Rolex Oyster 1573

The Rolex 1573 is a manually wound Oyster with a tonneau-shaped case and subsidiary seconds. Auction catalogues describe examples from around 1930 through the 1940s, in steel, steel with a gold bezel, and 9ct gold. Bellmans calls one an Oyster Imperial; Private Eyes uses Viceroy for another.

Core facts

Detail	Value
Reference	1573
Family	Manual-wind Oyster
Documented period	Around 1930 and the 1930s–1940s; production boundaries unknown
Display	Hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds
Case	Tonneau or tortue; approximately 28–29 mm wide and 38–39 mm long in catalogues
Materials	Steel, steel with gold bezel, 9ct gold
Movement descriptions	Extra Prima, Observatory and unnamed 15-jewel movements on separate examples

Where it sits in the line

The 1573 pairs a screw-down Oyster case with a hand-wound movement. Bellmans and Private Eyes use the names Imperial and Viceroy for separate 1573 sale examples. The auction record leaves it unclear whether either name marked a distinct production run. Bellmans, lot 1566 Private Eyes, A-7174

Production outline

Sotheby's dates its Dobbies example to around 1930. Antiquorum assigns case 57,605 to the 1930s, and Christie's dates a steel watch with movement 9485 to the 1940s. The examples span those years; the reference's first and last production years remain uncertain. Sotheby's, lot 176 Antiquorum, lot 42 Christie's, steel example

Movement notes

Christie's describes the gold watch's Extra Prima movement as having 17 jewels and adjustment to six positions. Sotheby's gives the same jewel count and adjustment for its Dobbies watch. Christie's steel example instead carries an Observatory description and wording that it was officially tested in eight ways. These descriptions belong to separate movements; the catalogues give no common caliber number. Christie's, gold example Sotheby's Christie's, steel example

Antiquorum lists 15 jewels for its black-dial watch. The photographed movement is marked “15 JEWELS / SWISS MADE”; no caliber number is legible. Private Eyes gives a 9¾ movement for another steel example, a size designation whose relationship to the auction movements remains uncertain. Antiquorum Private Eyes

Antiquorum's movement photograph. The plate is marked 15 JEWELS / SWISS MADE. Photo: Antiquorum, lot 42.

Dial map

Description	Documented example	Qualification
Matt silvered, Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds	Christie's gold case 36,797	Catalogue description
Two-tone silvered, Arabic quarter-hour numerals, blued hands	Christie's steel watch, movement 9485	Catalogue description
Glossy black, subsidiary seconds, BEYER signature	Antiquorum steel case 57,605	Catalogue description; signature also visible in the lot photograph
Matte white, luminous Arabic numerals and railway minute track	Private Eyes A-7174, serial 96,***	Dealer description; originality is the seller's assessment

The catalogues document these dial variants; their dates give no production sequence. Private Eyes calls the luminous material on A-7174 original, based on its seller assessment. Gold example Two-tone dial Black dial White dial

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Christie's gives the gold watch's case as 39 × 28 mm and its steel example as 38 × 29 mm. Bellmans records a steel case with gold bezel. Christie's describes screw-down crowns and backs; Sotheby's says the crown on the Dobbies watch may be later. Christie's gold watch Christie's steel watch Bellmans Sotheby's condition report

Watch CTI describes a separate movement housing inside the case and a screwed bezel and back. Its heading calls the construction three-piece, while its body calls it four-piece. The two counts appear within the same dealer entry. Watch CTI, R623

Antiquorum's case photographs show case number 57,605 on the outside back and the Rolex patent text inside. The inner back also carries a crowned “SAR” stamp. Vintage Watch Straps notes that this mark appears on some Rolex casebacks, but its significance for this watch is not established here. Antiquorum Vintage Watch Straps

The Time Curator lists mineral glass on its Imperial and interprets its Rolesium material description as steel and platinum. That platinum attribution remains unverified by an assay or a reference-specific factory specification. The listing also leaves the crystal's replacement history unspecified. The Time Curator

Outside back engraved JOHN TAYLOR and case number 57605. Antiquorum, lot 42.
Inside back with Rolex patent text and crowned SAR stamp. Antiquorum, lot 42.

Bracelets, clasps, and packaging

The surviving fittings have different evidential status. Christie's explicitly calls its steel bracelet associated. Private Eyes labels the Gay Frères bamboo bracelet on A-7174 nonoriginal and gives a 16 mm fixed-lug fitting. A Bonhams description preserved by EveryWatch calls its expandable bracelet later fitted. These are sale-time combinations. Christie's Private Eyes Bonhams catalogue text

Bellmans' Imperial came with a replacement plated Rolex clasp, a nonoriginal box and no papers. The catalogue records the accessories present at sale; it says nothing about the watch's original packaging. Bellmans catalogue, lot 1566

Special branches

Sotheby's attributes its steel example to Dobbies Ltd of Nairobi. The lot documents one retailer-signed 1573; a production total for Dobbies-signed watches is unknown. Sotheby's, lot 176

Auction record

Sale	Watch	Recorded result
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 13 June 2023, lot 42	Steel case 57,605, black dial, back engraved JOHN TAYLOR	HKD 22,500; premium basis unspecified on the lot page
Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 2007, lot 176	Steel Dobbies example	Result requires sign-in
Bellmans, 20 November 2025, lot 1566	Steel and gold-bezel Imperial	No hammer amount displayed

Antiquorum Sotheby's Bellmans

Dial signed ROLEX OYSTER and BEYER; subsidiary seconds. Antiquorum, lot 42.
Outside caseback and case number. Antiquorum, lot 42.
Manual movement marked 15 JEWELS / SWISS MADE. Antiquorum, lot 42.
Inner caseback markings. Antiquorum, lot 42.

Sources

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