5002 lots. The caliber assignment remains uncertain, and the available auction photographs leave the movement stamps unreadable.

Schmitt Horan & Co., 2024, lot 250: movement shown outside the case. The auction describes an 18-jewel automatic movement; no caliber number is legible.

Dial map

The surviving descriptions show more than one layout. Christie's circa-1945 example has raised Arabic numerals alternating with batons, subsidiary seconds, and gold hands. Antiquorum's circa-1948 steel watch has Arabic numerals with radial indexes and seconds at six. Its 2000 catalogue transcription describes applied gold indexes and Arabic numerals on a silver dial. Bonhams records gilt pyramid markers, luminous five-minute dots, an outer minute track, and subsidiary seconds on case 848950.

Christie's 2018 condition report says the dial on its circa-1949 pink-gold watch had been cleaned and reprinted and its hands relumed. Schmitt Horan & Co. also describes its 2024 lot's dial as restored. Those watches document later service work. The other catalogue descriptions record additional layouts; they do not establish factory variants. The Field Manual lists subsidiary seconds for suffixes 5002/7 and 5002/8 but gives no dial printing or marker detail.

Schmitt Horan & Co., 2024, lot 250: silver dial with pointed baton markers and subsidiary seconds; the auction describes it as restored.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

Christie's describes case 614945 as a 23 mm tonneau case in stainless steel and pink gold, with a polished bezel, screw-down winding button, and screw-down back. Antiquorum's 24 mm steel example also has a tonneau case and screwed back. Later records give 24 mm for pink- and rose-gold examples and 26 mm for yellow-gold examples. The cited measurements range from 23 to 26 mm; the sample contains several case sizes. Schmitt Horan & Co. notes scratches to its 2024 case, a scratched acrylic crystal, and a replaced crown.

Schmitt Horan & Co., 2024, lot 250: plain exterior caseback. Its catalogue notes deep opening marks.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Antiquorum lists a stainless-steel Oyster bracelet, ref. 7834/11, with end-links 266 on case 689220. The entry records this bracelet combination on one 5002; original delivery remains unverified. Christie's 2018 report describes a pink-gold bracelet with end-links stamped 66 and a bracelet stamp read as 4,50, which it dates to the fourth quarter of 1950. That code dates the bracelet, not the circa-1949 watch head. Antiquorum's 2000 transcription records an 18K yellow-gold Oyster bracelet; Bonhams calls the gold-plated bracelet and clasp on case 848950 associated. The reviewed catalogues list no box or papers.

Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 23 July 2020, lot 318: the catalogued Oyster bracelet and end-link 266 on case 689220.

Special branches

The Vintage Rolex Field Manual lists these suffix descriptions:

suffix	Field Manual description	limit
5002/7	Smooth/polished bezel, yellow gold, subsidiary seconds	The printed row appears twice with the same description
5002/8	Engine-turned bezel, rose gold, subsidiary seconds	Collector-book entry; no factory document located

The auction examples document yellow- and rose-gold 5002 watches, while the suffix-to-material descriptions remain attributed to the book.

Auction record

record	catalogue description	result
Christie's, lot 56, 2005	Case 614945; circa 1945; steel and pink gold; 23 mm; raised Arabic and alternating baton dial	Not stated here
Antiquorum, Geneva, lot 90, 15 October 2000	18K yellow gold; described as 1950s; 24 mm; 18K Oyster bracelet; archived transcription	CHF 6,325
Cambi, lot 243, 2017	Case 848921; circa 1950; yellow gold; 26 × 12 mm	Estimate €1,800–2,200
Christie's Watches Online, lot 157, 20 September 2018	Circa 1949; pink gold; 24 mm; condition report notes reprinted dial and relumed hands	USD 2,750
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, lot 318, 23 July 2020	Case 689220; circa 1948; steel; Oyster ref. 7834/11, end-links 266; 24 mm	Estimate HKD 10,000–20,000
Schmitt Horan & Co., lot 250, 10 August 2024	Rose gold; 24 mm; restored dial; replaced crown; movement serial reported as 00678	Result not shown
Bonhams, lot 44, 5 November 2025	Case 848950; circa 1952; 18K gold; 26 mm; associated gold-plated bracelet and clasp	GBP 1,536 including premium

Related references

See the Bubbleback family index, movement reference, and serial-number guide. The dated 5002 case numbers are auction estimates for individual watches; the serial-number guide treats them as examples, not a serial-year chart.

Gallery

Schmitt Horan & Co., 10 August 2024, lot 250: rose-gold case and restored silver dial
Schmitt Horan & Co., 2024, lot 250: restored dial, pointed batons, and subsidiary seconds
Schmitt Horan & Co., 2024, lot 250: exterior caseback
Schmitt Horan & Co., 2024, lot 250: automatic movement shown outside the case
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 23 July 2020, lot 318: Oyster bracelet, ref. 7834/11, with end-link 266

Sources