Reference:Movements

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Main Page -> Movements

Rolex movements

The table below catalogues every Rolex caliber that powered an in-scope reference on this wiki, with spec, production span, and reference fitments. Lineage sections at the bottom of the page group calibers by family arc (Prince Aegler shaped, manual-wind chronograph, automatic chronograph, sport time-only, Oysterquartz).

Caliber index

Caliber Type Years Specs Features Families Notes
300 shaped manual-wind 1928–1937 15 (Prima) / 18 (Extra Prima / Ultra Prima)j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer (extra prima / ultra prima only) Prince 7½ × 14½ lignes; rectangular plates; Cal. 877 (Gruen Techni-Quadron) is the architectural sibling, sold under the Gruen brand in the US market — not a Rolex caliber; cal. 300 winding-stem bridge is a known service fail point. Cal. 414, 527, 579 T, 701, 841 T, 1004, and 1759 are commercial designations documented on 1862 Prince cases that share the Cal. 300 architecture under different finishing/grading; each has its own row in the index above (see 414, 527, 579 T, 701, 841 T, 1004, 1759)
350 shaped manual-wind c.1928–1935 15 (some examples 18)j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer (extra prima) Prince Documented on Phillips lots CH080319/17 (Beyer 1490) and NY080223/92 (18K 1490 c.1933); appears alongside Cal. 300 in 1490 and 971 cases without obvious dating segregation
7½′′′ T.S. 300 shaped manual-wind 1932–1938 18j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer (ultra prima, 6-position) Prince Très Soigné — the Ultra Prima movement variant; lateral lever escapement; monometallic balance with micrometer regulator; Breguet overcoil hairspring; rhodium-plated; documented on Antiquorum May 2006 Mondani lot 46 (1490 case 17,365, dated 1935) and on the 1527 Railway (Antiquorum Vicenza 1992 lot 146 white+pink, Geneva 2005 lot 100 white+yellow, Mondani 2006 lot 108/33 white+yellow with bamboo bracelet 1931, hammer CHF 27,140 corpus high). On 1527 examples the grade ratio reverses the 1490 pattern — Extra Prima dominates, Ultra Prima 8-position 'Officially Tested in Eight Ways' is the apex outlier
310 shaped manual-wind Aegler shaped (Cal. 300 family — distinct caliber number) 1932–1938 (then stockpiled and cased into 1950s Princes) 18j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer Prince 7½′′′ rectangular, lateral lever escapement, Superbalance adjusted to 6 positions, Breguet hairspring, swan-neck micro-regulator. Documented exclusively on the 3361 Aerodynamic / 3362 / 3937 wedge-shaped Prince family — every documented 3361 catalog entry names Cal. 310 specifically (Antiquorum Mondani 2006 lot 209/210, NY 2015 sale 296 lot 73 mvt T94122, PatekMonger Cuervo y Sobrinos). Available in BOTH sub-seconds and **centre-seconds** variants; the 3361/3362/3937 receive the centre-seconds variant. Cal. 310 production ended 1938 but Aegler stockpiled movements that Rolex cased into 3361 production through 1952 — the case-and-movement number divergence reflects this stockpile pattern (e.g. Mondani 1952 case 899,677 carries a movement number significantly lower than the case). Auction-house catalogs commonly under-specify Cal. 310 as 'Cal. 300 family' — treat that label as under-specified, not as a sub-caliber distinction
360 HW shaped manual-wind 1936–late 1930s 15–18j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer (extra prima) Prince Successor caliber for late-period 971 / 1490 / 1862 / 3361; visually identifiable by tonneau-shaped movement plates rather than the rectangular plates of Cal. 300/350 — the plate-shape distinction is the cleanest authentication tell for late-era Prince movement attribution (NAWCC Doug Sinclair / gmorse / Cary Hurt 2013)
414 shaped manual-wind c.early-1930s 15–17j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer Prince Documented on 1862 cases. Same Cal. 300 architecture under a different commercial number.
527 shaped manual-wind c.1934 15–17j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer Prince Documented on Christie's online Watches Online Time Autumn lot 31 (Prince 1862, 9K Glasgow 1934) — the canonical Cal. 527 example with "Modèle déposé" enamel-marked dial.
579 T shaped manual-wind c.1935 15–17j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer Prince Documented on Collectors Square 1862 lot. T suffix likely denotes a specific finishing or adjustment grade within the Cal. 300 family.
701 shaped manual-wind c.mid-1930s 15–17j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer Prince Documented on 1862 cases.
