Reference:1873: Difference between revisions

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Correct 1873 corpus, caseback scope, and 1937 gold example
 
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 1873 Oyster Royal}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 1873 Oyster Royal}}
[[File:Ref 1873 hero.webp|thumb|right|340px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 salmon dial, case 100498|Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498 — salmon dial with black round indexes and subsidiary seconds at 6, on a beaded steel bracelet. Antiquorum Geneva, November 2024.]]


The 1873 is one of the rarest references in the early Oyster catalogue, and one of the most
{{#seo:
consistently mis-filed. Collector reference lists place it in the 1933 founding group of
|title=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 — Salmon "Scientifical" Dial & Auction Record | BezelBase
Bubblebacks, a sibling of the 1858 with the same three-piece case and the same new Perpetual
|description=Rolex reference 1873: four manual-wind Oyster Royal auction examples in steel and 9K gold, including the salmon "Scientifical" dial.
rotor. The two examples that have actually reached public auction are neither. Both are
|image=Ref 1873 hero.webp
hand-wound, and both have flat casebacks; the 2021 Antiquorum lot says so in its title. The
|type=article
dial reads Oyster Royal, not Oyster Perpetual.
}}


Antiquorum's own catalogue note on the 2024 Geneva example measures how thin the ground is.
<small>Oyster → '''1873'''</small>
The house wrote that only a handful of 1873s had come to auction in the past thirty years, and
 
that Antiquorum had itself offered exactly one other example. The archive bears that out. Two
The 1873 is a manual-wind Oyster Royal represented by four auctioned watches: three in steel and
lots, both at Antiquorum, three years apart. Nothing at Phillips, Sotheby's, Christie's,
one in 9K gold. Some collector lists place it among the Bubblebacks, but all four catalogue
Bonhams or Heritage.
descriptions identify manually wound movements. Antiquorum's 2021 title also calls its example
a flat back.
 
Antiquorum wrote in 2024 that only a handful had appeared publicly in thirty years and that it
had previously offered one other example. Bonhams catalogued two more at Knightsbridge in 2021
and 2023. The 2021 Bonhams watch carries a London import mark for 1937 and documents the 9K-gold case.
 
[[File:Ref 1873 hero.webp|thumb|right|340px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 salmon dial, case 100498|Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498, Antiquorum Geneva, November 2024]]


==Core facts==
==Core facts==
Line 29: Line 35:
|-
|-
| production
| production
| 1930s; no firm start or end year documented
| no documented range; one 9K-gold example has a London import mark for 1937
|-
|-
| case diameter
| case diameter
| 31mm (2024 lot) / 31.5mm (2021 lot)
| 31–32mm across four catalogued examples
|-
|-
| case shape
| case shape
Line 38: Line 44:
|-
|-
| caseback
| caseback
| flat, screw-down
| screw-down; one Antiquorum title explicitly says flat back
|-
|-
| bezel
| bezel
Line 44: Line 50:
|-
|-
| crystal
| crystal
| acrylic
| material not established by the cited catalogues
|-
|-
| crown
| crown
Line 53: Line 59:
|-
|-
| movement
| movement
| 17-jewel Extra Prima; 18-jewel chronometer. No caliber number published
| 17-jewel Extra Prima; 18-jewel chronometer or manual (4 documented movements, one numbered 11250). No caliber number published
|-
|-
| case materials
| case materials
| stainless steel (both documented examples)
| stainless steel (3 of 4 documented examples); 9K gold (Bonhams 2021, London import mark for 1937)
|-
|-
| dial designations
| dial designations
Line 62: Line 68:
|-
|-
| notable dial
| notable dial
| salmon "Scientifical" with black round indexes
| salmon dial catalogued by Antiquorum as "Scientifical," with black round indexes
|-
|-
| documented case numbers
| documented case numbers
| 48634; 100498
| 48634; 37029; 81343; 100498
|}
|}


==Where it sits in the line==
==Where it sits in the line==


Rolex built two parallel populations of Oyster wristwatches through the 1930s and 1940s. One
Rolex continued making hand-wound Oysters alongside the automatic Perpetual line. Hodinkee's
took the Perpetual rotor and the domed caseback that collectors later nicknamed the
Bubbleback collecting guide calls these parallel manual-wind watches “flatbacks.” Ref. 1873
Bubbleback. The other stayed hand-wound and kept a flat back, because there was no rotor to
belongs to the manual branch; none of its four auction descriptions identifies an automatic movement.
make room for. Hodinkee's Bubbleback collecting guide names this second group
directly: the "flatbacks", manual-wind watches and even early chronographs that Rolex was
building at the same time. The 1873 is one of them.


