Rolex - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: X Hong Kong Friday, July 10, 2020 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1930’s
    Case No: 014,041
    Model Name: ‘Bubbleback’
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic
    Bracelet/Strap: Lizard
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel pin buckle
    Dimensions: 31mm diameter
    Signed: Case, dial and movement signed

  • Catalogue Essay

    Introduced in the early 1930’s, Rolex ‘Bubbleback’ watches were amongst the very first to feature a self-winding mechanism via a rotor, hence the bulged caseback. Produced until the mid-1950’s, Rolex ‘Bubbleback’ chronometer wristwatches were available in many dial variations and materials.

    The present example is fitted with an attractive ‘salmon’ dial encased in stainless steel where known examples using pink gold and rose coloured dials were often reserved for the South American market. This is an attractive and early example of the famed ‘Bubbleback’ wristwatches.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

    One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.

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Σ1035

A fine and attractive stainless steel wristwatch with "salmon" dial and small seconds

Circa 1930’s
31mm diameter
Case, dial and movement signed

Estimate
HK$65,000 - 130,000 
€7,100-14,200
$8,300-16,700

Sold for HK$68,750

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi

Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2001

WatchesHK@phillips.com

 

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: X

Hong Kong Auction 10 July 2020