841 T shaped manual-wind c.1930 17j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer Prince Documented on Bonhams 2022 1862 case. T suffix denotes a specific Aegler grading tier.
1004 shaped manual-wind c.1936 17j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer (8-position adjustment) Prince Documented on Christie's London 2015 9K Glasgow 1936 Prince 1862, "officially tested in 8 positions" — eight-position adjustment is unusual (Swiss and Kew chronometer protocols typically tested 5–6 positions); may indicate Aegler-internal regulation tier rather than Bureaux-Officiels-Suisse-de-Contrôle certification
1759 shaped manual-wind c.1937 18j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer (ultra prima chronometer, 6-position) Prince Ultra Prima Chronometer execution; 18-jewel, 6-position. Documented on watch-auctions.co.uk Prince 1862 Glasgow 1937 9K example. Same architectural specification as Cal. 300 Ultra Prima — caliber-number drift across auction houses (Cal. 300 Ultra Prima vs Cal. 1759 Ultra Prima Chronometer for similar architectural specs) is documented but not fully resolved
971A shaped manual-wind c.1938–1952 18j · 18,000 vph · ~50h chronometer Prince Aegler shaped late commercial designation in the Cal. 300 family. Documented on the 3937 Rams Horn (Fabsuisse 14K rose gold 1946-47 example). Lateral lever escapement, Superbalance, Breguet hairspring, 6–7 position adjustment. The "971A" letter suffix follows the Aegler convention of using letters for finishing tiers — distinct from the Cal. 300 family-level designation that some auction catalogs use to under-specify late-period Prince movements. JPTimepieces dealer copy occasionally attributes Cal. 1530 to the 3937 — misattribution (Cal. 1530 is a 1965-era Oyster Perpetual caliber that did not exist when the 3937 was produced)
72 chronograph 1960–65 17j · 18,000 vph · 48h — Daytona Bare Valjoux 72 in 6234 / early 6238
72A chronograph early-to-mid 1960s 17j · 18,000 vph · 48h — Daytona Rolex-finished intermediate; thin documentation
72B chronograph 1962–65 17j · 18,000 vph · 48h — Daytona Final pre-722 Valjoux 72 in early 6238
722 chronograph 1963–69 17j · 18,000 vph · 48h — Daytona First Rolex-stamped Valjoux 72; 6239 / 6241
722-1 chronograph 1969–70 17j · 18,000 vph · 48h — Daytona Transitional 722 revision into the 727 era
727 chronograph 1970–88 17j · 21,600 vph · 48h — Daytona Higher-beat Valjoux 72; 6262 / 6263 / 6264 / 6265
4030 chronograph 1988–2000 31j · 28,800 vph · 54h chronometer Daytona Modified El Primero in the Zenith Daytona; modification list disputed
4130 chronograph 2000–present 44j · 28,800 vph · 72h chronometer Daytona First in-house Rolex chronograph; vertical clutch
10½ Hunter manual 1945–53 15j (early) → 17j (later) · 18,000 vph — Air-King, Oyster Perpetual Aegler-supplied 10½-ligne hand-wound family (700 / 710 / 720 base architecture). Powers the originating Air-King 4925 and the sister Air-Lion / Air-Tiger / Air-Giant references (4365 sub-seconds / 4444 mid-size / 4647 Hunter Precision). Non-chronometer, central seconds. The bridge between the pre-war Bubbleback shaped calibers and the post-war 1030 automatic.
A260 automatic 1953–55 19j · 18,000 vph · 36h — Submariner, Oyster Perpetual First-generation Sub 6204 / 6205. 26.4mm; it as "non-butterfly" rotor (distinct from the butterfly-rotor 1030). Hodinkee reads A260 as "repurposed from earlier Oyster Perpetual models including later bubblebacks."
A296 automatic 1952–55 18j · 18,000 vph · 36h — Submariner, Explorer, Oyster Perpetual Big Crown 6200; Explorer 6098 / 6150 ("Precision") / 6350 (chronometer). 29.5mm. Full-rotor uni-directional Perpetual; the bumper attribution that briefly attached to A296 in earlier articles was dealer-copy contamination from bubble-back geometry confusion (Rolex never produced a bumper caliber). The 1030 that succeeds A296 introduces bidirectional winding via the butterfly rotor and a thinner autowind module — the thickness change is what eliminates the bubble-back caseback profile (Phillips Geneva Watch Auction FOUR lot 146 frames the A296→1030 swap explicitly as a thickness change; Wind Vintage / Eric Ku, How Rolex Became Rolex: The Automatic Perpetual Movement Part 2).
1030 automatic 1950–62 25j · 18,800 vph · 42h chronometer Submariner, Explorer, Air-King, Oyster Perpetual Rolex's first bidirectional automatic; butterfly rotor stamped ROLEX PERPETUAL PATENTED. 28.5 × 5.85mm. First appears on 6098 in 1952; runs across 6536 / 6536-1 / 6538 Submariners and 6610 Explorer. COSC and non-COSC versions on the same caliber. First Air-King appearance on 6552 (1953–57)