Within the manual line, "Oyster Royal" is a grade-and-market designation rather than a model
The catalogues use Oyster Royal and Oyster Royal Chronometre. The Hong Kong watch has a
in the modern sense. It sits alongside Oyster Precision, Oyster Chronometer and, on some
17-jewel Extra Prima movement; Antiquorum describes the Geneva watch as an 18-jewel ultra prima
references, Oyster Scientific, dial names that told a buyer what timing work the movement had
chronometer. Bonhams also calls the 9K-gold watch Oyster Royal Chronometre.
received. The 1873's two documented examples happen to bracket that range: one is marked
Royal with an Extra Prima movement, the other Oyster Royal Chronometre with an 18-jewel
chronometer-grade movement behind a salmon "Scientifical" dial.


The reference sits close to the 1858 numerically, and that proximity is almost certainly why
Its numerical proximity to ref. 1858 does not establish shared case construction or movement.
it ended up on the Bubbleback lists. Rolex allocated reference numbers by case and market
The movement descriptions provide the useful distinction: ref. 1858 is automatic, while every
position, not by movement type, so numerical neighbours in this era are frequently different
catalogued ref. 1873 in this record is manual.
kinds of watch. The 2764 and 2765 pair make the same point nine hundred numbers further on:
one automatic Bubbleback, one manual flatback, adjacent references, same case diameter.


==Production outline==
==Production outline==


Neither documented lot gives a year. Antiquorum dated both examples only to "circa 1930s",
Antiquorum dated both of its examples only to "circa 1930s". Bonhams is more useful. It dated
and no dealer listing, editorial article or book citation surfaced that narrows it. The 1933
its steel example circa 1939, and it dated the gold one by a London import mark for 1937,
start year that circulates for this reference comes from the same collector list that assigns
which is a hallmark rather than a catalogue estimate and puts at least one 1873 in a named
it to the wrong family, and carries no independent support.
year. The 1933 start year that circulates for this reference comes from the same collector
list that assigns it to the wrong family, and carries no independent support.


Two case numbers are on record, 48634 on the 2021 Hong Kong example and 100498 on the 2024
Four case numbers are on record: 37029 on the gold Bonhams example, 48634 on the 2021 Hong
Geneva example, a spread of roughly fifty thousand across two data points. That is
Kong example, 81343 on the 2023 Bonhams steel example and 100498 on the 2024 Geneva example.
enough to say the reference ran for a while and not enough to say anything else. No production
Bonhams also published movement number 11250 on the gold watch. Four case numbers do not define
figures exist in any published source.
a production range, and no production total has been published.


Both documented examples are stainless steel. Whether Rolex built the 1873 in gold or
Three documented watches are steel. The fourth is 9K gold, with a presentation inscription and
two-tone, as it did across much of the contemporary Oyster range, is simply not known from
a London import mark for 1937. No two-tone example has been documented.
the surfaced record.


==Movement notes==
==Movement notes==


Both documented movements are manually wound, and the two lots describe different grades.
All four documented movements are manually wound, and the catalogues describe different
grades.


The Hong Kong 2021 example carried an Extra Prima with 17 jewels. The Geneva 2024 example
The Hong Kong 2021 example carried an Extra Prima with 17 jewels. The Geneva 2024 example
carried an 18-jewel chronometer movement that Antiquorum's catalogue note identifies as an
carried an 18-jewel chronometer movement that Antiquorum's catalogue note identifies as an
ultra prima, which puts both of the hierarchy's upper grades on this one reference. Neither
ultra prima, which puts both of the hierarchy's upper grades on this one reference. Bonhams
catalogue names a caliber number, and no other published source supplies one.
adds two more movements. Its 1939-dated steel example is described only as a jewelled manual
wind. The 9K gold Oyster Royal Chronometre carries an 18-jewel manual wind with a screwed
balance, timed to six positions, numbered 11250. None of the four catalogues names a caliber
number, and no other published source supplies one.


