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Rolex 1491

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Prince › 1491

Rolex Prince 1491 jump-hour Brancard on the wrist, stainless steel, jump-hour aperture at twelve
Stainless steel 1491, Bonhams London, 21 June 2023, auction 28033 lot 75, jump-hour aperture at twelve, sub-seconds at six

The 1491 is a Rolex Prince Brancard with a jumping-hour display. A numbered hour disc appears through an aperture at 12 o'clock, minutes are read on the surrounding track, and subsidiary seconds sit at 6. Auction catalogues show the reference in steel, silver, 9K gold, and 18K gold. Some dressier examples carry an HS mark on the caseback, but the meaning and use of that suffix should be checked against the individual case and its papers.


Core facts

detail value
reference 1491 (1491HS for the dressy white-gold / bicolor sub-runs with the HS factory case stamp)
family Prince Brancard with jumping-hour complication
production documented examples from c.1930 through the 1940s; surviving case and retail records do not establish a complete run
case shape flared Brancard case, related to the 1490 and deeper on documented jump-hour examples
case dimensions auction catalogues report approximately 22–24 mm × 34–35 mm for the body and approximately 25 × 42 mm including horns; measurement conventions differ
case construction three-piece, polished, deeper than 1490
crystal acrylic
crown onion / pull-out, non-screw
lug style integrated flared, period-strap fit
bezel smooth, polished
caseback marking factory reference and serial; some auction examples carry an HS suffix, including F2149HS and F220
movement shaped Prince movement with a jumping-hour mechanism; catalogues identify examples as 350 T.S. or 7½′′′ Extra Prima
caliber labels 350 T.S., 7½′′′ Extra Prima, and related Observatory descriptions appear in auction catalogues; labels and jewel counts vary by example
jewels 15 jewels on the Bonhams steel and gold examples; some catalogues report 17 or 18
escapement lateral lever
adjustments six-position adjustment appears on some catalogued examples; not established for every surviving watch
dial layout digital hour aperture at twelve / minute track around the dial / sub-seconds register at six
materials documented stainless steel, sterling silver, 9K yellow / white / bicolor, 18K yellow / white / bicolor; platinum is not confirmed by the auction records cited here

Where it sits in the line

The 1491 belongs beside the standard 1490 Brancard, but the jump-hour display and deeper documented cases separate it from the ordinary two-dial Prince. Auction catalogues use both 1491 and 1491HS, with the HS suffix appearing on some casebacks rather than consistently in papers. The suffix should therefore be recorded as an observation on the case, not assumed from the reference alone.

The 971, 1490, and 1491 are part of the Brancard Prince group. Other Prince references use different case shapes. A silver jump-hour watch sold by Phillips was catalogued as a 1490, while similar Antiquorum examples were catalogued as 1491HS. The disagreement is unresolved, so visual similarity alone is not enough to settle the reference.

The jumping-hour mechanism

Rolex Prince 1491 18K Glasgow 1930
Rolex Prince 1491 18K yellow gold with a 1930 Glasgow import mark, showing the hour aperture at 12 and subsidiary seconds at 6

The mechanism adds an hour disc to the shaped Prince movement. The disc advances once per hour and is read through the aperture at 12. The surviving auction record identifies the base in different ways, including 350 T.S. and 7½′′′ Extra Prima. Those labels and jewel counts vary between lots, so this page does not collapse every catalogue description into a single universal specification.

The deeper case is a useful comparison with the 1490, but it is only one part of an authentication check. The movement, module, dial aperture, case number, hallmarks, and caseback should agree. F2149HS and F220 are documented on individual auction examples; they do not establish a complete HS numbering rule.

Service condition matters. A jump-hour watch can show a disc that fails to advance cleanly or sits out of alignment, but the cited sources do not provide a reliable 1491 service manual or a reference-wide list of failure modes. Those symptoms should be assessed by a qualified vintage movement specialist.

Dial layout

Rolex Prince 1491 dial straight-on, showing the red digital hour aperture at twelve, minute numerals around the perimeter, and sub-seconds at six
Straight-on view of the three-zone layout: digital hour aperture at twelve (reading "4" in red), minute numerals around the perimeter, sub-seconds at six. Stainless steel example, Bonhams 2021.

The dial has three reading areas: the hour aperture at 12, the minute track around the perimeter, and subsidiary seconds at 6. The aperture can be square or rounded in surviving examples. A conventional analog reading is not possible because the hour is shown by a disc rather than a hand.

