Rolex Oyster 1073
Pre-Perpetual Oyster → 1073
Rolex Oyster reference 1073 appears in auction records from the late 1920s and early 1930s. The auction watches are cushion cases with subsidiary seconds, but their dials and case finishes differ. Antiquorum dates one circa 1926; Christie's says circa 1930, Bonhams the 1930s, and Bachmann & Scher 1934. Those dates place known examples across the period; the production span remains unestablished.
Core facts
| Detail | Documented record |
|---|---|
| Reference and model | Oyster, ref. 1073 in the Antiquorum, Christie's, Bonhams, and Bachmann & Scher records cited here |
| Production dates | Individual attributions range from circa 1926 to 1934; no start or end year is established |
| Winding and seconds | Bachmann & Scher explicitly lists manual winding; subsidiary seconds appear in the three auction catalogues |
| Movement | Antiquorum gives 10½ lignes for its 15-jewel Extra Prima; Christie's calls its 15-jewel movement Prima, and Bonhams calls its Ultra Prima |
| Case | Cushion-shaped cases, with wire or fixed-wire lugs; catalogues describe stainless steel or chrome-plated metal |
| Diameter | 31 mm (Christie's) or 32 mm (Antiquorum and Bonhams) |
| Dial examples | White enamel with Breguet numerals; silvered with Arabic numerals; two-tone enamel with Roman numerals; a dealer-described California dial |
| Bracelet or buckle | One Antiquorum lot included a steel Rolex buckle; Bonhams showed another watch with an associated adjustable ladder bracelet. Both remain lot-specific; a standard 1073 fitment has not been documented. |
Where it sits in the line
Reference 1073 belongs to the early manual-wind Oyster group that predates the Oyster Perpetual. Its records show the screw-down Oyster case in a small cushion form, with wire lugs and a subsidiary-seconds dial. It is listed with other pre-Perpetual references in the early Oyster index.
Production outline
Antiquorum dated its 2001 example to circa 1926. Christie's assigned circa 1930 to a 31 mm chromed watch, while Bonhams described a 32 mm example as 1930s. Bachmann & Scher dated its own watch to 1934. The surviving descriptions support examples across that period, but they do not show when the reference entered or left production.
The cited records omit case serial numbers, so their catalogue dates cannot be checked against a serial chart. Circa 1926 is Antiquorum's estimate for its individual watch, not a reference launch date.
Movement notes
Antiquorum describes a 10½-ligne Extra Prima movement with 15 jewels in its circa-1926 watch. Christie's calls the movement a 15-jewel Prima, and the Bonhams description calls its 15-jewel movement Ultra Prima. These grade names belong to separate catalogue descriptions. The available records do not identify a shared caliber number or show that every 1073 used the same grade.
The auction records name different Prima grades and provide no shared caliber number or movement serial range. Bachmann & Scher explicitly lists hand-winding; the auction catalogues do not state winding explicitly.
Dial map
Antiquorum's watch has a white enamel dial with painted Breguet numerals, subsidiary seconds, and blued-steel Breguet hands. Christie's records a silvered dial with Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds. Bonhams describes a two-tone enamel dial with Roman numerals, subsidiary seconds, and blued-steel axe hands.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
The records agree on a cushion case and subsidiary-seconds layout, but not on one case finish. Antiquorum calls its 32 × 32 mm case stainless steel, Christie's describes a worn chromed case at 31 mm, and Bonhams records a 32 mm chrome case. Bachmann & Scher's data panel says steel while its prose calls the case chrome-plated. Those descriptions should stay with their respective watches.
Antiquorum describes a three-piece case with a screwed back and crown, ribbed bezel, and wire lugs. Christie's also records wire lugs and a screw back; one lug was missing from its worn example. Bachmann & Scher describes fixed wire lugs and an Oyster crown. The sources do not identify the crystal material. Antiquorum's water-resistant wording applies to its historical lot; it says nothing about the watch's current performance.
Bracelet, clasp, and packaging
Antiquorum's lot included a stainless-steel Rolex buckle and fitted box. Bonhams records an adjustable ladder bracelet, described as associated. The buckle, bracelet, and box remain lot-specific until provenance establishes original delivery. Bracelet reference and end-link fitment remain undocumented for 1073.
Special branches
The California-dial example is the only special dial branch identified in the sources reviewed here. Bachmann & Scher calls it pink in the data panel and salmon in its prose; its originality claim has not been independently documented by an auction catalogue.
Auction record
| Record | Catalogue details |
|---|---|
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 8 June 2001, lot 258 | Ref. 1073, circa 1926 attribution; stainless-steel 32 × 32 mm case; white enamel Breguet-numeral dial; 10½-ligne Extra Prima, 15 jewels; steel Rolex buckle and fitted box. |
| Christie's, lot 811717 | Ref. 1073, circa 1930 attribution; 31 mm chromed cushion case; silvered Arabic-numeral dial; 15-jewel Prima movement. The catalogue notes wear and one missing lug. |
| Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 20 September 2005, lot 172 | Ref. 1073, 1930s attribution; 32 mm chrome cushion case; two-tone enamel Roman-numeral dial; 15-jewel Ultra Prima movement; associated adjustable ladder bracelet. The catalogue entry survives in a secondary auction archive. |
| Bachmann & Scher, sold listing AW700 | Ref. 1073, dated 1934; dealer describes a California dial and radium numerals and hands. The listing gives conflicting steel and chrome-plated case descriptions. |