Naming a caliber here would be a guess. "Extra Prima" is a grade, not a caliber. David
“Extra Prima” and “Ultra Prima” are movement grades, not caliber numbers. David Boettcher's
Boettcher's research at vintagewatchstraps.com traces the sequence to Aegler, which began
history of the Rolex and Aegler grade hierarchy dates Wilsdorf's Ultra Prima registration to
marking the better movements it supplied to Rolex as Prima in the 1920s and added Extra Prima
9 December 1930 and notes that the distinction between the top grades is unclear. None of the
and Ultra Prima later; Hans Wilsdorf registered "Ultra Prima" on 9 December 1930. Boettcher is
four 1873 catalogues names a caliber, so the attribution remains open.
careful about what the words actually bought. He finds the graded movements otherwise
identical to standard ones, which puts the difference in adjustment work, to poise and
isochronism, and he reports Prima on 15-jewel movements timed in six positions with both Extra
Prima and Ultra Prima on 18-jewel movements, while saying the gap between the top two grades
is not clear. The Hong Kong example sits outside that pattern: an Extra Prima with 17 jewels.
Reading a grade word as a caliber
number is a recurring error in dealer listings for early Rolex, and the 1873 has too few
documented examples to absorb a guess. Until a movement photograph or a Rolex parts document
supplies a caliber, the grade and the jewel count are the record.


==Dial map==
==Dial map==


Two dials are documented, one described at length in the catalogue and one legible only from
Four dials are documented. Two come from Antiquorum, one described at length in the catalogue
the lot photography.
and one legible only from the lot photography, and two more from Bonhams.


[[File:Ref 1873 dial-detail-salmon.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex 1873 salmon dial detail showing Oyster Royal and Chronometre text|The salmon dial in detail: ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over CHRONOMETRE, black round indexes, blued steel hands and a sunk subsidiary seconds register at 6.]]
[[File:Ref 1873 dial-detail-salmon.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex 1873 salmon dial detail showing Oyster Royal and Chronometre text|The salmon dial in detail: ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over CHRONOMETRE, black round indexes, blued steel hands and a sunk subsidiary seconds register at 6.]]


The salmon "Scientifical" dial on the Geneva 2024 example is the reference's signature.
Antiquorum put “Scientifical” in the Geneva 2024 lot title and described the salmon dial as an
Antiquorum put it in the lot title and described it as an extremely rare original, with black
extremely rare original, with black round indexes and original hands. That originality claim is
round indexes and original hands, on a 31mm steel case numbered 100498. Salmon dials from this
the auction house's assessment, not independent proof.
period are sought in their own right, and one on a reference that surfaces roughly once a
decade is an uncommon combination.


The catalogue photography settles what the word is doing there. The dial reads ROLEX OYSTER
The catalogue photography settles what the word is doing there. The dial reads ROLEX OYSTER
Line 150: Line 141:
text.
text.


The word is not confined to this reference. "Oyster Scientific" is reported as one of several
Bonhams also catalogued ref. 2765 watches as Oyster Scientific. That is a catalogue model label,
dial markings used on the ref 2765, a near-contemporary manual Oyster with the same flat-back
not proof that Rolex printed Scientific or Scientifical on those dials. The photographed 1873
construction, so the vocabulary travelled. What has not been shown is a photographed dial
dial does not carry either word.
carrying either spelling: the 2765 attribution rests on dealer listings rather than on
catalogue photography, and the one 1873 dial that can be examined does not carry the word.
Whether Rolex ever printed Scientific or Scientifical on a dial, or whether the term belongs
entirely to the trade, is unresolved.


