Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 5031

A checked version of this page, approved on 29 September 2026, was based on this revision.

The 5031 is a date-equipped Oyster Perpetual catalogued in steel and gold. Sale descriptions disagree on case size and movement details. Some date examples to circa 1948; others place them in the 1950s or 1960s. The records cited here do not establish a production span or a single caliber.

Core facts

detail	value
Reference	5031
Family	Oyster Perpetual with date; grouped with early Datejust and Big Bubbleback watches in some catalogues
Dating	Catalogues date individual watches from the 1940s to the 1960s; no factory production span established
Case	Tonneau-shaped Oyster case; auction dimensions include 34 mm and 36 mm
Documented materials	Stainless steel with pink gold; stainless steel with yellow gold; one Bonhams catalogue describes steel and chrome plate
Bezel	Gold reeded or machine-finished bezel in documented steel-and-gold lots; finish varies by example
Dial	Silver or silvered dials are documented; examples include applied indexes and luminous markers
Date	Date aperture at 3 o'clock in the auction examples
Movement	Auction houses describe automatic movements, but the available records do not establish one caliber for the reference
Case numbers	Published examples include 612627, 612848, 612967, 612990, 613514, 613853, and 613876; these are individual records, not a serial range
Related reference	Reference:5030, catalogued in solid gold

Place in the line

The 5031 belongs to the early date-equipped Oyster Perpetual group that auction catalogues also call Datejust or Bubbleback. The name “Ovettone” appears in dealer and auction usage for some 36 mm watches, but collectors do not use it consistently. It is best treated as a period or collector label, not a formal Rolex model name.

The solid-gold 5030 is often paired with the 5031 in reference guides. Auction descriptions support a distinction in case construction: the 5030 is listed in solid gold, while several 5031 examples are listed in steel and gold. Both pink- and yellow-gold accents appear in catalogues. The available records do not establish that the two references shared a movement or every case component.

Production and dating

Christie’s dates case 612848 to the 1940s. Antiquorum dates cases 612627 and 612967 to 1948, and Sotheby’s, Tennants and Bonhams also give circa-1948 dates for their examples. Antiquorum’s 1999 catalogue calls its example a 1950s watch; its 1995 catalogue says 1960s. These catalogue dates describe individual watches and do not agree on a production window. Keep those dates attached to the individual lots. The auction estimates do not show when Rolex began or ended production.

Published case numbers include 612627, 612848, 612967, 612990, 613514, 613853, and 613876. They cluster closely, but sale records cannot establish a production range or total. Repeated appearances of the same case number should not be counted as separate watches.

Movement

The auction records call the 5031 automatic and give a date, but they do not agree on movement details. Christie’s records a self-winding chronometer movement numbered 37519, without giving a caliber. Antiquorum’s 2009 and 1999 lots each describe a 9¾-ligne, 19-jewel movement without naming a caliber. Its 1995 lot gives a 12½-ligne, 26-jewel movement, also without a caliber. Sotheby’s 2020 and 2022 listings say only “automatic.” Tennants records a movement number, G67646, but no caliber.

Colin A. White’s The Vintage Rolex Field Manual maps the 5031 to Cal. 710 in a reference table. The same manual and Rolexopedia’s movement guide describe Cal. 710 as hand-wound and without a date, which conflicts with the automatic, date-equipped watches in the sale catalogues. The caliber assignment remains unresolved. None of these auction catalogues names a caliber.

Dial and date

The sale records show silver or silvered dials, but details vary. Antiquorum’s 1999 example has applied pink-gold triangular luminous indexes and pink-gold Alpha hands. Its 1995 example has applied steel indexes and steel Dauphine hands. Tennants describes dagger indexes and says its dial had been refinished. Bonhams records applied gilt dart markers on its steel-and-chrome-plated example. Sotheby’s 2022 listing documents a roulette date wheel. These are descriptions of individual watches, not a complete variant list.

The auction title “Datejust” does not establish that the dial itself bears that word. Check the dial inscription on each watch. The records cited here do not prove a universal rule for Datejust text, dial feet, luminous material, or date-change behavior.