1036 automatic 1954–59 25j · 18,000 vph · 42h chronometer GMT-Master First GMT caliber; bakelite-bezel 6542
1065 automatic 1956–59 25j · 18,000 vph · 42h chronometer GMT-Master Late-6542 GMT caliber
1530 automatic 1957–65 25j (early) → 26j (late) · 18,000 vph · 42h chronometer (post-1958 only) Submariner, Air-King, Oyster Perpetual First Submariner appearance on 5510 (1958–59); not chronometer-rated at 5510 launch — chronometer arrived with caliber 1560 on 5512. Jewel-count progression 17 → 25 → 26 across the 5508 run per Bob's. Foundation of the 15xx family; early 5512 / 5513 Powers the 36mm Explorer-case 5504 Air-King 1957/58-1963/64 in parallel with the early 5500 production.
1520 automatic 1963–90 17 / 25 / 26j · 19,800 vph · 42h — Submariner, Air-King, Oyster Perpetual Non-chronometer twin; powers late 5513 / 5514 / 5517 Submariners and the long-running 5500 Air-King (1963 onward) / 1002 OP / 5501 / 5520. 17-jewel variant is a US/Canada import-duty-bracket move, not a movement difference
1525 automatic 1959–c.1975 17 / 25j · 19,800 vph · 42h — Air-King Date-module variant of Cal 1520 powering early 5700 / 5701 Air-King-Date. Non-chronometer (Precision tier); the chronometer-rated date sibling in this generation is the 1500-series Oyster Perpetual Date (1500 / 1501 / 1503 / 1505)
1535 automatic c.1975–1988 26j · 19,800 vph · 42h — Air-King Later running update to Cal 1525, same architecture with date module. Powers later 5700 / 5701 Air-King-Date production. Non-chronometer; the chronometer-rated 1500-series uses a related 1500-family date caliber
1560 automatic 1959–65 26j · 18,000 vph · 42h chronometer Submariner, GMT-Master, Explorer Cross-family chronometer; mid 5512 / 1675 / 1016
1565 automatic 1959–65 25j · 18,000 vph · 42h chronometer GMT-Master Early 1675; "caller" GMT
1570 automatic 1965–80 26j · 19,800 vph · 44h chronometer Submariner, Explorer Higher-beat 1560; hack added mid-life
1575 automatic 1965–80 25j · 19,800 vph · 50h chronometer Submariner, GMT-Master, Explorer 1680 / late 1675 / Explorer II 1655
3000 automatic 1989–99 27j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · chronometer Submariner, Explorer, Air-King, Oyster Perpetual First 28,800 vph time-only; 14060 / 14270 / 14000 (first sapphire-crystal Air-King)
3035 automatic 1977–88 27j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · quickset · chronometer Submariner First quickset Sub; 16800 / 168000 / 16808 / 16803
3075 automatic 1979–88 27j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · quickset · chronometer GMT-Master 16750 / 16753 / 16758
3085 automatic 1983–89 27j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · chronometer GMT-Master, Explorer First Rolex caliber to dissociate local hour from 24-hour hand; local hour sets in one-hour clicks, 24-hour hand follows the bezel for the third zone. Trade-off: no quick-set date (advances via local hour hand). 28.5 × 6.3mm — the 6.3mm thickness drove the 16760 "Fat Lady" / "Sophia Loren" case proportions. Used exclusively in 16760 GMT-Master II and 16550 Explorer II
3130 automatic 1999–2018 31j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · chronometer Submariner, Explorer, Air-King, Oyster Perpetual Time-only successor to 3000; 14060M / 114060 / 114270 / 14000M / 114200
3132 automatic 2010–~2020 31j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · chronometer Explorer, Oyster Perpetual 3130 with Parachrom + Paraflex; 214270
3135 automatic 1988–2018 31j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · quickset · chronometer Submariner 30-year workhorse; 16610 / 16613 / 16618 / 116610-series
3175 automatic 1988–99 31j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · quickset · chronometer GMT-Master 16700 — last "caller" GMT and last fixed-GMT caliber. One-reference-only; 24-hour hand stays linked to local hour, second zone read off bezel. Adjusted to 5 positions and temperature, Glucydur balance with Microstella, Breguet hairspring, Kif shock
3185 automatic 1989–~2007 31j · 28,800 vph · 48h hack · quickset · chronometer GMT-Master, Explorer 16710 / 16713 / 16718 / 16570
3186 automatic 2007–19 31j · 28,800 vph · 50h hack · quickset · chronometer GMT-Master, Explorer Parachrom hairspring; 116710LN / BLNR / 116719BLRO / late 16710
5035 quartz 1977–2001 11j · 32 kHz vph hack · quickset · chronometer Oyster Perpetual Oysterquartz 17000 / 17013 / 17014
5055 quartz 1977–2001 11j · 32 kHz vph hack · quickset · chronometer Oyster Perpetual Oysterquartz Day-Date 19018 / 19028

