Rolex Oyster Perpetual 4919

Steel and gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual reference 4919 with a Serpico y Laino dial — Farsettiarte, lot 50, 5 December 2024. The catalogue identifies the dial as Serpico y Laino-signed and dates this watch to circa 1960.

Rolex ref. 4919 is an automatic Oyster Perpetual grouped with the Bubblebacks by collectors. Auction catalogues describe steel cases with gold bezels and movements measuring 9¾ lignes. A secondary copy of an Antiquorum lot assigns one example to the 1930s, but the original lot page was not located. Later catalogues date other examples from about 1947 to circa 1960. These are estimates for individual watches; they do not establish the reference’s production span. Catalogues describe different dial layouts and case dimensions on individual watches; none identifies a numeric caliber.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	4919
model	Oyster Perpetual; “Bubbleback” is a collector grouping
family	Bubbleback and early Oyster, as used by collectors
dated examples	One mirrored Antiquorum entry assigns an example to the 1930s; later catalogues date others circa 1947–1960. Production endpoints are unknown
movement	Automatic; catalogues and a technical case table give 9¾ lignes; numeric caliber not confirmed
case	Steel with yellow- or pink-gold bezel in documented examples; catalogued diameters range from 31 to 34 mm
dial	Silver or light dials with Roman, Arabic, baton, dart, or bullseye layouts in individual records; originality is not established across the group
bracelet	A dealer example has a bracelet altered to fit; no original 4919 bracelet fitment is established here

Where it sits in the line

The auction catalogues call the 4919 an Oyster Perpetual. “Bubbleback” appears in collector lists and sale descriptions; it is useful shorthand for this group, not a Rolex model name established by the records reviewed here. A circulating list credited to Rolex Forums user w-v-m includes 4919. Copies reproduce one list, which has errors elsewhere; it records collector usage, not a factory classification.

Production outline

A secondary copy of an Antiquorum 2002 lot assigns an example to the 1930s. The original Antiquorum listing was not located, so this remains a second-hand catalogue transcription and conflicts with later dates. Heritage dates a steel example to circa 1947, Antiquorum dates case 608098 to 1948, and Auctionata dates case 618966 to circa 1948. Christie’s places another example in the 1950s. Farsettiarte dates its caseback-marked example to circa 1960 using partial serial information. These are estimates for separate watches, not factory production dates.

One Tennants catalogue describes the inside caseback of a 1947 watch as stamped “4919 5011.” It does not explain the two numbers. Keep that marking attached to the individual watch; it does not show that 4919 and 5011 are interchangeable. A separate collector-forum discussion proposes that some 4919 markings were added to cases originally associated with another reference, but it offers no factory record to support that explanation.

Movement notes

Antiquorum and other catalogues describe automatic 9¾-line movements in individual 4919 watches. An undated technical table headed “Rolex Boîtes Oyster” also lists ref. 4919 with an automatic 9¾-line movement. The scan’s publication history is unclear, and none of these records names a numeric caliber for a photographed 4919 movement. Do not infer Cal. 620, 630, or another caliber from movement size alone.

The available auction photographs show the watches from the front, while a readable movement stamp remains unavailable. Heritage, Tennants, and Drouot report movement numbers for individual watches; those numbers are not caliber designations.

Dial map

The catalogues describe several individual layouts. Antiquorum’s 1948 example has a silver dial with Roman numerals and dart-shaped markers. Its 1950s example has a silver dial with batons and Roman numerals. Tennants describes Arabic numerals on the watch whose caseback it transcribes as “4919 5011.” Farsettiarte’s circa-1960 example has a Serpico y Laino-signed dial with Arabic numerals and triangular markers. These descriptions document separate watches; they do not establish a complete factory dial range.

The Vintage Rolex Forum sale listing shows a bullseye dial and calls it original, but that assessment comes from the seller. Heritage and Auctionata each describe a refinished dial on their respective examples. The sources do not settle which dial details or signatures are original to every 4919 configuration.

Antiquorum, Geneva 2009, lot 365: silver dial with Roman numerals and dart-shaped markers; catalogue date 1948
Farsettiarte, 2024, lot 50: Serpico y Laino-signed dial; the catalogue dates this separate example circa 1960

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The exact-reference records describe steel cases paired with yellow- or pink-gold bezels. Antiquorum records a 32 mm steel and pink-gold watch with a graduated bezel and half-hooded lugs. Its 1950s lot describes a 32 mm steel and yellow-gold watch. Auctionata gives 31 mm for its steel example; Farsettiarte gives 34 mm for the Serpico y Laino watch. The technical table lists case-related dimensions, but its headings and scan quality do not support treating the figures as a factory diameter specification.

The cited catalogues leave the crystal and crown history open. A specialist dealer describes one two-tone 4919 with an Arabic dial and a 14K gold bezel. Its claims about dial originality and the reference’s predecessor remain dealer statements, not confirmed production history.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

The examples reviewed here are pictured on leather straps or are described without a bracelet. Tempo Archive shows a two-tone Rolex bracelet on one watch but says it was altered to fit. That example cannot establish original delivery or a 4919 bracelet reference. No reference-specific clasp, end-link, box, or papers configuration is established by the cited records.

Special branches

Farsettiarte’s caseback-marked example has a Serpico y Laino-signed dial. Christie’s traces the Caracas jeweller’s move into watch sales to the early 1930s and says it became Rolex’s exclusive distributor in Venezuela; Christie’s dates the store’s closure to 1966. Phillips instead dates Serpico y Laino’s Rolex retail activity to 1925–1960. The retailer’s dates therefore remain a little loose across these accounts. Neither article verifies the originality of the signature on Farsettiarte’s particular watch.

Auction record

record	catalogue description	limit
Antiquorum, Geneva, 2009, lot 365	Case 608098; dated 1948; 32 mm steel and pink gold; 9¾-line, 18-jewel automatic movement	One lot; front-view photograph only
Heritage Auctions, 2012, lot 60247	Steel example dated circa 1947; movement number N58592; dial described as refinished	Catalogue estimate; no caliber identified
Auctionata / Paddle8, Berlin, 2016, lot 16	Case 618966; dated circa 1948; 31 mm steel with gold bezel and crown; refinished dial	One lot; image rights not established
Tennants, 14 March 2026, lot 2147	Catalogue dates the watch to 1947; caseback reported as stamped “4919 5011”; movement N71083; Arabic dial described as refinished; sold for £1,200	Catalogue does not explain dual stamping; later strap and buckle
Christie’s, lot 1720329	Steel and gold example dated to the 1950s; 31 mm; self-winding movement	No numeric caliber stated
Auktionen Dr. H. Crott via Drouot, lot 84	Current listing reports caseback marked 4919, case 607232, movement N69425, and a circa-1947 estimate; sale scheduled for 31 October 2026	Listing, not a completed sale; “Cal. Hunter” is ambiguous
Farsettiarte, 2024, lot 50	Caseback-marked 4919; circa-1960 estimate; 34 mm steel case, gold grooved bezel, automatic 9¾-line movement, Serpico y Laino dial	Partial serials; date and reference interpretation remain lot-specific

Related references

See the Bubbleback and early Oyster index, movement guide, and serial-number guide. The dated case and movement numbers above belong to individual catalogued watches; they do not form a serial-year chart or establish a production span.

Gallery

Farsettiarte, 2024, lot 50: steel case, gold bezel, and retailer-signed dial
Antiquorum, Geneva 2009, lot 365: separate steel and pink-gold example
Farsettiarte, 2024, lot 50: second view of the same watch shown above

Sources