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Rolex Prince Imperial 1645

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Prince → 1645

Rolesium steel Prince Imperial 1645 with silvered Arabic dial, separate seconds and hinged bow
Sotheby's Rolesium steel Prince Imperial, circa 1945. Photo: Sotheby's, lot 331.

Reference 1645 is a hand-wound Prince Imperial pocket watch. Its irregular hexagonal case holds a large hours-and-minutes dial above a separate seconds dial. Auction catalogues describe steel, steel-and-gold, and solid-gold cases from around 1930 through the 1940s. The case has a snap-on back and a hinged bow.[1][2]

Core facts

Detail Documented description
Family Prince; Prince Imperial pocket watch
Dating Individual watches dated around 1930–1945; Antiquorum gives a broader early-1940s–1950s span for the 1645; factory endpoints unconfirmed
Winding and display Manual winding; hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds
Movement Shaped movement, usually described as 17-jewel Ultra Prima or Observatory; catalogue measurements differ
Case Irregular hexagonal form; snap-on back; commonly catalogued around 41 × 37 mm
Metals Rolesium steel, steel/pink gold, 9K yellow gold, 14K pink gold and 18K yellow gold

Where it sits in the line

Sotheby’s 2023 catalogue pairs case 1,003,765 with movement 1,000,823 and describes the silvered dial as Class A Observatory. Both numbers are legible in the lot photographs.[2]

Production outline

Christie’s dates its J. Stern-signed steel watch to around 1930; Antiquorum dates the steel-and-pink-gold case 1,006,982 to around 1935–1940; Sotheby’s dates case 1,003,765 to around 1945.[1][3][2]

Antiquorum’s 2013 catalogue gives the model a broader early-1940s–1950s span but dates case 4,810 to around 1940. That case date falls before the span printed in the same catalogue; the other sales do not resolve the discrepancy.[4]

Movement notes

Auction catalogues describe the movements as Ultra Prima or Observatory. Most list 17 jewels, while movement measurements and adjustment wording vary:

Example Catalogue movement description
Case 1,003,800; Antiquorum 2006 14½-ligne Ultra Prima; 17 jewels; timed in six positions
Case 1,006,982; Antiquorum 2022 16½-ligne Ultra Prima; 17 jewels; timed in six positions
Case 1,008,594; Antiquorum 2019 17-ligne; “officially tested in eight ways”
Case 1,003,914; Antiquorum 2012 14½-ligne Observatory; 17 jewels; eight-position timing in the catalogue

The 14½-, 16½- and 17-ligne measurements belong to separate watches. The catalogues do not connect them to a caliber change. Some describe six-position adjustment; Antiquorum describes another movement as “officially tested in eight ways.” Sotheby’s movement photograph shows number 1,000,823 and the inscriptions “ROLEX OBSERVATORY,” “OFFICIALLY TESTED IN EIGHT WAYS,” and “17 RUBIES.” The catalogue describes it as a Class A Observatory movement.[5][3]Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title[6]

 
Sotheby's movement 1,000,823; the plate reads ROLEX OBSERVATORY, OFFICIALLY TESTED IN EIGHT WAYS and 17 RUBIES. Photo: Sotheby's, lot 331.


Dial map

Dial description Identified example
Silvered, quartered time and seconds registers, J. Stern Johannesburg signature Christie’s steel 1645, dated around 1930
Two-tone silver, black Arabic numerals, blued lozenge hands Antiquorum 2006, case 1,003,800
Silver two-tone Antiquorum 2022, steel/pink-gold case 1,006,982
Three-tone silver, baton markers and Arabic quarter hours, blued hands Antiquorum 2012, 18K case 1,003,914
Black, white baton markers and white hands Antiquorum 2013, 18K case 4,810
Pink, applied Roman numerals and baton markers, gold hands Antiquorum 1995, 14K pink-gold case 1,009,851

[1][5][3][6][4][7]

Vintage Watch Co. lists a 9K yellow-gold 1645 with a black dial, gilt Arabic numerals and a mineral crystal, and dates it to the 1930s. The listing gives no provenance for the dial or crystal.[8]

  •  
    Rolesium steel case 1,003,765; silvered dial with Arabic numerals. Sotheby's, 2023, lot 331.
  •  
    18K yellow-gold case 4,810; black dial with white baton markers and hands. Antiquorum, 2013, lot 105.


Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The shaped cases have snap-on backs. Antiquorum’s 2015 9K yellow-gold example measures 37.3 × 41 mm and 6.6 mm thick; its 2019 Rolesium example is listed at 43.8 × 37.3 mm. The catalogues omit measuring points, making direct comparison uncertain.[9]Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title

Material Supporting example
Rolesium steel Sotheby’s 2023, case 1,003,765; Antiquorum 2006, case 1,003,800
Steel and pink gold Antiquorum 2022, case 1,006,982; gold described as probably 9K
9K yellow gold Antiquorum 2015, lot 96
14K pink gold Antiquorum 1995, case 1,009,851
18K yellow gold Antiquorum 2012, case 1,003,914; Antiquorum 2013, case 4,810

Antiquorum’s 2015 catalogue prints case number 10077599 for its 9K example. It is an eight-digit outlier beside the other auction-listed 1645 case numbers, and remains a catalogue transcription because the case stamp cannot be read in the published photograph.[9]

Sotheby’s calls its steel watch Rolesium; its caseback is stamped “Rolesium Registered Inalterable.” Neither the catalogue nor the stamp identifies an alloy composition. Antiquorum describes the gold on its steel-and-pink-gold example as probably 9K.[2][5][3][9][7][6][4]

 
Sotheby's caseback shows the Rolesium inscription, case number 1,003,765 and reference 1645. Photo: Sotheby's, lot 331.

Chains and packaging

The Christie’s J. Stern example has a hinged suspension bow. Antiquorum’s 1995 sale records a white-and-pink-gold chain with the 14K pink-gold watch.[1][7]

Antiquorum described the fitted box accompanying case 1,003,914 in 2012 as original. Sotheby’s 2023 steel example was catalogued without a box, papers or accessories.[6][2]

Retailer signatures and names

Christie’s identifies J. Stern, Johannesburg on the dial of its circa-1930 steel 1645.[1]

Antiquorum called its 1995 pink-gold example “Prince Royal” while listing reference 1645. Its 2012 boxed-gold catalogue gives 1545 in the heading and 1645 in the description; the case number is 1,003,914.[7][6]

Auction record

The results below are the auction houses’ displayed sold totals. Their catalogues do not state consistently whether fees are included.

Sale Lot Watch Displayed result
Antiquorum, Geneva, 22 April 1995 315 14K pink gold, case 1,009,851 CHF 7,475
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 23 April 2006 16 Rolesium steel, case 1,003,800 HKD 25,960
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 19 October 2012 70 18K yellow gold, case 1,003,914, fitted box HKD 42,500
Antiquorum, Geneva, 10 November 2013 105 18K yellow gold, black dial, case 4,810 CHF 13,750
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 27 June 2015 96 9K yellow gold HKD 25,000
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 28 April 2019 31 Rolesium, case 1,008,594 HKD 18,750
Antiquorum, Geneva, 8 December 2022 321 Steel/pink gold, case 1,006,982 Estimate CHF 4,000–8,000; result not displayed
Sotheby’s, Geneva, 7 November 2023 331 Rolesium steel, case 1,003,765 Estimate CHF 3,000–5,000; public result unavailable

[7][5][6][4][9]Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title[3][2]

  •  
    Silvered dial and hinged bow, case 1,003,765. Sotheby's, lot 331.
  •  
    Movement 1,000,823 with Observatory inscriptions. Sotheby's, lot 331.
  •  
    Rolex Prince Imperial and Rolesium caseback markings. Sotheby's, lot 331.
  •  
    Black dial, white markers and 18K yellow-gold case. Antiquorum, lot 105.

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Christie’s, reference 1645, J. Stern Johannesburg.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Sotheby’s, Geneva, 7 November 2023, lot 331.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Antiquorum, Geneva, 8 December 2022, lot 321.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Antiquorum, Geneva, 10 November 2013, lot 105.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 23 April 2006, lot 16.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 19 October 2012, lot 70.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Antiquorum, Geneva, 22 April 1995, lot 315.
  8. ↑ Vintage Watch Co., stock 144643.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 27 June 2015, lot 96.


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