Rolex Oyster Royal 1873

Oyster → 1873

Reference 1873 is a hand-wound Oyster Royal. Auction catalogues also call it Oyster Royal Chronometre or Oyster Royal Extra Precision. Eight catalogue entries describe manual-wind watches, mostly dated to the 1930s or around 1940. The Cambi auction catalogue's 2022 entry gives one steel example a date of circa 1954 and describes central seconds; that entry differs from the other records and is treated separately below.

Hodinkee distinguishes the early automatic “Bubbleback” from Rolex's parallel manual-wind “flatback” line. The family guide lists 1873 with the manual-wind Oyster references, in keeping with the auction descriptions.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	`1873`
model names in catalogues	Oyster Royal; Oyster Royal Chronometre; Oyster Royal Extra Precision
movement	hand-wound; catalogues report 15–18 jewels and Prima grades, identified by grade and jewel count
case material	stainless steel in seven entries; one 9K-gold example
case size	31–32mm in the catalogued examples with measurements
case form	Tonneau in Bonhams' 2021 and 2023 descriptions; other catalogues call it an Oyster case
caseback and crown	screw-down on several documented examples; Antiquorum's 2021 title calls its watch a flat back
seconds	subsidiary seconds at 6 in most descriptions; The Cambi catalogue records central seconds on its circa-1954 entry
documented case numbers	30,967; 37,029; 48,xxx; 48,634; 81,343; 100,459; 100,498; one Watches of Knightsbridge entry gives no number

Place in the line

Rolex sold hand-wound Oysters alongside the automatic Oyster Perpetual line. Hodinkee describes these as parallel “flatback” watches and uses Bubbleback for a loose group of early automatic references. The 1873 auction descriptions identify manual movements, placing it in the hand-wound Oyster branch.

Auctioneers use Oyster Royal, Oyster Royal Chronometre and Oyster Royal Extra Precision for the model. The movement descriptions use grades and jewel counts rather than a caliber designation.

Production outline

Auctioneers date most 1873 examples from circa 1930 through circa 1940. Sotheby's dates case 30,967 to circa 1930; Antiquorum dates cases 48,634 and 100,498 to the 1930s; Bonhams dates case 81,343 to circa 1939; and Christie's dates case 100,459 to circa 1940. Watches of Knightsbridge also catalogued a 1930s example. Together, the lot estimates cluster around 1930–1940.

Bonhams records a London import mark dated 1937 on the 9K-gold case 37,029. The mark records assay/import in 1937; the case and movement may have been made earlier. Read the hallmark date separately from the case number and movement.

The Cambi auction catalogue's 2022 entry lists a steel Oyster Precision Royal, case 48,xxx, as circa 1954. It describes a 17-jewel manual movement and central seconds. This entry gives a later date and a different seconds layout from the other records, which cluster around 1930–1940 and mostly describe subsidiary seconds. Treat the Cambi date and configuration as claims for that lot.

The case numbers published across these lots are 30,967, 37,029, 48,xxx, 48,634, 81,343, 100,459 and 100,498. These numbers offer individual comparison points; Rolex production limits and a serial-to-year mapping remain unestablished.

Movement notes

All eight catalogue entries describe hand-wound movements. The records give different grades and jewel counts: Sotheby's, Antiquorum's Hong Kong lot and Watches of Knightsbridge list 17-jewel Extra Prima movements; Christie's lists a 15-jewel Extra Prima; Antiquorum's Geneva lot calls its 18-jewel movement an Ultra Prima chronometer; The Cambi catalogue gives 17 jewels without a grade; and Bonhams records an 18-jewel manual movement numbered 11,250 on the gold watch. The 2023 Bonhams entry describes a jewelled manual movement without a jewel count.

Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima are movement grades, not caliber designations. David Boettcher's review of the surviving examples says Extra Prima commonly appears with 18 jewels while Prima commonly appears with 15; the 17-jewel catalogue descriptions and Christie's 15-jewel Extra Prima entry show why each grade and jewel count should stay tied to its own lot. Boettcher dates the first located Ultra Prima registration to 9 December 1930 and says surviving evidence leaves the distinction between Extra Prima and Ultra Prima unclear.