[[File:Ref 1873 dial-variant-two-tone.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 two-tone silvered dial, case 48634|Two-tone silvered dial with gold Arabic 12, 3 and 9, applied gold indexes and subsidiary seconds at 6, on a riveted Oyster bracelet. Antiquorum Hong Kong, April 2021, case 48634.]]
[[File:Ref 1873 dial-variant-two-tone.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 two-tone silvered dial, case 48634|Two-tone silvered dial with gold Arabic 12, 3 and 9, applied gold indexes and subsidiary seconds at 6, on a riveted Oyster bracelet. Antiquorum Hong Kong, April 2021, case 48634.]]


The Hong Kong 2021 example carried a patinated dial with original hands, and the catalogue
The Hong Kong 2021 example carried a patinated dial that Antiquorum described as having original hands. The catalogue
says no more than that. The lot photography fills in the layout: a two-tone silvered dial with
says no more than that. The lot photography fills in the layout: a two-tone silvered dial with
a sunk outer track, gold-toned Arabic numerals at 12, 3 and 9, applied bâton indexes at the
a sunk outer track, gold-toned Arabic numerals at 12, 3 and 9, applied bâton indexes at the
remaining hours, luminous plots around the chapter ring, and a subsidiary seconds register at
remaining hours, luminous plots around the chapter ring, and a subsidiary seconds register at
6, with blued steel hands carrying luminous inserts. It is a markedly different watch from the
6, with blued steel hands carrying luminous inserts.
salmon example, dress-sector layout against plain dot indexes, on the same reference number.
 
The two Bonhams dials extend the range without breaking it. The 1939 steel example carries a
silvered dial with black alternating baton and Arabic numeral hour markers, subsidiary seconds
at 6, and blued steel dagger hands with luminous inserts. The gold Oyster Royal Chronometre is
silvered with an applied gilt minute track, applied luminous Arabic numerals, subsidiary
seconds and blued leaf-form hands with luminous inserts. Subsidiary seconds at 6 is the one
constant across all four.


That is the whole documented dial range for the reference. Anything more specific about 1873
That is the whole documented dial range for the reference. Anything more specific about 1873
Line 174: Line 167:
[[File:Ref 1873 case-profile.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 three-quarter view of case 100498|Three-quarter view of case 100498, showing the tonneau flank and the screw-down crown.]]
[[File:Ref 1873 case-profile.webp|thumb|right|300px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 three-quarter view of case 100498|Three-quarter view of case 100498, showing the tonneau flank and the screw-down crown.]]


Stainless steel tonneau with a screw-down caseback and screw-down crown, smooth polished
The four catalogued watches have tonneau cases with screw-down backs and crowns. Three are steel
bezel, acrylic crystal. Measured at 31mm in the 2024 catalogue and 31.5mm in the 2021
and one is 9K gold. The cited catalogues do not establish the crystal material.
catalogue, ordinary measurement-method variance on a tonneau case, the same half-millimetre
Measured at 31mm in the 2024 catalogue, 31.5mm in the 2021 catalogue, 31mm on the gold Bonhams
spread that follows the 31/32mm Bubblebacks around.
example and 32mm on the steel one. The catalogues therefore support a 31–32mm observed range.


The caseback is flat. The 2021 Hong Kong lot title puts "FLAT BACK" in capitals, which is
Antiquorum's 2021 Hong Kong title explicitly says “FLAT BACK.” The other three catalogue records
Antiquorum flagging the trait as identifying rather than incidental, and neither lot
describe manual movements but do not explicitly state the back profile. The evidence supports
description mentions a dome, a rotor or self-winding anywhere. On a reference this scarce,
a manual-wind Oyster classification and one documented flat-back example; it does not prove
that is the first thing to check on any example offered for sale: a domed back on a 1873 means
that every ref. 1873 used the same back.
either the wrong caseback or the wrong reference.


