Rolex Oyster Chronograph ref. 3668
Pre-Daytona chronographs → 3668
Ref. 3668 is a 35 mm Oyster chronograph with two registers and an engine-turned gold bezel joined to a steel case. Auction catalogues show pink and yellow-gold bezels, several dial layouts, and both bracelets and straps. They date individual examples from circa 1939 to circa 1946, but the case-number and date pairings conflict; the factory production span is not established.
Core facts
| Detail | Documented record |
|---|---|
| Model | Oyster Chronograph Antimagnetic, two-register layout |
| Reference | 3668 |
| Case | Stainless steel with pink- or yellow-gold bezel and crown documented |
| Diameter | 35 mm in multiple auction catalogues |
| Movement | Manual, 17 jewels in published examples; Cal. 13 / VZ 23-family descriptions vary by lot |
| Dial | Pink, black and silvered examples; one retailer-signed Ronchi Milano dial |
| Crystal | Plexiglas listed for one 1945-catalogued example |
| Production span | Not established; catalogue dates apply to individual watches |
Where it sits in the line
Christie's describes the 3668 as following ref. 3481 in the early Oyster chronograph line and calls it the larger model. Antiquorum compares the 3668's design with ref. 4500, which it identifies as Monoblocco. Published catalogues use both labels. Antiquorum describes case 45,343 as two-body and compares the reference with the 4500 Monoblocco. Phillips called case 47'948 “Monoblocco” in 2018. That same case later appeared at Sotheby's, which dated it circa 1946; Phillips dated it circa 1939. The catalogues do not resolve whether Monoblocco here names the model or its case construction.
The movement and two-register arrangement place the 3668 among Rolex's hand-wound chronographs before the round 6034 and 6234 generations. The dates assigned to the watches do not establish a neat production handoff from one reference to another.
Production outline
Auction catalogues provide scattered dates rather than a factory chronology. Phillips dates case 47'954 to circa 1939 and also dates case 47'948 to circa 1939; Antiquorum dates case 45,343 to 1940; Christie's gives 1941 to cases 47,130 and 45'998; and its case 279'352 is dated 1943. Accademia Fine Art dates case 45,344 to 1945, while Sotheby's dates the same case 47'948 to circa 1946. Those assignments do not track case number consistently. Bonhams once catalogued an example circa 1956, but without a case number that isolated estimate cannot extend the production span.
The 1941 and 1945 dates assigned to cases 45'998 and 45,344 are an especially clear conflict: the lower-numbered case receives the later date. Treat these as catalogue estimates for separate watches, not as a serial-year chart.
Movement notes
Christie's identifies a 13′′′ 23 VZ, 17-jewel movement in case 279'352. Other Christie's and Antiquorum records give Cal. 13 or VZ, usually with 17 jewels; Sotheby's names a 17-jewel VZ without the 23 suffix. These catalogues support a Cal. 13 / Valjoux 23 VZ-family attribution for documented examples. Check the movement marking on the watch before assigning a suffix or assuming every example has the same configuration.
Colin A. White's The Vintage Rolex Field Manual (Morning Tundra) pairs ref. 3668 with Cal. 13 and lists twin pushers, twin registers, an engine-turned bezel and screw-down crown. Its table gives no case-numbered example or date range.
The movement drives constant seconds and a 30-minute chronograph register. The dials retain the two-counter layout across the documented examples. The broader lineage is in the Cal. 13 entry.
Dial map
The documented dial layouts differ in color, scales and signatures. Christie's and Antiquorum describe pink dials with tachymeter and telemeter scales. Antiquorum also records a black dial with luminous Arabic numerals and both scales. Christie's case 279'352 has a silvered dial without the tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer outer tracks. Accademia Fine Art's 1945 catalogue shows a dark-pink dial signed Ronchi Milano. These are documented examples, not a complete factory dial sequence.
Antiquorum graded the dial of case 145263 as reprinted. That is a condition note for one watch, not a separate factory variant.
-
Pink dial with tachymeter and telemeter scales, case 47'954; Phillips, lot 191 (2022) -
Pink dial and gold bezel on case 47'948; Sotheby's, lot 2291 (2025) -
Black dial with luminous Arabic numerals and dual scales, case 279358; Antiquorum, lot 222 (2014)
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
Catalogues consistently give a 35 mm diameter. The documented case is steel, with a reeded or engine-turned bezel and crown in pink or yellow gold. Antiquorum describes case 45,343 as two-body, with concave lugs, a screwed-down back and crown, and a gold bezel joined to the steel case. Phillips catalogued case 47'948 as “Monoblocco”; the surviving descriptions do not settle whether that term refers to construction or model name. The case has two chronograph pushers in the band. A 2019 catalogue lists Plexiglas for case 45,344; the available records do not establish a reference-wide crystal specification.
Bracelets, clasps, and packaging
Auction records show steel-and-gold rice-grain, brick-link, expanding and Jubilee bracelets. Phillips lists a deployant clasp; Antiquorum records a steel buckle on case 45,343 and a steel/pink-gold deployant on case 145263. Accademia Fine Art lists a leather strap on the Ronchi Milano example. These records describe individual watches and do not prove which bracelet or strap was supplied at delivery. Phillips lists a Rolex presentation box with its lot; that does not make the box specific to ref. 3668.
