Rolex 3735

Cellini → 3735

Reference 3735 appears in late-1960s records for a small, manually wound Rolex dress watch with a rounded-square case. Auction examples document two dial treatments and Cal. 1600; other sale records add a champagne dial and a yellow-gold case. The catalogue dates describe individual watches and do not define the reference’s production span.

Core facts

Detail	Documented record
Model	Later catalogues identify 3735 as a Cellini; Rolex dates the Cellini collection to 1968.
Display	Hours and minutes only.
Movement	Manual-wind Cal. 1600; Farsetti lists 19 jewels. Rolex’s 1978 service booklet gives 19,800 beats per hour.
Case	Rounded-square or cushion form. One auction record gives 30 × 30 mm; another gives 31 mm wide and 36 mm lug-to-lug.
Materials	Auction records document 18 ct white gold. A separate 1969 sale listing records yellow gold.
Dials	Blue with Cellini script and diamond markers at 3, 6 and 9; black with applied markers, described by the auction house as repainted.
Date evidence	Catalogue records date examples to 1967, circa 1968 and 1969; these are dates assigned to individual watches.
Strap	Sale-time examples appear on leather straps; original delivery strap and buckle remain undocumented.

Where it sits in the line

Rolex’s published history dates the Cellini collection to 1968 and says it brought together classic watches that had sat outside the Oyster Perpetual line. Recent auction catalogues identify 3735 as Cellini. Farsetti dates one example to 1967, a year before Rolex’s stated collection date; the catalogue may be applying the Cellini name retrospectively.

Two early chronograph records use 3735 differently: Antiquorum’s 1993 catalogue calls a circa-1915 single-button watch “Ref. 3735,” while Christie’s describes a 1920s single-button watch as “case no. 3735.” The Vintage Rolex Field Manual also lists a mono-pusher chronograph under 3735. The cited records do not connect either watch to the later Cellini examples.

Production outline

Farsetti dates a white-gold example to 1967; Fortuna dates another, serial 1,809,871, to circa 1968. That number falls within the late-1960s numeric sequence in the serial-number guide. The available records date individual watches but do not define the reference’s full production span.

Movement notes

Farsetti and Fortuna both identify a manually wound Cal. 1600. Farsetti lists 19 jewels; Rolex’s 1978 technical and service booklet lists Cal. 1600 as a round 9¼-ligne movement running at 19,800 beats per hour. The auction attributions apply to those two catalogued examples.

Dial map

Documented example	Dial details	Record and limit
Blue dial	Cellini script, applied baton markers, diamonds at 3, 6 and 9	Fortuna’s circa-1968 white-gold example. The sale catalogue describes the dial as in excellent condition.
Black dial	Applied geometric markers and slim baton hands; signed Rolex Genève	Farsetti’s 1967 white-gold example. Farsetti describes the dial as repainted; this lot records an altered example.
Champagne dial	Applied baton markers and straight hands	The item 411226 record describes a 1960s yellow-gold example and lists the dial as champagne.

Fortuna describes the blue dial as being in excellent condition; the item 411226 record calls the other dial champagne. Neither catalogue verifies that the dial is original to its watch.

Farsetti, lot 107363: black dial on the 1967 example; catalogue notes that it was repainted
Yellow-gold Cellini listed as 3735J, item 411226: champagne dial

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The case is described as square, rounded-square or cushion-shaped. The two auction records differ in how they measure it: Farsetti gives 30 × 30 mm, while Fortuna gives 31 mm across and 36 mm lug-to-lug. Farsetti describes a snap-on white-gold back and a custom dust-resistant crown. The cited records leave crystal material and water-resistance rating unreported.

Bracelets, clasps, and packaging

The photographed auction examples are on leather straps. A 1969 Catawiki listing reproduced by Lot-Art describes a yellow-gold Milanese bracelet; that is one sale-time configuration. The available records give no original boxes, papers, clasp references or end-link fitment.

Fortuna, lot 113: leather strap on the circa-1968 example.

Special branches

Item 411226 lists a yellow-gold watch as 3735J. The reviewed sources leave the suffix’s factory meaning uncertain.

Historical market and auction record

Catalogue record	Description	Result or condition
Antiquorum, Milan, 29 March 1993, lot 258	“Ref. 3735,” circa 1915; single-button chronograph in 18 ct gold	Sold for ITL 12,650; a separate early chronograph record.
Christie’s, 30 September 1997, lot 355	Single-button chronograph, 1920s; case no. 3735	The catalogue describes 3735 as the case number.
Farsetti, 24 May–5 June 2025, lot 107363	White-gold Cellini, dated 1967; Cal. 1600	Dial described as repainted; estimate €1,400–1,700.
Fortuna, 7 March 2024, lot 113	White-gold Cellini, dated circa 1968; serial 1,809,871; Cal. 1600	Auction record describes blue dial and diamonds at 3, 6 and 9.
Catawiki, 30 December 2020, lot 43630625	Yellow-gold 3735, dated 1969; Cal. 1600; Milanese bracelet	Lot-Art preserves the sale listing, which documents this sale-time configuration.

Gallery

Fortuna, lot 113: blue Cellini dial and white-gold case, circa 1968
Fortuna, lot 113: the same white-gold watch on a leather strap
Farsetti, lot 107363: black dial on the 1967 example; catalogue notes that it was repainted
Yellow-gold Cellini listed as 3735J, item 411226: champagne dial