1940s Rolex Op 3131 Bubbleback 18k Gold 31mm Chronometre White Watch

Details

Description

Vintage Rolex Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback reference 3131 features a white dial with applied gold Arabic numerals, blue dauphine hands, and … Read more Vintage Rolex Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback reference 3131 features a white dial with applied gold Arabic numerals, blue dauphine hands, and "Chronometre" designation, housed in an 18K yellow gold case with domed Bubbleback case back. Aftermarket Steelinox stainless steel bracelet.

Automatic, 31mm, circa 1946, 73.76 grams total, 7.5-inch bracelet, 9/10 condition.

Product Specifications:
Item Type: Vintage Luxury Automatic Wristwatch
Brand: Rolex
Model: Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback
Reference: 3131
Case Material: 18K yellow gold
Case Size: 31mm
Case Back: Domed "Bubbleback" — characteristic high-profile automatic rotor housing
Movement: Automatic (Bubbleback rotor)
Bracelet: Aftermarket Steelinox stainless steel bracelet
Bracelet Length: 7.5 inches
Total Weight: 73.76 grams
Condition: 9/10
Circa: 1946

Dial and Hands:
Dial: White — clean white ground with fine chapter ring and minute track
Indices: Applied gold Arabic numerals (12, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) with gold baton at remaining positions
Hands: Blue dauphine-style hands — characteristic of high-quality Rolex period movements
Chronometre designation printed on lower dial
Dial Text: Rolex / Oyster Perpetual / Chronometre / Swiss Made

Bezel Type and Details:
Bezel Type: Fixed, smooth polished round
Bezel Material: 18K yellow gold
Style: Classic Bubbleback round smooth gold bezel

Band Details:
Band Material: Stainless steel (Steelinox — period-style aftermarket)
Band Style: Integrated rice-grain / ball link bracelet
Band Color: Stainless steel / silver-tone
Band Length: 7.5 inches
Note: Aftermarket Steelinox bracelet — not original Rolex bracelet

Features and Style:
Chronometre certified — highest accuracy standard of the era
Automatic self-winding Bubbleback rotor movement
Blue dauphine hands — period-specific luxury detail
Domed case back — the defining feature of the Bubbleback family

About Rolex Bubbleback Ref. 3131:
The Rolex Bubbleback is one of the most historically significant and beloved vintage Rolex families ever produced, the first generation of Rolex's self-winding Oyster Perpetual watches, introduced in the 1930s and produced through the late 1940s, named for the distinctive dome-shaped case back that accommodated the larger early Perpetual rotor mechanism before miniaturization allowed the flat case back of later references. Reference 3131, produced in the mid-1940s, represents the Bubbleback at its most refined, the full-sized automatic movement in an 18K yellow gold case, with the Chronometre designation on the dial confirming that the movement passed the stringent precision testing of the era. The white dial with gold Arabic numerals and blue steel hands is one of the most sought-after and visually distinctive Bubbleback dial configurations, the blue hands providing an elegant contrast against the white ground that reads as both instantly legible and beautiful. A circa 1946 Bubbleback in 18K gold with a 9/10 condition presentation and a documented 73.76-gram total weight represents a genuinely remarkable survival of one of the most important chapters in Rolex's history. For the serious vintage Rolex collector, no reference carries more historical weight than the Bubbleback, the watch that proved automatic winding was commercially viable and set the trajectory for every self-winding Rolex that followed. See less