The Rolex Prince
The Rolex Prince was introduced in 1928 as a watch for men who were looking for something distinct to wear. It was indeed a distinct watch for its trendy rectangular case and its dual dial. The dual dial was in the form of separate dials, one on the top and the other on the bottom. The top dial featured the hours and the minutes while the one on the bottom was for the seconds. Powered by the calibre 1036 movement, this model was compared to the Cartier's Tank watch because of its rectangular shaped case.
Rolex Prince Available Today
The Cellini line (dressy wristwatches) of Rolex watches are available in Prince models for men alongside many other unique models designed for ladies. The currently available Rolex Prince gives you the choice of 18k yellow gold, white gold, or everose gold, enabling you to choose the one that fits your style. Although the Prince is exclusively a men's wristwatch, it offers the options of decorated dials as well as Rayon flamme de la gloire dial with Arabic numerals, clou de paris dial with Roman/Arabic dials, silver godron dial with Roman numerals, and many more. Featuring a small second hand at the 6 o'clock position and hand-wound movement, it offers leather straps in black, brown, and many other colors. A gold folding clasp is a common feature of all leather straps.
The Cellini Prince features the standard rectangular case. Its most unique feature is the movement that can be viewed through its transparent case back.
Different Styles Available in Vintage Rolex Prince
For all vintage watch collectors, the early Prince models that were available during the 1930s and 1940s are nothing less than treasures. There were five different styles of the vintage Rolex Prince. Each style was unique in some way or the other. Here is a brief summary of each of those models:
The Classic Rolex Prince (Model 1343): It was one of the original styles that marked the introduction of the Rolex Prince. It featured the standard rectangular case along with the dual dial. It was available in 9k and 18k gold as well as in sterling silver.
The Brancard Rolex Prince: It was also introduced at the same time as that of the Classic model, but featured a more gorgeous design. It was made available in a two-tone 18k gold configuration as well as gold and sterling silver. However, by the 1930s, the Brancard line was extended to include two more models 971U and 971A. The added feature of these two models was the faceted end pieces. While the model 971U was made available in gold and sterling silver, the model 971A was introduced in two-tone 18k gold stripes all over the top of the case. This made it popularly known as the “tiger stripe.” In the early 1930s, Rolex made even more additions to the Brancard line. For instance, in 1934 it rolled out a steel-only version of the Brancard. It had even offered a solid platinum option in this line, which today is considered one of the most expensive Rolex wristwatches.
The Railway Prince: The model 1527, popularly known as the Rolex Railway Prince, was introduced in 1935. It had been so named for its stepped sides that looked just like a locomotive.
The “Quarter Century Club" Prince: It was a special line of Prince, customized for one of the leading Canadian department store chains known as the Eaton company. The watch was engraved with “¼ Century Club" along the perimeter of its top dial. This made it a unique and great collectible vintage watch. The reason behind its interesting name is that this watch had been given as a memento to the employees of the Eaton company who had served Eaton for 25 years. It was indeed a great way to acknowledge the association of people with the company. The case back of every watch had the name and years of service of the individual engraved on it.
The Sporting Prince: It is one of the rarest models of Rolex pocket watch. It was largely used during athletic events--particularly golf. Its unique feature was its hunting case, which once opened, would bring into action a spring loaded mechanism that protected the movement from outside disturbances during the sporting events. Later, the same model was even created as a wristwatch. Since, these models had been produced in very limited numbers, they are really sought after by the rare vintage watch collectors.
The Rolex Prince Heures Sautantes: In 1935, Rolex introduced the H.S. (Heures Sautantes) movement which means jumping hours. All Rolex Prince models that were introduced with this feature had a tiny aperture at the 12 o'clock position in place of the hour hand. The aperture had a miniature wheel to display hours from 1 to 12. Its working was quite simple. When the minute hand passed the 60-minute mark, the wheel would turn with the hour mark jumping into the next hour display. Although this arrangement never became popular amongst the masses, it later led to the introduction of the Datejust aperture in 1945, which became a big success. Rolex also later came out with additional versions that featured sweep seconds.
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