Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 15000

Stainless-steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 15000 with a silver baton dial and Oyster bracelet — Ref. 15000, Antiquorum Hong Kong, lot 136, catalogued circa 1982.

The 15000 is a 34 mm stainless-steel Oyster Perpetual Date with a smooth bezel. Exact-reference catalogues identify Cal. 3035; specialist guides place the model in the 1980s. Dated auction examples run from circa 1982 through a 1988 guarantee record, but these observations do not establish factory production limits.

Core facts

Detail	Documented record
Reference	15000
Model	Oyster Perpetual Date
Case	Stainless steel; catalogues usually give 34 mm, with stated measurements from 33 to 34.5 mm
Bezel	Smooth steel bezel
Movement	Cal. 3035 automatic; 27 jewels in several auction records; 28,800 beats per hour
Display	Central seconds and date at 3 o'clock; quick-set date
Crystal	Acrylic with Cyclops date magnifier, per an exact-reference Sotheby's listing and 150xx generation guides
Documented dates	Auction examples circa 1982–1988; factory endpoints are unknown
Bracelet evidence	Oyster 78350/557 on exact-reference examples; Rolex's 2012 parts list also includes Jubilee 62510/574 as a replacement application

Where it sits in the line

The 15000 is the steel, smooth-bezel member of the five-digit Oyster Perpetual Date generation. It follows the four-digit 1500 group and uses Cal. 3035, which adds a quick-set date to the earlier 15xx movement generation. Rolex Forums collectors discussing the 15000, 15010 and 15200 also identify the 15200 as the later caliber change; that thread is useful context, while the exact-reference catalogues provide the stronger model evidence. Rolex Forums discussion, 7 July 2009 WatchGuys Date guide

The Japanese-language “Oyster Perpetual Date reference guide” dates the 15000 to the early 1980s–1989; “A Date with Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date” places the wider 150xx Date generation in the 1980s. The “Rolex Date buyer’s guide” table also lists the 15000 in that decade, but the same page later assigns the five-digit Date a 3135 movement and sapphire crystal. The guide dates are broad ranges, not factory production limits. “Oyster Perpetual Date reference guide” “A Date with Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date” “Rolex Date buyer’s guide”

Production outline

Exact-reference auction records date cases 7,017,234, 7,052,429, 7,153,270 and 7,267,200 to 1982–circa 1983. Noonans dates case R638723 circa 1988, and a separate Drouot catalogue includes a guarantee dated 1988. These are dates assigned to surviving examples. No factory document or case-number series in the sources reviewed establishes the first or last production year.

Movement notes

Auction catalogues identify Cal. 3035 in the 15000. A photograph of one listed example shows a movement marked 3035 beside an inner caseback stamped 15000. These markings document one watch. Listing W2073

Antiquorum, Christie's and Sotheby's list 27 jewels; Grail Watch gives the caliber's 28,800-beat rate and quick-set date. The 3035 belongs to the higher-frequency Date movement generation that replaced the earlier 15xx calibers. The 2012 Rolex parts list and collector discussion help place the model in that generation, but neither dates an individual watch.

Cal. 3035 movement and inner caseback stamped 15000 — Movement marked 3035 beside an inside caseback marked 15000, from listed ref. 15000 example W2073.

Dial map

The catalogues show several layouts. The records are examples, not a complete Rolex dial-option list or a production sequence.

Catalogue description	Example	Source
Silver or sunburst dial with applied baton markers and luminous accents	Case 7,052,429, circa 1982	Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2022, lot 136
Blue dial with baton markers	Partial case 7,146xxx, circa 1982	Anderson & Garland 2023, lot 429
White dial with Roman numerals and baton indexes	Case R638723, circa 1988	Noonans 2026, lot 661
Black baton dial with luminous accents and a later-applied Black Cat logo	Case 7,153,270, manufactured 1982	Christie's, lot 5309247

The 15000 also appears with marked dials discussed under Special branches. These logo-bearing watches are separate documented objects; their markings do not define the standard dial map.