Manual-wind chronograph lineage

The manual-wind Daytona stayed on Valjoux 72 architecture for its full first chapter. Cal 72 belongs to the 6234 and earliest 6238. Cal 722 is the first Rolex-stamped version and powers the original 6239 alongside the 6240 and 6241 generation. Cal 722-1 bridges into the higher-beat cal 727, which lifts the rate from 18,000 to 21,600 vph and then runs through the 6262, 6264, 6263, and 6265 until the manual-wind era closes in 1988.

Automatic chronograph lineage

Cal 4030 is the most disputed Daytona movement spec, but the working outline is clear. Rolex took the Zenith El Primero base, reworked it heavily, and launched it in 1988 with the 16520 for a twelve-year run. Serious sources agree on 28,800 vph, a free-sprung Breguet balance, no date, and major Rolex revision. They diverge on the length of the modification list and on power reserve, usually quoted as 52 or 54 hours. It was the last foreign-sourced caliber in Rolex's modern line.

Cal 4130 launched in 2000 with the 116520 as Rolex's first fully in-house chronograph movement. The architecture is column wheel with a vertical clutch, the reserve runs 72 hours, and the part count drops below the cal 4030 it replaced. It powered the whole pre-ceramic in-house Daytona generation and carried forward into the 116500LN.

Sport time-only lineage (Submariner, GMT-Master, Explorer)

The sport time-only line opens with the A-series uni-directional Perpetuals — full-rotor automatics, not bumpers (Rolex never produced a bumper caliber). Cal A260 powers the first 6204 and 6205. Cal A296 carries the 6200 and the earliest Explorers, with the 6150 / 6350 split showing the same movement in non-COSC and COSC form. Cal 1030 takes over from 1955 with the bidirectional butterfly rotor and a thinner autowind module, and underpins the mid-1950s Submariner and Explorer generation.

The 15xx family is Rolex's long middle chapter. Cal 1530 anchors early 5508, 5510, 5512, and 5513 production. Cal 1520 is the non-chronometer twin used in late 5513, 5514, and 5517. Cal 1560 and 1570 carry the chronometer side of the Submariner, GMT-Master, and Explorer lines. Cal 1575 adds the date or GMT module, which is how it lands in the 1680, late 1675, and the 1655 Explorer II.

The GMT branch reads in three steps. Cal 1036 and 1065 belong to the bakelite 6542 era and keep the 24-hour hand linked to the main hour hand. Cal 1565, 1575, and 3075 carry that synchronized layout through the 1675 and 16750 generation. Cal 3085 breaks the pattern with the first independently jumping local hour hand, used in the 16760 and 16550. Cal 3185 then defines the long 16710 run, and cal 3186 adds the Parachrom hairspring for late 16710 production and the ceramic-era GMT line. The 16700 keeps the old synchronized caller layout alive on cal 3175 until 1999.

The modern time-only line settles on the 31xx family. Cal 3000 is the first 28,800 vph no-date movement of the era, used in the 14060 and 14270. Cal 3130 succeeds it in the 14060M, 114060, 114270, and later Oyster Perpetual watches. Cal 3132 adds the Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock system for the 214270. Cal 3135 is the date counterpart and the dominant modern Rolex workhorse across the Submariner Date and the rest of the steel sports line.

Oyster Perpetual lineage

The Oyster Perpetual line shares most of its movements with the sport watches. Bubbleback and early Oyster references use the 520, 620, 630, and A-series automatics, documented on the Bubbleback family page. Mid-century OP shares the A296 and 1030 with the early Submariner and Explorer. Later no-date OP references move through 1530, 1560, and 1570, then into cal. 3000, 3130, and 3132, in the same sequence seen on the no-date Submariner and Explorer.

