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Rolex 2791 pocket watch

From Rolexopedia


Pocket watch → 2791

Gold Rolex pocket watch attributed to ref. 2791 with a champagne dial and black dart markers
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2011, lot 30; case 1 006 294.

Rolex ref. 2791 is documented as an open-face pocket watch in two Antiquorum catalogues. Both describe 42 mm, 18K yellow-gold watches, but assign circa 1930 to case 1 006 294 and circa 1954 to adjacent case 1 006 293. The 24-year difference between those estimates remains unresolved.

Core facts

Detail Record
Reference 2791
Type Open-face, manual-wind pocket watch
Case Antiquorum describes both catalogued examples as 18K yellow gold and 42 mm in diameter
Dated examples Case 1 006 294, circa 1930; case 1 006 293, circa 1954, as dated by Antiquorum
Movement 2011 catalogue: rhodium-plated, 17 jewels; 2018 catalogue: 15-line movement. Neither gives a numbered caliber.
Dial Two-tone dials with different numeral layouts are shown in the two Antiquorum lots

Production outline

The 2018 catalogue links case 1 006 293 to adjacent case 1 006 294, sold in 2011, and notes that the earlier watch had a different dial. Antiquorum dates the higher-numbered case circa 1930 and the lower-numbered one circa 1954. The estimates run against the case-number sequence and do not establish a production span.

A Polish seller listing shows a third apparent case, numbered 1006288 and marked 2791 inside the back. The seller calls it 18K gold and dates it circa 1930; the photographs show no dated paper or readable fineness mark. Treat those details as seller claims.

Movement notes

Antiquorum's 2011 lot describes a rhodium-plated, 17-jewel lever movement with a monometallic compensation balance, flat balance spring, and index regulator. The 2018 lot describes a 15-line movement with a going barrel, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance with gold poising screws, and Elinvar Breguet hairspring. Neither catalogue gives a numbered caliber. The seller photograph of case 1006288 shows Rolex, Fab. Suisse, Swiss Made, Spiral Breguet, Elinvar, and 17 Rubis markings, but does not establish that the case and movement left Rolex together.

Dial map

Recorded example Catalogue or photographed description Evidence
Case 1 006 294 Two-tone champagne dial, black painted dart numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds, and blued-steel hands Antiquorum, 2011 lot 30
Case 1 006 293 Two-tone dial with Arabic numerals at 12, 3, and 9, baton markers, and subsidiary seconds Antiquorum, 2018 lot 238
Case 1006288 Seller photographs show a two-tone sector layout, Arabic 12, 3, and 9, and subsidiary seconds at 6 Allegro Lokalnie listing; the seller-attributed dial has no independent authentication

The first two dials are documented on separately numbered Antiquorum watches. The seller photographs add another observed layout, without establishing when it was made or whether its components are original.

Case, pendant, and bow

Antiquorum gives a 42 mm diameter for both catalogued cases. Its 2011 entry describes a three-body bassine case with a polished, stepped bezel and gives an 8 mm thickness. The 2018 lot describes an open-face watch with a snap-on back. The case-profile photograph below belongs to that second watch.

Side profile of the gold Rolex ref. 2791 pocket watch, showing its case and bow
Antiquorum, 2018, lot 238; case 1 006 293.

Gallery

Sources