Case, bezel, and crown

Antiquorum describes a 36 mm pink-gold-and-steel example with a ribbed graduated bezel in 1999. Its 2009 steel-and-yellow-gold example is also 36 mm, with a three-body case and graduated bezel. The 1995 steel-and-yellow-gold example is 36 mm with a graduated reeded bezel; Meeting Art describes a smooth bezel on case 612967. Sotheby’s lists a pink-gold-and-steel watch at 34 mm in 2022. Tennants gives 36 mm for its steel-and-gold watch. The records do not explain the difference in reported case size.

The 1995, 1999 and 2009 Antiquorum lots describe screw-down crowns and casebacks. Christie’s and Meeting Art also describe screw-down crowns and backs. Bonhams describes them on its steel-and-chrome-plated example. Antiquorum calls the 1999 case two-body and the 2009 case three-body; the catalogues do not establish a single construction description for all 5031s. The sources reviewed do not establish a universal “small Brevet” crown for the 5031, so that label should be checked against the individual watch rather than treated as a defining specification.

Bonhams catalogued case 612990 as stainless steel and chrome-plated. The same watch, identified by matching case and movement numbers, appeared twice in 2025: it passed at the first sale and sold at the later one. This is a documented catalogue description, not proof that Rolex made a chrome-plated 5031 variant.

Bracelet and strap

The cited examples do not establish a standard bracelet configuration. Meeting Art describes a riveted steel-and-yellow-gold Oyster bracelet, and Sotheby’s 2020 listing describes a steel and pink-gold plated Rolex bracelet. Sotheby’s 2022 example had a stainless-steel Rolex buckle. Bonhams and Tennants describe leather straps; Tennants says its strap and buckle were later replacements and not by Rolex. These listings document what accompanied those watches at sale, not original delivery fitments.

Auction record

This is a selected record of catalogued examples, not a census. Sale-house descriptions and dates remain attributed to each lot.

Dial detail, case 612990
Case flank and crown, case 612990
Caseback, case 612990

Sale	Example and catalogue details	Result
Antiquorum, 14 November 2009, lot 285	Case 612627; steel and yellow gold; 36 mm; off-white dial with luminous gold dart indexes; automatic movement described as 9¾ lignes and 19 jewels	Estimate CHF 4,500–6,500; no result shown
Christie’s, lot 279	Case 612848; steel and gold; 36 mm; matte white dial with alternating dagger and Arabic numerals; movement numbered 37519, no caliber given; catalogue says 1940s	Result not shown
Meeting Art, 23 November 2014, lot 444	Case 612967; steel and yellow gold; 36 mm; smooth bezel, silvered dial, red date and riveted Oyster bracelet; catalogue says 1948	Starting estimate €3,000; no result shown
Antiquorum, 14 June 1995, lot 203	Steel and yellow gold; 36 mm; silver dial with applied steel indexes; automatic movement described as 12½ lignes and 26 jewels; catalogue calls it “1960s”	Estimate HKD 17,000–19,000; no result shown
Antiquorum, 1 December 1999, lot 191	Steel and pink gold; 36 mm; pink-gold triangular luminous indexes and Alpha hands; automatic movement described as 9¾ lignes and 19 jewels; catalogue calls it “1950s”	Sold USD 3,220
Sotheby’s, 2020, lot 154	Steel and pink gold; case 613853; circa 1948; 36 mm; automatic; steel and pink-gold plated bracelet	Estimate CHF 5,000–7,000; result not displayed
Sotheby’s, 14 December 2022, lot 379	Steel and pink gold; case 613876; circa 1948; 34 mm; silvered dial with roulette date; automatic	Estimate USD 3,000–5,000; result not displayed
Bonhams, 1 April 2025, lot 3068	Case 612990; steel and chrome-plated, 36 mm; movement 37574, listed as Cal. G3171; silver dial	Passed at estimate €3,000–5,000
Bonhams, 17 October 2025, lot 39	Same case 612990 and movement 37574; same steel-and-chrome-plated description	Sold €3,584 including premium
Tennants, 14 March 2026, lot 2164	Steel and gold; case 613514; circa 1948; 36 mm; silvered dial with red date; movement numbered G67646; dial described as refinished	Sold £3,000

Related references

Reference:5030 — solid-gold reference often paired with the 5031
4467 — earlier Datejust reference
6031
3595
2940
6075

Rolex ref. 5031
Dial detail, case 612990
Case flank and crown, case 612990
Caseback, case 612990

Sources