Documented dial configurations include:

  • Silvered dial with painted Arabic minute track, hour aperture at twelve, sub-seconds at six. A configuration documented on 9K and 18K examples.
  • Silvered dial with applied Breguet-style minute markers, hour aperture, sub-seconds. Also documented on dressier white-gold and bicolor examples.
Rolex Prince 1491HS two-color 18K gold jumping hour, Bonhams sale 29152 lot 6
1491HS two-color 18K gold (yellow + white), Bonhams sale 29152 lot 6, c.1930, jump-hour aperture at twelve, sub-seconds at six
  • Two-tone sector dial with hour aperture and sub-seconds. Late 1930s Art-Deco geometric variants.
  • Bucherer-double-signed dial. Antiquorum 2008 lot 692, white-gold 1491 with original 1945 Bucherer invoice. A documented retailer-signed example.
  • Beyer Zurich-signed dial. Phillips 2016 lot 89, silver Brancard with jumping hour. Phillips catalogued as ref. 1490 but the layout matches Antiquorum's 1491HS examples; the attribution dispute is unresolved at the catalog level.

Blued pencil or sword minute hands and blued subsidiary-seconds hands appear in the cited lots. The hour disc is usually Arabic in the published examples; other numerals should be treated as individual-dial evidence.

Authentication

A 1491 identification should compare the whole watch rather than rely on one visual cue.

  1. **Case and module.** The deeper case seen on documented jump-hour examples is consistent with the added mechanism, but a measurement by itself cannot prove the reference.
  2. **Caseback and papers.** Record the reference, serial, HS suffix if present, and hallmarks separately. Auction catalogues show that HS can appear on a caseback while papers use a shorter reference.
  3. **Movement and dial.** The movement and jumping-hour mechanism should agree with the case and aperture. A later or unrelated module is a lead for further examination, not an automatic verdict.
  4. **Hallmarks and condition.** Glasgow or Edinburgh marks can date a case. Service work, refinishing, replacement dials, and replaced crowns must be separated from original delivery.

The cited auction record is not sufficient to publish a universal case-number sequence, module-maker rule, or population estimate. Those claims require movement photographs and archival or service documentation for each example.

The Datejust precedent claim

Some Prince histories compare the 1491 hour aperture with the Datejust date window introduced later. Both use a disc behind an aperture, but the cited sources contain no Rolex document linking the two developments. The comparison is an editorial hypothesis, not an established design lineage.

Auction record

year venue configuration hammer / estimate
1990 Antiquorum white + yellow gold 1491HS CHF 34,500
1997–2000 Antiquorum (multiple) 1491HS various CHF 17,825–18,400
2008 Antiquorum (lot 692) 9K white gold, Bucherer-retailed, 1945 invoice, case 1578 est. CHF 44,000–50,000
2008 Antiquorum (lot 693) 18K white gold 1491HS, F2149HS case stamp est. CHF 44,000–50,000
2018 Christie's Geneva (lot 113) 18K bicolor 1491HS CHF 10,000
2019-05-21 Bonhams (lot 25395/66) 9K yellow, Glasgow import 1930 GBP 4,812.50
2020-08-05 Bonhams (lot 25956/6) stainless steel est. GBP 6,000–8,000, unsold
2020 Christie's NY (lot 130) 18K bicolor with Observatory cert 1935 USD 11,875
2021-05-18 Bonhams (lot 26683/45) stainless steel GBP 6,247.50
2023-06-21 Bonhams (lot 28033/75) stainless steel GBP 12,160
2024-06-19 Bonhams (lot 29152/23) 18K yellow gold, Glasgow import 1930 est. GBP 8,000–12,000
2024-06-19 Bonhams (lot 29152/6) 1491HS two-color 18K, case F220 est. GBP 10,000–15,000, unsold
various Tajan / Artcurial / Cortrie 9K bicolor / silver EUR 7,800–19,500
~2010s Artcurial bicolor with 1932 caseback engraving EUR 27,028
2016 Sotheby's (GE1604, lot 135) unsold, configuration not detailed in the retrieved listing unsold

The records show a wide spread between steel, yellow-gold, white-gold, and bicolor examples. Results depend on case material, dial originality, hallmarks, papers, and condition. The table is a selected auction record, not a price guide. The Phillips public archive and the Sotheby's listing cited here do not establish a complete auction census.


Related references

See also the Prince family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.


  • Whole-watch view, stainless-steel example
    Whole-watch view, stainless-steel example
  • 18K example with Glasgow import mark
    18K example with Glasgow import mark
  • Dial layout with jump-hour aperture and subsidiary seconds
    Dial layout with jump-hour aperture and subsidiary seconds
  • Two-colour 18K 1491HS example
    Two-colour 18K 1491HS example

Sources

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