I · The Maker/II · The Object/III · The Record/IV · Acquisition
Room I · The Maker
Rolex introduced the Prince in 1928 as a gentleman's precision timepiece, its rectangular two-zone dial designed to display the seconds register as an independent visual element. The Prince Imperial was the round-cased sibling, sharing the same obsession with observatory-grade accuracy. Rolex submitted Prince movements to the Kew and Geneva observatories in systematic campaigns, accumulating precision certificates that the company engraved directly onto casebacks, a practice almost without parallel in watchmaking.
The Object
A Rolex Prince Imperial in stainless steel, its caseback factory-engraved 31 Victoires de Haute Précision, Genève Suisse: the observatory record Rolex had built by the time it was made. The salmon two-zone dial is clean, original and exceptional.
The Prince is one of the defining objects of Art Deco watchmaking, and this is the form it takes in the metal: a two-zone face, the main chapter ring above, the subsidiary seconds set apart below, the whole dial a study in controlled proportion.
The dial is the exceptional thing about this example. The salmon and champagne lacquer is clean and deep, the guilloché texture of the seconds register intact, the Roman numerals at twelve, three and nine sharp between their baton markers, the blued steel hands original and straight. Prince dials are fragile objects that have had ninety years to go wrong, to spot, to fade, to be repainted or replaced, and this one did none of it. What you see is how it left the factory.
Then the caseback: factory-engraved with the record the Prince line was sold on. Thirty-one precision victories at the Geneva Observatory, the tally Rolex had accumulated across its competition campaigns, cut into the steel of the watch itself rather than printed on a certificate that could be lost.
Steel cases are the smaller part of surviving Prince production; most were gold. The watch winds, sets and runs correctly, and it comes with its Albert curb-link chain.
The marks, the movement and the condition are set out piece by piece in the drawers below; the observatory engraving is recorded in The Record.
Beneath the case
Open each drawer to look closer
Mark 1
Reference 3927
Rolex reference number identifying the round Prince Imperial case in stainless steel.
Mark 2
Case Serial 1009886
Case serial number consistent with early-1930s Rolex production.
- AManual WindLever escapement with 18 jewels, wound and set via the crown.
- BRolex Patent CapThe Rolex Patent Cap over the regulator is intact, a signature of Prince-series movements.
- CObservatory GradeMovement from the series submitted to the Geneva Observatory for precision certification.
- DSubsidiary SecondsIndependent seconds register displayed in the lower zone of the two-part dial.
Case
Excellent
Stainless steel with light surface wear consistent with age; no dents, chips or repairs. Caseback opens and closes cleanly.
Dial
Excellent
Salmon and champagne lacquer clean and unmarked. Guilloché subsidiary seconds retains original texture. Roman numerals sharp and original.
Movement
Excellent
18 jewels, Rolex Patent Cap intact. Winds, sets and runs correctly. Service history unknown.
Crystal
Excellent
Clean, no chips or significant scratches.
Crown
Excellent
Present and functional.
43.23
This watch
25.75
€2 coin
A €2 coin is 25.75 mm. This case is more than two and a half times its area.
Room III · The Record
Thirty-one observatory victories, factory-engraved
The caseback carries the factory engraving '31 Victoires de Haute Précision, Genève Suisse', recording the thirty-one precision victories Rolex had accumulated at the Geneva Observatory by the time the case was made: the house's record, carried on the watch. The case serial 1009886 and movement serial 101169 are consistent with early-1930s Rolex production. Reference 3927 identifies the round Prince Imperial in stainless steel, a less common material than the gold cases that dominated the range.
- Maker
- Rolex
- Model
- Prince Imperial
- Case
- Stainless Steel (Open Face)
- Diameter
- 43.23mm
- Reference
- 3927
- Movement
- Manual wind, lever escapement
- Jewels
- 18
- Complications
- Subsidiary seconds
- Country of Origin
- Switzerland
- Hallmarks
- 3927 / 1009886 / Rolex crown mark
- Movement Serial
- 101169
- Case Serial
- 1009886
- Estimated Date
- C.1930–1935
- Included
- Albert curb-link chain
The Estate Collection
Room IV · Acquisition
€12.500
We’d love to discuss our passion for this piece with you.
Rolex
€12.500
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Prince Imperial
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