Rolex Oyster Perpetual 3725
Oyster Perpetual → 3725
Reference 3725 appears on 1940s Oyster Perpetual watches with different case metals and dials. Auction catalogues document a rose-gold-and-steel watch in 1944 and a gold-plated example sold new in August 1947. Dealer listings show a rose-gold example and a pink-gold-and-steel watch with an engine-turned bezel. These records describe individual watches; they do not establish the reference’s production span or full range of variants.
Core facts
| detail | documented examples |
|---|---|
| reference | 3725 |
| family | Oyster Perpetual; commonly grouped with Bubblebacks |
| dates | Heritage catalogued one example circa 1944; Antiquorum records another as sold new in August 1947 |
| case | 32mm in Heritage, Antiquorum and Van Rijk records |
| case metals | Rose gold and steel; gold-plated metal and steel; one Oyster Palace listing describes a rose-gold case |
| movement | Automatic. Heritage identifies N. 599, 18 jewels; Antiquorum lists 9¾ lignes and 17 jewels. These records differ. |
| dials | Black luminous Arabic dial; rose dial with even-number Arabic markers and no lume; silver dial with gold stick markers |
Documented examples
Heritage sold a ref. 3725 in May 2014, catalogued circa 1944. Its lot description gives case no. 284611, a rose-gold top, sides and lugs, a stainless-steel screw back, 32mm diameter, a black dial with luminous markers and Arabic numerals, and an automatic N. 599 movement with 18 jewels. Heritage recorded a result of USD 2,375.
Oyster Palace listed a separate 32mm rose-gold watch with serial 284,XXX and a rose dial bearing Arabic numerals at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. The seller described the dial as having no lume. Its date of 1944 is the dealer’s attribution.
Van Rijk describes a 32mm pink-gold-and-steel example with an engine-turned bezel, silver dial, applied gold stick markers and a crown marked “Rolex” and “Oyster.” Its listing dates the watch broadly to the 1940s.
Antiquorum’s 2026 catalogue records ref. 3725, case no. 489161, as sold new in August 1947. The watch has a pink-gold-plated and steel case, a center-seconds layout, and a 9¾-ligne, 17-jewel movement. The surviving accessories include an invoice, a Rolex warranty, a COSC certificate and a Bucherer warranty. Antiquorum recorded a sale price of CHF 6,250.
These descriptions support several configurations. They do not establish which dials, bezels or metals were offered throughout the production run, or whether every listed component left the factory with its watch.
Movement notes
The available auction records do not agree on jewel count: Heritage lists an N. 599 with 18 jewels, while Antiquorum lists a 9¾-ligne movement with 17 jewels. The Antiquorum catalogue gives no caliber number. The lots describe their individual watches and do not establish a single movement specification for all ref. 3725 examples.
Auction record
| auction | lot and date | catalogue details | result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Auctions | lot 60117, 22 May 2014 | circa 1944; case 284611; rose gold and steel; black luminous dial; N. 599, 18 jewels | USD 2,375 |
| Antiquorum, Geneva | lot 191, 9 May 2026 | sold new August 1947; case 489161; gold-plated and steel; invoice and papers; 9¾ lignes, 17 jewels | CHF 6,250 |
Related references
Sources
- Heritage Auctions, lot 60117 — case, dial, movement and sale details for the circa-1944 watch.
- Antiquorum, Geneva, lot 191, 9 May 2026 — the August 1947 invoice date, case and movement description, accessories and result.
- Oyster Palace, “1944 RG Rolex Oyster Perpetual Bubble Back Ref: 3725” — dealer description of the rose-gold case and unusual rose dial.
- Van Rijk Estate Jewellers, “Rolex Vintage Bubbleback Engine Turned Bezel. Ref: 3725” — dealer description of the pink-gold-and-steel watch and its dial, bezel and crown.