A milestone wristwatch within Rolex's storied legacy of chronographs, the reference 3525 was launched in 1939 and remained in production for less than 10 years. Produced in yellow gold, pink gold, stainless steel, or the combination of stainless steel and yellow gold, the reference 3525 was Rolex's first chronograph wristwatch to be housed in an Oyster case - equipped with a water resistant screw down case back along with screw down crown.

This late-production example, evidenced by the serial number between the lugs, retains its original "Brevet" Oyster crown and is in overall wonderful condition. The dial with straight printing at 12 o'clock typical of later examples, is incredibly attractive, with a vividly preserved blue telemeter scale contrasting wonderfully with the gold bullet-shaped indexes and yellow gold handset. The serial number between the lugs and hallmarks on the underside of the case are extremely crisp and well-preserved.

Adding a luxurious element to an already superb example, the bracelet is an early, extensible, straight-end link Oyster bracelet manufactured by Gay Frères for Rolex. At the time dubbed “the bracelets which are most frequently copied” by the company’s advertisements, Gay Frères continued to produce remarkably well-engineered and now-iconic bracelets for Rolex and other manufactures for most of the 20th century. At a certain point in the 1970s, the Gay Frères factory employed over 500 specialized employees, the largest in Geneva.

We are truly excited to present such a beautiful example of an early Rolex Oyster chronograph, rarely seen in 18K yellow gold.