==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==
==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==


The 2021 Hong Kong example was accompanied by a Rolex stainless steel rivet bracelet measuring
The 2021 Hong Kong example was accompanied by a Rolex stainless steel rivet bracelet measuring
roughly 170mm overall. Rivet-link Oyster bracelets are period-plausible for a 1930s steel
roughly 170mm overall. Antiquorum did not present it as original delivery. The Geneva
Oyster, but a bracelet dates itself and not the watch head, and Antiquorum did not present it
as original delivery. It counts as accompanying hardware and nothing more. The Geneva
2024 example came on a beaded steel bracelet of roughly 175mm, catalogued as a "Private Eyes"
2024 example came on a beaded steel bracelet of roughly 175mm, catalogued as a "Private Eyes"
bracelet. Antiquorum did not put the Rolex name on that one the way it did on the Hong Kong
bracelet. Antiquorum did not put the Rolex name on that one, and whether it left the factory
rivet bracelet, and whether it left the factory on the watch is not established either way. No
on the watch is not established. Neither Bonhams
end-link or clasp reference is documented for the 1873 anywhere in the published record.
example came on a bracelet at all: the 1939 steel watch was on an associated brown leather
strap with an associated gilt buckle, the gold one on brown leather, again with an associated
gilt buckle. No end-link or clasp reference is documented for the 1873 anywhere in the
published record.


==Auction record==
==Auction record==
Line 215: Line 208:
| Extra Prima, 17 jewels
| Extra Prima, 17 jewels
| Est. HKD 40,000–60,000; result not published
| Est. HKD 40,000–60,000; result not published
|-
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2021-09-07
| 51
| 37029
| Silvered, applied gilt minute track, luminous Arabic (9K gold)
| 18-jewel, screwed balance, 6 positions, No. 11250
| GBP 2,167.50 incl. premium
|-
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2023-11-22
| 54
| 81343
| Silvered, alternating baton and Arabic, dagger hands
| Jewelled manual wind
| GBP 1,280 incl. premium
|-
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva
| Antiquorum, Geneva
Line 225: Line 234:
|}
|}


The Geneva 2024 result is the only realised price on record for the reference. CHF 10,625
Three realised prices are on record. The Geneva 2024 salmon-dial chronometer took CHF 10,625
against an CHF 8,000–12,000 estimate is a mid-estimate result, which for a reference this
against a CHF 8,000–12,000 estimate. Bonhams sold the 9K gold example
scarce says less about the 1873 than it might seem to: with two lots in the public record
for GBP 2,167.50 including premium in September 2021 and the 1939 steel one for GBP 1,280
there is no series to read a trend from. The Hong Kong 2021 estimate of HKD 40,000–60,000, which the
including premium in November 2023. The Hong Kong 2021 estimate of HKD 40,000–60,000, which
catalogue itself converts to CHF 4,800–7,200, put the Extra Prima example well below where the
the catalogue itself converts to CHF 4,800–7,200, did not produce a published result. Different
house later pitched the salmon-dial chronometer.
currencies, dial conditions, case materials and sale dates make the three results unsuitable as
a price series.


Antiquorum's prose carries the more useful number. The catalogue states that only a handful of
Antiquorum states that only a handful of ref. 1873 watches had appeared publicly in thirty years
1873s had come to auction in thirty years and that the house had offered exactly one other
and that it had offered one other example. The Geneva watch came from a Japanese collection.
example in its entire history, which is as close to a rarity figure as this reference has. The
Geneva watch came out of a Japanese collection.


== Related references ==
== Related references ==


* [[Reference:2765|Oyster Chronometer 2765]] — manual flat-back sibling, shares the "Scientific" dial vocabulary
* [[Reference:2765|Oyster Chronometer 2765]] — manual-wind contemporary catalogued under several model names
* [[Reference:2574|Oyster Royal 2574]] — pre-war manual Oyster, boy's size
* [[Reference:2574|Oyster Royal 2574]] — pre-war manual Oyster, boy's size
* [[Reference:1858|Bubbleback 1858]] — the first Oyster Perpetual, 1933
* [[Reference:1858|Bubbleback 1858]] — the first Oyster Perpetual, 1933
* [[Reference:2240|Bubbleback 2240]] — self-winding contemporary
* [[Reference:2240|Oyster Perpetual 2240]] — self-winding contemporary with provisional Bubbleback classification
* [[Reference:2764|Bubbleback 2764]] — Cal. 620N "Super Precision"
* [[Reference:2764|Bubbleback 2764]] — Cal. 620N "Super Precision"