Dial close-up from Antiquorum's circa-1982 example, lot 136. Reflections cross the Cyclops and partly obscure the date.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

Exact-reference catalogues describe steel cases with smooth bezels. Most report a diameter of 34 mm. Antiquorum gives 34.2 mm across the case and 33.7 mm across the bezel; Christie's reports 34.5 mm, while one Cambiaste catalogue gives 33 mm. These measurements may use different points or methods, so the page records the sources' figures rather than forcing a single exact dimension.

An exact-reference Sotheby's listing specifies an acrylic crystal, and specialist guides describe acrylic across the 150xx generation. The listings show the date magnifier and identify screw-down crowns and casebacks on documented examples. The available records do not establish a reference-wide depth rating.

Case identification needs the exterior reference between the lugs. Antiquorum's 15038/15000 catalogue distinguishes the outside reference from an inside caseback marked 15000; Phillips separately describes a 15203 with the same number on its interior caseback. Neither is counted here as a 15000 watch. Antiquorum 15038/15000 Phillips, New York Watch Auction: Eight, lot 19

One circa-1980 Christie’s catalogue labels a 14K-gold watch as ref. 15000. The available group photograph does not show a readable exterior reference stamp, and specialist reference tables associate gold cases with other 150xx numbers. This remains a disputed catalogue attribution, not an established gold 15000 branch. Christie's, circa-1980 catalogue, lot 99 “Rolex Date buyer’s guide”

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging

Antiquorum and Anderson & Garland catalogue Oyster bracelet ref. 78350 with end links 557 on 15000 examples. Rolex's June 2012 parts list includes 78350/557 and Jubilee 62510/574 among replacement applications for refs. 15000 and 15010. One archived 15000 listing shows a 62510H Jubilee bracelet. Those records establish observed fitment and replacement compatibility; they do not show which bracelet Rolex delivered with a particular watch. Rolex parts and accessories price list, 1 June 2012 Archived ref. 15000 listings

Antiquorum's Real Club de Golf Sotogrande lot describes a 78350 bracelet with “577 ends.” Its own end-link photograph appears to show 557, which is also listed for the model in the Rolex parts document. The catalogue transcription and image disagree, so the lot is not evidence for a separate end-link fitment.

The Golf Club lot came with a box, outer box, warranty, chronometer tag and price tag. That set belongs to the individual watch. Packaging varies by sale period and does not establish a standard reference-specific kit.

Angled view of the Antiquorum lot 136 watch and its Oyster bracelet.

Special branches

Three catalogues describe logo-bearing 15000 watches. Antiquorum records the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande logo on the dial and caseback and says the watch was sold in Spain in 1983. Christie's identifies a Black Cat logo for the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron in Osan, Korea, and explicitly calls the dial logo later applied; the caseback inscription was also added later. Sotheby's describes case 7,267,200 as made for the Saudi Fund for Development and shows the Fund's crest on the dial. The catalogue wording ties each mark to an individual watch, but no Rolex commission record establishes a factory program for these examples.

Historical market and auction record

| Example || Catalogue date || Details || Published result |- | Antiquorum Hong Kong, lot 136 || 28 May 2022 || Case 7,052,429; silver baton dial; 78350F/557 || HKD 35,000 |- | Antiquorum Forte dei Marmi, lot 11 || 24 June 2022 || Case 7,017,234; Golf Club logo; 78350 bracelet || EUR 7,177 |- | Anderson & Garland, lot 429 || 22 March 2023 || Partial case 7,146xxx; blue baton dial; 78350/557 || GBP 2,300

The sales cover different examples and markets. Results are retained with their lots; they do not set a reference-wide value.

Related references

Gallery

Complete silver baton-dial watch, Antiquorum Hong Kong 2022, lot 136.
Dial and date detail from the same lot; reflections partly cover the date magnifier.
Cal. 3035 movement and inner caseback stamped 15000, from listed example W2073.
Angled case and Oyster bracelet view from the same lot.

Sources