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 one of two standard references — alongside the sub-seconds 3716 — built in the case style collectors call the "Empire" Oyster: classically round, 32mm, but with elongated, rectangular, sloped lugs distinct from the hooded-lug treatment most Bubblebacks of the period carry. Specialist research on Rolex's early Oyster case history documents the type as chronometer-certified and automatic throughout, placing it firmly inside the Bubbleback family despite the case's unusual silhouette.

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-certified
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 standard reference in this case style, paired with the sub-seconds 3716; a rose gold variant of the same case appears on the related 3877. All are documented as 32mm, round, and automatic — the "bubble" in Bubbleback refers to the domed caseback the automatic rotor required, present regardless of the lug treatment.

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) sold at Antiquorum for over 50,000 CHF against a 6,000–10,000 CHF estimate — more than five times its high estimate — underscoring how sharply the market has moved on well-documented "Empire" case examples in recent years.

Movement notes

Self-winding, chronometer-certified. The Bonhams-catalogued example specifies a jewelled automatic movement, numbered 93792.

Dial map

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

The Bonhams-documented example carries a salmon (orange-toned) dial: black Arabic numerals for the hour markers, a black outer track dividing fifths of a second with Arabic 5-minute markers, blued steel pointed baton hands, and gilt centre seconds — a notably colorful dial treatment next to the silver and black dials more common across the wider Bubbleback range.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Case flank and screw-down crown, Bonhams sale 27810, lot 268 example

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. Rolex's earlier manually-wound Oyster cases of this general period showed considerable variability in shape; the automatic "Empire" Bubblebacks were built to this one consistent silhouette.

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

Gallery

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