Dial map

The records show several dial layouts. Sotheby's describes a black lacquer dial with luminous indexes and hands, signed for Beyer. Christie's records a black dial with raised baton markers, luminous hands and subsidiary seconds. Watches of Knightsbridge describes a sector dial. Bonhams' 2021 gold watch has a silvered dial with an applied gilt minute track and luminous Arabic numerals; its 2023 steel example has alternating baton and Arabic markers. Antiquorum's Hong Kong example has a patinated dial with original hands, while its Geneva example has a salmon dial with black round indexes. The Cambi catalogue's circa-1954 entry describes a silvered sector dial and central seconds.

Antiquorum's Geneva title and note use “Scientifical” for the salmon dial's black round indexes. The photographed dial reads ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over CHRONOMETRE; “Scientifical” is Antiquorum's catalogue term, not visible dial wording. Antiquorum also calls the dial original, which remains its assessment of that individual watch.

The two Antiquorum images below show the salmon dial and the two-tone silvered dial on case 48,634. The latter's catalogue description calls the dial patinated and the hands original; the layout details are visible in the photograph.

Case 100,498: salmon dial with black round indexes; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
Case 48,634: two-tone silvered dial with Arabic 12, 3 and 9; Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021

Case, bezel, crystal and crown

Catalogue measurements range from 31 to 32mm. Bonhams describes tonneau-form cases for its two examples; Sotheby's, Christie's and other catalogues describe Oyster cases. Antiquorum's Hong Kong entry and several other descriptions specify screw-down casebacks, while its title identifies case 48,634 as a flat back. The Geneva photographs show the crown and case flank; its catalogue does not specify the crown's construction. Check case and crown details on each watch.

Case 100,498, three-quarter view. Antiquorum, Geneva 2024.

Crystal and bezel descriptions vary in detail across the catalogues; this set records no distinct bezel variant.

Bracelet and strap

The Sotheby's 2020 watch has a Gay Frères bamboo bracelet with a steel case; the catalogue title and Chinese description identify a two-tone bracelet. Antiquorum's 2021 lot came on a Rolex steel rivet bracelet measuring about 170mm. Its 2024 lot came on a steel bracelet it called “Private Eyes,” about 175mm long. Bonhams lists associated leather straps and gilt buckles on both of its watches. These catalogue descriptions document the accessories supplied with each lot. Original bracelet fitment remains specific to the individual watch.

Auction record

Auction entry	Case number	Catalogue details	Published result
Watches of Knightsbridge, 24 June 2017, lot 339	not stated	1930s; stainless steel Oyster; sector dial; 17-jewel manual Extra Prima, timed to six positions	2,600 in the result sheet; currency not stated
Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 11 July 2020, lot 2174	30,967	circa 1930; steel case; 17-jewel Extra Prima; Beyer-signed black dial; Gay Frères bamboo bracelet	Estimate HKD 20,000–28,000; result not shown on the public lot page
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 25 April 2021, lot 233	48,634	circa 1930s; 31.5mm steel case; 17-jewel Extra Prima; flat-back title; Rolex rivet bracelet	Estimate HKD 40,000–60,000; result not shown on the lot page
Bonhams, London, 7 September 2021, lot 51	37,029	9K gold; London import mark for 1937; 18-jewel manual movement No. 11,250	GBP 2,167.50 including premium
Cambi auction catalogue, Milan, 30 November 2022, lot 129	48,xxx	circa 1954; steel; silvered sector dial; central seconds; 17 jewels, manual wind	Estimate EUR 1,300–2,200; catalogued as sold
Bonhams, London, 22 November 2023, lot 54	81,343	circa 1939; 32mm steel case; silvered dial; jewelled manual movement	GBP 1,280 including premium
Antiquorum, Geneva, 9 November 2024, lot 282	100,498	circa 1930s; 31mm steel case; salmon “Scientifical” dial; 18-jewel Ultra Prima chronometer	CHF 10,625 (estimate CHF 8,000–12,000)
Christie's, archived lot 782241	100,459	circa 1940; 31mm steel case; black dial; 15-jewel Extra Prima; subsidiary seconds	Sale date and result are absent from the archived listing

Related references

Oyster Perpetual 1858 , an automatic Oyster Perpetual
Oyster Royal 2574 , a manual-wind Oyster Royal
Oyster Chronometer 2765 , a manual-wind Oyster
Bubbleback family guide , which separates automatic Bubblebacks from manual-wind Oyster references

See also Movement reference and Serial numbers.

Case 100,498, salmon dial; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
Salmon dial detail; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024
Two-tone silvered dial; Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021
Tonneau case and screw-down crown; Antiquorum, Geneva 2024