The Oysterquartz sits outside the mechanical line. Cal 5035 and 5055 launched in 1977 as Rolex's in-house quartz calibers and ran through 2001. Total output stayed small, under about 25,000 watches across the 24-year run. Cal 5035 powers the Oysterquartz Datejust and Oyster Perpetual references; cal 5055 powers the Day-Date Oysterquartz.

Prince lineage

The Prince family runs on Aegler shaped movements that predate every other Rolex movement on this page. The 1927 Wilsdorf-Aegler patent for a "shaped watch movement with a seconds dial" placed the winding barrel at one end of the rectangular movement and the balance at the other — the architectural choice that allowed both a larger balance wheel (for improved precision) and a larger mainspring barrel (for longer power reserve) than competing shaped calibers of the period. The Aegler-Rolex relationship was a supplier arrangement: Aegler manufactured in Bienne as an independent firm until Rolex purchased the company from the Borer family in April 2004 (Tim Mosso, Quill & Pad). "Aegler" and "Rebberg" refer to the same manufacturer — Aegler is the company name, Rebberg the Bienne street address.

Two distinct caliber generations span the Prince production window. **Cal. 300** (rectangular plates, 1928–1935) is the original shaped movement: 15 jewels at the Prima base, 18 jewels at Extra Prima and Ultra Prima with 6-position adjustment, 18,000 vph, approximately 50-hour power reserve. **Cal. 7½′′′ T.S. 300** is the Ultra Prima execution of the same architecture (1932–1938) with lateral lever escapement and monometallic balance. **Cal. 360 HW** is the 1936-onward successor with tonneau-shaped plates rather than the rectangular plates of Cal. 300. The plate-shape distinction is the clearest visual authentication: a 971 or 1490 with rectangular movement plates is a 1928–1935 example; a watch in the same case reference with tonneau plates is a 1936-onward example.

Movement grading runs Prima → Extra Prima → Ultra Prima, corresponding to ascending jewel counts (15 → 18), adjustment positions, and chronometer testing rigour. The "Chronometer" or "Observatory" designation on a Prince dial corresponds to Extra Prima or Ultra Prima grade — a Prima movement does not earn the dial mark. The Kew-Teddington observatory testing tradition runs through this period: Rolex submitted Prince movements to the National Physical Laboratory at Kew for independent rate certificates against the Swiss Bureaux Officiels Suisse de Contrôle. The 1914 Class A Kew certificate that Rolex commonly cites as their first official chronometer rating was issued for an earlier ladies' wristwatch movement; the Prince calibers extend the observatory-testing lineage from 1928 forward, but the 1914 milestone predates the Prince family.

The 1491 Brancard Jumping Hour is the one Prince configuration that adds a complication module on top of the standard movement architecture. The Aegler-built jump-hour module mounts on the rear of a standard 7½′′′ Extra Prima Observatory base (Cal. 350 T.S. in Phillips's labeling), and the module added enough mechanical thickness that the 1491 case had to be deepened to accommodate it. There is no separate caliber number for the jump-hour module — the module is an addition to the standard Prince base, not a distinct movement. The case-depth difference (1491 case vs 1490 case) is the canonical authentication tell for distinguishing genuine 1491 examples from 1490 cases retrofitted with later modules. Three module-specific service patterns surface in the collector record: weak jump impulse spring producing "lazy" disc advance; worn disc retention pawl producing hour-disc jitter; misaligned dial aperture revealing fragments of two numerals at once.

A specific service-tell deserves naming on Cal. 300: the winding-stem bridge is a known fail point. A Prince that sets time then disengages immediately is symptomatic of a broken stem bridge. Aftermarket CNC-machined brass replacements circulate among watchmakers, and aftermarket "cal. Prince TS" winding stems are commercially available. Owners of Cal. 300 Princes should treat the stem bridge as a known maintenance item rather than a hidden fault.

The Aegler-Gruen marketing split is a related authentication concern. Aegler supplied shaped movements to Gruen as well as Rolex; Rolex took the British Empire markets, Gruen took the United States market. The Gruen Cal. 877 used in the Gruen Techni-Quadron is the architectural sibling of the Rolex Cal. 300 — the same Aegler movement under a different brand. Some Prince literature lists "Cal. 877" as a Prince caliber; this is a misattribution traceable to the Gruen-Rolex sibling relationship and should be excluded from canonical Prince caliber listings. A Gruen-stamped movement under a Rolex Prince case is a known transplant pattern.

Sources

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