Rolex 3134 Bubbleback

Steel 3134 with a pink California-style dial

The 3134 is a tonneau Oyster Perpetual documented with both subsidiary and centre seconds. Auction descriptions give movement sizes of 9½ and 9¾ lignes. Most listed cases are steel; steel-and-gold examples also appear. Auctioneers date individual watches from about 1939 to 1957; those estimates do not establish the factory production span.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	3134
family	Bubbleback (collector term; Rolex called it Oyster Perpetual)
documented examples	auction records include repeat offerings; catalogued dates run from about 1939 to 1957
case diameter	32 mm in most records; other catalogues give 30, 32.5, and 33 mm
case thickness	14 mm on Antiquorum’s 2013 example; not a reference-wide figure
case shape	tonneau
case construction	three-body / three-part in two catalogues
bezel	inclined, smooth
crystal	acrylic
crown	screw-down
movement	automatic; auction descriptions give 9½ and 9¾ lignes
escapement	lever; described as straight-line in the 2013 catalogue
balance	monometallic with a self-compensating Breguet balance spring in 1992; Superbalance in 2013
seconds	subsidiary and centre sweep both documented
case materials	stainless steel; steel and yellow gold; two steel-and-gold listings with alloy unspecified

Where it sits in the line

The 3134 belongs to the two-digit-suffixed Oyster Perpetual references 3130 through 3135. The group includes different seconds layouts and case metals. Antiquorum's 1992 and 2013 examples have subsidiary seconds. Exclusive Timepieces lot 227 and the Luxe Auctioneers example have centre seconds.

Auction records document steel, one steel-and-yellow-gold case, and two steel-and-gold listings whose alloy is unspecified.

Production outline

Auction catalogues date individual 3134 examples from about 1939 to 1957. The early end comes from Bruun Rasmussen's 2022 listing; Antiquorum and other catalogues place examples in the 1940s and 1950s. These estimates describe individual watches and leave the factory endpoints open.

Exclusive Timepieces dates case 168751 to 1957, while Anthony Traina's 2024 Hodinkee guide places the end of Bubbleback production in the mid-1950s. That 1957 date falls after Traina's family endpoint; the available records leave 3134's closing year unsettled.

Movement notes

The cited auction lots give two movement sizes. Antiquorum's 1992 lot 181 and Exclusive Timepieces lot 227 give 9¾ lignes. Antiquorum's 1995 Milan lot 161 gives 9½ lignes and describes an automatic, 17-jewel movement with a Superbalance and Breguet spring. Klöter describes the movement in lot 443 as an intact anchor movement, without naming a caliber or winding type. The 1992 lot describes a self-winding, 17-jewel movement with lever escapement, monometallic balance and a self-compensating Breguet spring. Dr. Crott's 2015 lot describes a rotor-wind movement with a "patented super balance." Its 2019 lot gives movement number 94767 but no caliber. Pestel-Debord calls its circa-1950 example automatic and chronometer-certified. Antiquorum's 2013 lot 143 reports rhodium plating, a straight-line lever escapement and a Superbalance; its entry gives no movement size or jewel count.

Use the movement marking to identify the caliber. The cited auction catalogues give movement sizes and construction details but no caliber number; seconds layout alone cannot distinguish Cal. 620 from 635 in a subsidiary-seconds watch or Cal. 630 from 645 in a centre-seconds watch. See Cal. 620, Cal. 630, Cal. 635, and Cal. 645.

Dial map

The auction record includes several dial layouts. These are catalogue descriptions; original dial fitment remains unverified.

Dial	Catalogue example	Seconds	Notes
Black	Antiquorum Geneva 1992, steel and yellow gold	Subsidiary	The catalogue describes the case as having hooded fluted lugs.
Silvered, printed Roman numerals	Antiquorum Milan 1995	Centre	Steel, 32 mm; 9½-ligne automatic.
Matte silver with applied luminous Arabic numerals	Antiquorum Geneva 2013, case 104396	Subsidiary	Outer minutes track.
Pink, luminous Arabic and squared numerals	Exclusive Timepieces, case 168751	Centre	Patinated dial; outer minutes track.
Silvered with Arabic numerals	Galerie + Auktionshaus Peter Klöter, Auction 185, lot 443	Subsidiary	Catalogue gives 30 mm and dates the watch to circa 1955; the listed alloy and case construction are not specified beyond steel/gold.
Silvered with applied indexes	Dr. Crott 2015, case 529380	Centre	Silver and gold case; luminous alpha hands.
Two-colour silvered, signed Beyer	Dr. Crott 2019, case 126947	Centre, visible in catalogue photograph	Dr. Crott calls it "Double Name"; the record gives movement no. 94767 and delivery to Beyer in Zurich with original box.
California-style, half Roman and half Arabic	Sotheby's 2018; Luxe 2026	Centre	The photographs appear to show one watch offered twice. Luxe notes toning and spotting; dial originality is unverified.
Cream with railway track, applied arrowhead indexes and numerals	Pestel-Debord 2018	Not stated	Gold lance hands; catalogue gives 33 mm.
Black with pale markers	Bruun Rasmussen 2022	Not stated	The catalogue says the dial and hands were relumed; operation was not guaranteed.