Special branches
The Ronchi Milano dial is the clearest retailer-signed example in the records reviewed. Accademia Fine Art's 2019 catalogue describes a dark-pink dial with the retailer's name, case 45,344, Cal. 13 with 17 jewels, Plexiglas and a leather strap. The catalogue does not establish whether the dial was supplied by Rolex or fitted for the retailer, so the signature should be treated as an observed configuration rather than a confirmed factory branch.
Auction record
| Catalogue | Case | Date assigned | Recorded details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips, New York, lot 97 (2018) | 47'948 | c.1939 | 35 mm; salmon dial with tachymeter and telemeter scales; manual VZ, 17 jewels; steel and pink gold; catalogued as Monoblocco |
| Phillips, Geneva Watch Auction XV, lot 191 (2022) | 47'954 | c.1939 | 35 mm; pink-gold bezel and steel case; pink dial; manual 17-jewel movement; two-tone Rolex bracelet |
| Antiquorum Geneva, lot 259 (2006) | 45,343 | 1940 | 35 mm; two-body case; pink-gold engine-turned bezel; 13-ligne, 17-jewel movement; steel buckle |
| Christie's, lot 4180735 | 47,130 | 1941 | 35 mm; gilt dial with tachymeter and telemeter scales; pink-gold reeded bezel; link bracelet |
| Christie's, lot 5731344 | 45'998 | 1941 | Pink dial with black tachymeter and blue telemeter scales; VZ 13′′′, 17 jewels; steel/pink-gold rice-grain bracelet |
| Christie's, lot 5130820 | 279'352 | 1943 | Cal. 13′′′ 23 VZ, 17 jewels; silvered dial without tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer outer scales |
| Antiquorum Geneva, lot 434 (2010) | 145263 | 1940s | Pink dial graded reprinted; Cal. 13, 17 jewels; steel/pink-gold expanding bracelet |
| Antiquorum Hong Kong, lot 222 (2014) | 279358 | c.1944 | Black luminous Arabic dial; yellow-gold engine-turned bezel; Cal. 13, 17 jewels |
| Accademia Fine Art Monaco, lot 013 (2019) | 45,344 | 1945 | Dark-pink Ronchi Milano dial; Cal. 13, 17 jewels; Plexiglas; leather strap |
| Antiquorum Monaco, lot 111 (2024) | 45342 | c.1946 | Pink-gold-capped bezel; steel/pink-gold Jubilee bracelet; 35 mm |
| Sotheby's Hong Kong, lot 2291 (2025) | 47'948 | c.1946 | Pink dial; 17-jewel VZ movement; steel/pink-gold brick-link bracelet; 35 mm |
| Bonhams, sale 11293 lot 164 (2004) | Not stated | c.1956 | Isolated late catalogue estimate; not used to extend the production span |
-
Case 47'948, Sotheby's Hong Kong, lot 2291 (2025)
-
Case 47'954, Phillips Geneva, lot 191 (2022)
-
Reeded bezel and case detail, Phillips Geneva, lot 191 (2022) -
Case profile and bracelet, Phillips Geneva, lot 191 (2022) -
Black-dial example, case 279358; Antiquorum Hong Kong, lot 222 (2014)
Sources
- Phillips, "Phillips, The Geneva Watch Auction: XV, lot 191 — Rolex ref. 3668, case 47'954", Phillips, 2022-05-07
- Phillips, "Phillips New York, December 2018, lot 97 — ref. 3668 case 47'948", Phillips, 2018-12-05
- Christie's, "Christie's, ref. 3668 case 47,130, lot 4180735", Christie's
- Christie's, "Christie's, ref. 3668 case 279'352, lot 5130820", Christie's
- Christie's, "Christie's, ref. 3668 case 45'998, lot 5731344", Christie's
- Antiquorum, "Antiquorum Geneva, May 2006, lot 259 — ref. 3668 case 45,343", Antiquorum, 2006-05-14
- Antiquorum, "Antiquorum Hong Kong, February 2014, lot 222 — ref. 3668 case 279358", Antiquorum, 2014-02-22
- Antiquorum, "Antiquorum Geneva, November 2010, lot 434 — ref. 3668 case 145263", Antiquorum, 2010-11-13
- Antiquorum, "Antiquorum Monaco, July 2024, lot 111 — ref. 3668 case 45342", Antiquorum, 2024-07-13
- Sotheby's, "Sotheby's Hong Kong, Important Watches 3, lot 2291 — ref. 3668 case 47'948", Sotheby's, 2025-10-21
- Accademia Fine Art, "Accademia Fine Art Monaco, 15 July 2019, lot 013 — ref. 3668 case 45,344", Accademia Fine Art, 2019-07-15
- Martin Green, "Martin Green, Throwback Thursday: Rolex Oyster Chronograph Reference 3668", Haute Time, 2018-01-11
- powerfunk, "Rolex Forums, Every Rolex chronograph reference ever made", Rolex Forums
- "Rolex Ref. 3668 pink gold and steel chronograph — Bonhams", Bonhams, 2004-05-17
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra