Reference:3064

Oyster Perpetual -> 3064

The 3064 is a tonneau-shaped Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback from around 1940, built in pink gold and stainless steel with hooded lugs and a pink dial. Its only publicly documented example carries an unusual retail history: sold new through Dobbies Ltd. of Nairobi, a Kenyan retailer, and signed on the dial to prove it. Colonial-era East African retail signatures are rare next to the Swiss and European names that dominate Bubbleback dial signatures, and this one survived on the watch through to a 2014 Christie's sale.

Rolex 3064 Bubbleback, pink gold and steel, retailed by Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi

Core facts

detail	value
reference	3064
family	Oyster Perpetual (Bubbleback)
common name	"Bubbleback"
production	documented example dated circa 1940
case	32mm, tonneau-shaped, stainless steel with 18k pink gold bezel and hooded lugs, screw-down back and crown
movement	self-winding, caliber sized 9¾ lignes, 18 jewels, chronometer-certified
dial (documented)	pink, luminous Arabic and baton numerals, luminous hands, subsidiary seconds, signed by Rolex and further signed by retailer Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi
documented examples	Christie's Geneva, 12 May 2014, sale 1401, lot 240, case no. 282'453

Where it sits in the line

The 3064 belongs to the same tonneau-cased, pink-gold-and-steel bi-metal group as the 3130 and 3133, sharing the 9¾-ligne movement class and hooded-lug case style common to Rolex's early automatic Oyster Perpetuals. What distinguishes its one documented example is provenance rather than construction: a retailer signature from Dobbies Ltd. of Nairobi, placing the watch in Rolex's colonial East African retail network rather than the Swiss or London houses that signed most surviving Bubblebacks.

Production outline

The only documented 3064 is dated circa 1940 by Christie's, case no. 282'453, and sold at the house's Geneva sale on 12 May 2014 (sale 1401, lot 240) for CHF 10,000 against a CHF 8,000–12,000 estimate. Christie's own cataloguing calls it directly a "bubble back type case" watch, removing any ambiguity about family classification.

Movement notes

Caliber 9¾ lignes (ligne class), automatic, 18 jewels, chronometer-certified — the same movement-size class documented on the 3130, 3133, and 3725 references from the same generation.

Dial map

The dial is pink with luminous Arabic and baton numerals and luminous hands, a subsidiary seconds sub-dial, and dual signatures: Rolex's own maker's signature alongside the retailer's mark for Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi. Retailer-signed Bubbleback dials are documented across several references from major houses like Serpico y Laino and Bucherer; a colonial East African retailer signature is a less common variant of the same practice.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

32mm tonneau-shaped case in stainless steel, with an 18k pink gold bezel and hooded lugs, screw-down case back and crown, the crown itself in pink gold. The bi-metal construction — steel case body, gold bezel and lugs — is a cost-tier choice documented across several Bubbleback references of this generation rather than unique to the 3064.

Related references

• Bubbleback 3130 — same movement class, same bi-metal construction
• Bubbleback 3133 — same generation, pink gold and steel
• Bubbleback 3725 — same generation, documented in multiple metal configurations

See also the Oyster Perpetual family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.

Auction record

Sale	Lot	Case no.	Configuration	Estimate	Result
Christie's, Geneva, 12 May 2014	240	282'453	Pink gold and stainless steel, tonneau-shaped, pink dial, hooded lugs, retailed by Dobbies Ltd., Nairobi, with box	CHF 8,000–12,000	CHF 10,000

Only one 3064 has a located auction result; no second case number or dial variant has surfaced to compare it against.

Sources

• "Rolex, A fine and rare stainless steel and 18K pink gold automatic bubble back wristwatch", ref. 3064, Christie's Geneva, sale 1401, lot 240, 2014, via CollectorSquare Luxprice Index
• Anthony Traina, "The Rolex Bubbleback And Why It Still Matters", Hodinkee, 2024
• Oren Hartov, "Rolex Bubbleback Watches: A Collector's Guide, From 1931 to the 1950s", Robb Report, 2024