89
Rolex
Ref. 3771
An attractive yellow gold chronograph wristwatch
- Estimate
- CHF20,000 - 30,000€17,600 - 26,400$20,500 - 30,700
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- Circa 1940
- Reference No
- 3771
- Case No
- 53'472
- Material
- 18K yellow gold
- Calibre
- Manual, cal. 22, 17 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- Leather
- Clasp/Buckle
- Stainless steel pin buckle
- Dimensions
- 35mm Diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial and movement signed
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Displaying a relatively large 35 millimeter case, the present watch is preserved in excellent condition with a crisp hallmark punched on the caseband. Furthermore, the case back still displays a crisp coronet and sharp serial and reference numbers. Interestingly, the movement is stamped with "FAB. SUISSE" and "SWISS MADE", indicating it was made for export to a foreign market.
Early gold chronographs from the 1940s are far and few in between, and to offer one is such honest condition is true rarity. Offered by the grandson of the original owner, it has remained in the same family for decades.
Early gold chronographs from the 1940s are far and few in between, and to offer one is such honest condition is true rarity. Offered by the grandson of the original owner, it has remained in the same family for decades.
Rolex
Swiss | 1905Founded 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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