Rolex Prince 2356

Prince → 2356

Reference 2356 is a rectangular, manually wound Rolex Prince with small seconds at six. Auction and dealer records identify several 9ct-gold examples. The cited dates belong to individual watches or import marks; ref. 2356's production span remains unknown.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	2356
family	Prince; rectangular, manual wind
documented cases	474**; 15182; 197C5; 33298; 33313; 26351
serial number	Gardiner Houlgate transcribes 4830x
case material in records	9ct / 9K gold
case form	Rectangular; fixed or downturned lugs appear in the records
movement	Several listings describe 15-jewel manual movements; caliber attribution remains unresolved
dial	Silvered Arabic and mixed baton/Arabic layouts; one numbered case has a gold-coloured Bucherer-signed dial

The case numbers above come from catalogues and dealer listings. Some can be read in the photographs; others are transcribed from listing text. Awad Watches also lists a black Bucherer-signed 2356. With no case or serial number published, its identity remains unverified.

Where it sits in the line

The auction houses identify the watches as Rolex Prince, ref. 2356. Case 33313's dial reads “Rolex Prince Elegant” and “Bucherer’s.” Mister Wolf Time calls it “Brancard” in its listing title; the auction catalogues call their 2356s simply “Prince.” That makes “Brancard” a dealer label here, not an established reference designation.

Production outline

Watch-Wiki dates the Prince family to 1928–1940 but gives no reference-by-reference dates. For case 33313, Coronet gives 1928 and Mister Wolf Time gives 1934. Coronet's photograph shows the inside caseback stamped 33313 and 2356; Mister Wolf Time's listing shows the same watch by its gold Bucherer-signed dial and case details. Other sources date case 26351 to circa 1930, case 15182 to circa 1936, and case 474** to circa 1938. Il Ponte describes case 33298 as a 1930s watch. These dates anchor individual examples; the production endpoints remain unknown.

Two auction listings report Glasgow import marks: Wilson55 gives 1935 for case 197C5, and Gardiner Houlgate gives 1939 for its watch. Those dates belong to the cases' import histories; by themselves, they cannot date manufacture. Gardiner Houlgate transcribes the watch's serial as 4830x.

Movement notes

Bonhams, Gardiner Houlgate, Coronet, and Mister Wolf Time describe 15-jewel manual movements. Wilson55 lists movement number 9156, with no caliber given. Mister Wolf Time attributes Cal. 360 to case 33313, but its movement photograph shows only “Rolex 15 Rubies / Swiss Made”; no caliber number is legible. For this watch, Cal. 360 remains a seller attribution.

Movement photographed with case 33313; no caliber number is legible.

Dial map

Several dial treatments are documented. The available records are too few to define the factory's full range. Bonhams describes case 474** with a silvered dial, applied gilt Arabic numerals, a five-minute outer track, and dagger hands. Its case 15182 has baton markers with Arabic quarters and spade hands. Wilson55, Gardiner Houlgate, Il Ponte, and the 1stDibs listing for case 26351 also describe silvered dials with Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds.

Case 33313 has a gold-coloured dial with raised Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds, “Rolex Prince Elegant,” and “Bucherer’s.” Coronet and Mister Wolf Time show the same watch. Awad Watches pictures a black Bucherer-signed dial and calls it an original 2356 dial; the listing gives no case number or independent support for originality. It remains a dealer-listed lead pending case-level identification and authentication.

Silvered Arabic dial; case 26351, as identified by the dealer.
Gold-coloured “Prince Elegant” dial signed Bucherer’s; case 33313.
Black Bucherer-signed dial; dealer-listed as ref. 2356, case number unpublished.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The auction catalogues give different measurements: Bonhams lists 20 × 30 mm, Gardiner Houlgate 20 × 37 mm, and Il Ponte 30 × 21 mm. Coronet gives case 33313 as 20.5 mm wide by 38 mm lug-to-lug; Mister Wolf Time gives 20.5 × 37.5 mm. Keep each figure attached to its listing; the published measurements differ.

Bonhams describes fixed wire lugs on its two watches. Coronet also describes fixed lugs on case 33313, while Mister Wolf Time calls them downturned. The auction records describe snap-on backs. Crystal material remains undocumented across the records reviewed. Coronet calls the crown and crystal on case 33313 replacements; Mister Wolf Time describes a gold-tone crown and plexiglass crystal as original. Those are conflicting seller claims about the same watch.

Case 33313; Coronet’s photograph shows the movement and the stamps inside the caseback.
Side profile of case 33313, shown by Mister Wolf Time.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

The auction records show leather straps or a watch head without a bracelet. Mister Wolf Time photographs case 33313 on a 9ct Chamcraft brick bracelet and shows a clasp stamped “Chamcraft 9KT” and “Pat. 414392.” The dealer calls the bracelet original to the watch, but the listing gives no delivery record. The clasp stamp identifies the bracelet; watch-head dating needs separate evidence.

Case 33313 on the Chamcraft bracelet shown in the dealer listing.
Clasp stamp: Chamcraft 9KT, patent 414392.

Auction record

Venue	Date	Lot	Case or serial	Estimate	Result
Bonhams, London Knightsbridge	2014-09-16	78	Case 474**	GBP 600–800	GBP 687.50 including premium
Bonhams, London Knightsbridge	2015-02-24	79	Case 15182	GBP 500–700	No result shown in the catalogue
Il Ponte Casa d’Aste, sale 450	2019-05-15	495	Case 33298	EUR 450–550	No result in the printed catalogue
Gardiner Houlgate, The Watch Auction	2021-05-26	49	Serial 4830x	GBP 700–1,000	GBP 900
Wilson55	2024-11-28	235	Case 197C5	Not stated	GBP 850

Related references

Prince 2736 — another rectangular Prince documented in early auction records.
Prince 1527 “Railway” — a retailer-named dial/case branch.
Prince 1490
Prince 1491 Jump Hour
Prince 1862

Case 33313 with its listed Chamcraft bracelet.
Exterior caseback with the Rolex coronet.