Rolex filed Swiss patent CH221643 for the California-style dial design in May 1941; it was issued in June 1942. The patent dates the design; individual dials need separate provenance.

Matte silver dial, applied luminous Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds, case 104396
California-style dial in pink, half Roman and half Arabic
The second California example, marked Chronometer and running centre sweep seconds, circa 1945

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Most auction descriptions give a 32 mm diameter. Klöter's 2019 catalogue gives 30 mm; Bruun Rasmussen gives 32.5 mm; Pestel-Debord's 2018 lot gives 33 mm. These are lot measurements, not a confirmed reference-wide dimension. Antiquorum's 2013 lot 143 is 14 mm thick; it is the only source reviewed with a thickness figure. The cases are tonneau-shaped, with an inclined smooth bezel, acrylic crystal and screw-down crown.

Antiquorum's 2013 lot 143 calls the case "three body," and Exclusive Timepieces describes case 168751 as "composed of three parts." Both catalogue descriptions identify a three-part case.

Antiquorum's 1992 catalogue describes its steel-and-yellow-gold example as having "hooded fluted lugs," while case 168751 has curved lugs. The hooded-lug distinction remains catalogue evidence because no photograph of the 1992 watch has been located. Pestel-Debord describes a domed screw-down back and an era crown; Dr. Crott's 2019 catalogue specifies a screw-down "Oyster Patent" crown on case 126947. Collectors use “Bubbleback” for this family; Rolex called the model Oyster Perpetual.

Case profile: curved lugs, inclined bezel, screw-down crown and the domed back the family is named for
Screw-down caseback with milled edge

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

Two catalogued examples carry riveted steel bracelets. Exclusive Timepieces lists one on case 168751, but its fitting date is unstated. Dr. Crott describes the bracelet on case 126947 as later. The Luxe example has an associated leather strap and a Rolex steel tang buckle; Pestel-Debord describes its leather strap as added. Treat these bracelet associations as object-specific; original fitment remains unproved.

Case-metal suffixes

Rolex used slash suffixes on Bubbleback references to distinguish case metals. Colin A. White's The Vintage Rolex Field Manual gives 1578/7 and 1578/8 as examples. Auction catalogues describe steel, steel-and-yellow-gold, and steel/gold 3134 cases. The two steel/gold descriptions do not specify the alloy or connect the material to a reference suffix, so the 3134 suffix map remains unconfirmed.

Auction record

Venue	Date	Lot	Case no.	Material	Dial	Estimate	Result
Antiquorum Geneva #140	1992-10-17	181	Not stated	Steel and yellow gold	Black	Not stated	Unsold
Antiquorum Milan	1995-05-22	161	Not stated	Steel	Silvered, printed Roman numerals, centre seconds	ITL 3,800–4,200	Result not located
Antiquorum Geneva #272	2013-05-12	143	104396	Steel	Matte silver, applied luminous Arabics	CHF 4,000–6,000	Unsold
Dr. Crott 91st auction	2015-05-16	41059	529380	Steel and gold	Silvered, applied indexes, centre seconds	EUR 2,700–3,500	Result not located
Pestel-Debord	2018-01-19	13	Not stated	Steel	Cream, railway track, applied numerals and arrowhead indexes	Not stated	Result not located
Sotheby's Watches Online	2018-10-05	Not stated	Not stated	Steel	California-style, centre seconds	USD 4,000–6,000	Result not located; photograph appears to match Luxe 2026
Exclusive Timepieces	Not stated	227	168751	Steel	Pink with patina	EUR 6,000–12,000	EUR 13,650
Dr. Crott 101st auction	2019-11-16	329	126947	Steel	Two-colour silvered, Beyer-signed	EUR 4,000–6,000	EUR 7,300
Galerie + Auktionshaus Peter Klöter, Auction 185	2019-11-30	443	Not stated	Steel/gold; alloy and case layout not detailed	Silvered Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds	Not stated	Result not located
Bruun Rasmussen	2022-11-30	2009	Not stated	Steel	Black; dial and hands relumed	Not stated	Result not located
Luxe Auctioneers	2026-01-15	118	Not stated	Steel	California	Not stated	USD 3,250 hammer; USD 4,063 total reported by EveryWatch

Case 168751 sold for EUR 13,650 against a EUR 6,000–12,000 estimate. Dr. Crott reports EUR 7,300 for case 126947 against a EUR 4,000–6,000 estimate. Luxe Auctioneers reported a USD 3,250 hammer for its California-dial example; EveryWatch reports USD 4,063 including fees.

Antiquorum's 1992 and 2013 lots were unsold; cases 168751 and 126947 sold for the prices above. Results remain missing for several listings, so the table is incomplete as a market sample.

Related references

Bubbleback 3131 (1936–c.1948)
Bubbleback 3132
Bubbleback 3372
Bubbleback 3065 (1937–1950)
Bubbleback 3595 (1941–1949)
Bubbleback 2940 (1940–1949)

Gallery

Steel 3134 with California-style dial
Matte silver dial and subsidiary seconds
Pink California-style dial
California-style dial with centre seconds
Case profile
Caseback