Line 251: Line 259:
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1873-oyster-royal-chronometre-lot-372-282 "ROLEX, SWITZERLAND, REF. 1873, OYSTER ROYAL CHRONOMETRE, SALMON SCIENTIFICAL DIAL, STAINLESS STEEL", Antiquorum, 2024-11-09]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1873-oyster-royal-chronometre-lot-372-282 "ROLEX, SWITZERLAND, REF. 1873, OYSTER ROYAL CHRONOMETRE, SALMON SCIENTIFICAL DIAL, STAINLESS STEEL", Antiquorum, 2024-11-09]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1873-royal-lot-338-233 "ROLEX REF 1873, ROYAL, FLAT BACK STEEL", Antiquorum, 2021-04-25]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1873-royal-lot-338-233 "ROLEX REF 1873, ROYAL, FLAT BACK STEEL", Antiquorum, 2021-04-25]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/26685/lot/51/rolex-a-9k-gold-manual-wind-wristwatch-oyster-royal-chronometre-ref-1873-london-import-mark-for-1937/ "Rolex. A 9K gold manual wind wristwatch, Oyster Royal Chronometre, Ref: 1873, London Import mark for 1937", Bonhams, 2021-09-07]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28035/lot/54/rolex-a-stainless-steel-manual-wind-wristwatch-ref-1873-circa-1939/ "Rolex. A stainless steel manual wind wristwatch, Ref: 1873, Circa 1939", Bonhams, 2023-11-22]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/blogprima.php David Boettcher, "Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima", vintagewatchstraps.com]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/blogprima.php David Boettcher, "Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima", vintagewatchstraps.com]
* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-rolex-bubbleback-and-why-it-still-matters "Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Rolex Bubbleback And Why It Still Matters", Hodinkee]
* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-rolex-bubbleback-and-why-it-still-matters "Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Rolex Bubbleback And Why It Still Matters", Hodinkee]
* [https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/lists/rolex-bubbleback-watches-collector-guide-1931-1950s-1235893131/ "A Collector's Guide to Rolex Bubbleback Watches, From 1931 to the 1950s", Robb Report]
* [https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/lists/rolex-bubbleback-watches-collector-guide-1931-1950s-1235893131/ "A Collector's Guide to Rolex Bubbleback Watches, From 1931 to the 1950s", Robb Report]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/blogoystercase.php David Boettcher, "VintageWatchStraps (David Boettcher) — Rolex Oyster Case, Hermetic, Submarine research", vintagewatchstraps.com, current]
* [https://www.windvintage.com/blog/2022/9/7/the-oyster-story Owen Lawton / Wind Vintage, "Wind Vintage — The Oyster Story (Part 1)", Wind Vintage, 2022-09-07]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-223-217 "Rolex Oyster Chronometer, Ref. 2765, retailed by Murdock's, Cape Town", Antiquorum, 2009-12-09]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-223-217 "Rolex Oyster Chronometer, Ref. 2765, retailed by Murdock's, Cape Town", Antiquorum, 2009-12-09]
* "List of Bubbleback models (user w-v-m)", RolexForums
 
[[Category:Oyster]]
[[Category:Oyster]]
[[Category:References]]

Latest revision as of 22:49, 23 August 2026


Oyster → 1873

The 1873 is a manual-wind Oyster Royal represented by four auctioned watches: three in steel and one in 9K gold. Some collector lists place it among the Bubblebacks, but all four catalogue descriptions identify manually wound movements. Antiquorum's 2021 title also calls its example a flat back.

Antiquorum wrote in 2024 that only a handful had appeared publicly in thirty years and that it had previously offered one other example. Bonhams catalogued two more at Knightsbridge in 2021 and 2023. The 2021 Bonhams watch carries a London import mark for 1937 and documents the 9K-gold case.

Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 salmon dial, case 100498
Rolex Oyster Royal 1873, case 100498, Antiquorum Geneva, November 2024

Core facts

detail value
reference 1873
family Oyster (manual-wind)
production no documented range; one 9K-gold example has a London import mark for 1937
case diameter 31–32mm across four catalogued examples
case shape tonneau
caseback screw-down; one Antiquorum title explicitly says flat back
bezel smooth, polished
crystal material not established by the cited catalogues
crown screw-down
winding manual
movement 17-jewel Extra Prima; 18-jewel chronometer or manual (4 documented movements, one numbered 11250). No caliber number published
case materials stainless steel (3 of 4 documented examples); 9K gold (Bonhams 2021, London import mark for 1937)
dial designations Oyster Royal; Oyster Royal Chronometre
notable dial salmon dial catalogued by Antiquorum as "Scientifical," with black round indexes
documented case numbers 48634; 37029; 81343; 100498

Where it sits in the line

Rolex continued making hand-wound Oysters alongside the automatic Perpetual line. Hodinkee's Bubbleback collecting guide calls these parallel manual-wind watches “flatbacks.” Ref. 1873 belongs to the manual branch; none of its four auction descriptions identifies an automatic movement.

The catalogues use Oyster Royal and Oyster Royal Chronometre. The Hong Kong watch has a 17-jewel Extra Prima movement; Antiquorum describes the Geneva watch as an 18-jewel ultra prima chronometer. Bonhams also calls the 9K-gold watch Oyster Royal Chronometre.

Its numerical proximity to ref. 1858 does not establish shared case construction or movement. The movement descriptions provide the useful distinction: ref. 1858 is automatic, while every catalogued ref. 1873 in this record is manual.

Production outline

Antiquorum dated both of its examples only to "circa 1930s". Bonhams is more useful. It dated its steel example circa 1939, and it dated the gold one by a London import mark for 1937, which is a hallmark rather than a catalogue estimate and puts at least one 1873 in a named year. The 1933 start year that circulates for this reference comes from the same collector list that assigns it to the wrong family, and carries no independent support.

Four case numbers are on record: 37029 on the gold Bonhams example, 48634 on the 2021 Hong Kong example, 81343 on the 2023 Bonhams steel example and 100498 on the 2024 Geneva example. Bonhams also published movement number 11250 on the gold watch. Four case numbers do not define a production range, and no production total has been published.

Three documented watches are steel. The fourth is 9K gold, with a presentation inscription and a London import mark for 1937. No two-tone example has been documented.

Movement notes

All four documented movements are manually wound, and the catalogues describe different grades.

The Hong Kong 2021 example carried an Extra Prima with 17 jewels. The Geneva 2024 example carried an 18-jewel chronometer movement that Antiquorum's catalogue note identifies as an ultra prima, which puts both of the hierarchy's upper grades on this one reference. Bonhams adds two more movements. Its 1939-dated steel example is described only as a jewelled manual wind. The 9K gold Oyster Royal Chronometre carries an 18-jewel manual wind with a screwed balance, timed to six positions, numbered 11250. None of the four catalogues names a caliber number, and no other published source supplies one.

“Extra Prima” and “Ultra Prima” are movement grades, not caliber numbers. David Boettcher's history of the Rolex and Aegler grade hierarchy dates Wilsdorf's Ultra Prima registration to 9 December 1930 and notes that the distinction between the top grades is unclear. None of the four 1873 catalogues names a caliber, so the attribution remains open.

Dial map

Four dials are documented. Two come from Antiquorum, one described at length in the catalogue and one legible only from the lot photography, and two more from Bonhams.

Rolex 1873 salmon dial detail showing Oyster Royal and Chronometre text
The salmon dial in detail: ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over CHRONOMETRE, black round indexes, blued steel hands and a sunk subsidiary seconds register at 6.

Antiquorum put “Scientifical” in the Geneva 2024 lot title and described the salmon dial as an extremely rare original, with black round indexes and original hands. That originality claim is the auction house's assessment, not independent proof.

The catalogue photography settles what the word is doing there. The dial reads ROLEX OYSTER ROYAL over a CHRONOMETRE marking above the subsidiary seconds, and nothing else. "Scientifical" appears in Antiquorum's lot title and in quotation marks, never on the dial. The house hedges it in the note as well, calling the dial a "so called" scientifical and tying the name to the black round indexes, and its own subtitle for the lot calls the watch a salmon "dot" index dial. The term is a descriptor the trade has attached to this layout, not period Rolex dial text.

Bonhams also catalogued ref. 2765 watches as Oyster Scientific. That is a catalogue model label, not proof that Rolex printed Scientific or Scientifical on those dials. The photographed 1873 dial does not carry either word.

Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 two-tone silvered dial, case 48634
Two-tone silvered dial with gold Arabic 12, 3 and 9, applied gold indexes and subsidiary seconds at 6, on a riveted Oyster bracelet. Antiquorum Hong Kong, April 2021, case 48634.

The Hong Kong 2021 example carried a patinated dial that Antiquorum described as having original hands. The catalogue says no more than that. The lot photography fills in the layout: a two-tone silvered dial with a sunk outer track, gold-toned Arabic numerals at 12, 3 and 9, applied bâton indexes at the remaining hours, luminous plots around the chapter ring, and a subsidiary seconds register at 6, with blued steel hands carrying luminous inserts.

The two Bonhams dials extend the range without breaking it. The 1939 steel example carries a silvered dial with black alternating baton and Arabic numeral hour markers, subsidiary seconds at 6, and blued steel dagger hands with luminous inserts. The gold Oyster Royal Chronometre is silvered with an applied gilt minute track, applied luminous Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds and blued leaf-form hands with luminous inserts. Subsidiary seconds at 6 is the one constant across all four.

That is the whole documented dial range for the reference. Anything more specific about 1873 dial configurations would be extrapolation from sibling references.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Rolex Oyster Royal 1873 three-quarter view of case 100498
Three-quarter view of case 100498, showing the tonneau flank and the screw-down crown.

The four catalogued watches have tonneau cases with screw-down backs and crowns. Three are steel and one is 9K gold. The cited catalogues do not establish the crystal material. Measured at 31mm in the 2024 catalogue, 31.5mm in the 2021 catalogue, 31mm on the gold Bonhams example and 32mm on the steel one. The catalogues therefore support a 31–32mm observed range.

Antiquorum's 2021 Hong Kong title explicitly says “FLAT BACK.” The other three catalogue records describe manual movements but do not explicitly state the back profile. The evidence supports a manual-wind Oyster classification and one documented flat-back example; it does not prove that every ref. 1873 used the same back.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

The 2021 Hong Kong example was accompanied by a Rolex stainless steel rivet bracelet measuring roughly 170mm overall. Antiquorum did not present it as original delivery. The Geneva 2024 example came on a beaded steel bracelet of roughly 175mm, catalogued as a "Private Eyes" bracelet. Antiquorum did not put the Rolex name on that one, and whether it left the factory on the watch is not established. Neither Bonhams example came on a bracelet at all: the 1939 steel watch was on an associated brown leather strap with an associated gilt buckle, the gold one on brown leather, again with an associated gilt buckle. No end-link or clasp reference is documented for the 1873 anywhere in the published record.

Auction record

Venue Date Lot Case No Dial Movement Result
Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021-04-25 233 48634 Patinated, original hands Extra Prima, 17 jewels Est. HKD 40,000–60,000; result not published
Bonhams, London Knightsbridge 2021-09-07 51 37029 Silvered, applied gilt minute track, luminous Arabic (9K gold) 18-jewel, screwed balance, 6 positions, No. 11250 GBP 2,167.50 incl. premium
Bonhams, London Knightsbridge 2023-11-22 54 81343 Silvered, alternating baton and Arabic, dagger hands Jewelled manual wind GBP 1,280 incl. premium
Antiquorum, Geneva 2024-11-09 282 100498 Salmon "Scientifical", black round indexes 18-jewel chronometer CHF 10,625 (est. CHF 8,000–12,000)

Three realised prices are on record. The Geneva 2024 salmon-dial chronometer took CHF 10,625 against a CHF 8,000–12,000 estimate. Bonhams sold the 9K gold example for GBP 2,167.50 including premium in September 2021 and the 1939 steel one for GBP 1,280 including premium in November 2023. The Hong Kong 2021 estimate of HKD 40,000–60,000, which the catalogue itself converts to CHF 4,800–7,200, did not produce a published result. Different currencies, dial conditions, case materials and sale dates make the three results unsuitable as a price series.

Antiquorum states that only a handful of ref. 1873 watches had appeared publicly in thirty years and that it had offered one other example. The Geneva watch came from a Japanese collection.

Related references

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

Sources

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