Passions Watch Exchange

About This Watch

Vintage. No box/papers.

This is a mid-1940s Ref.2940 Rolex Oyster Perpetual "bubble-back" a moniker earned from it's bulbous screw-lock back cover to accommodate the automatic winding rotor. This watch comes in a 2pc steel Oyster case and is one of the best condition we have come across in recent years.

Just take a look at the pictures & you can see the quality as it has most likely received only one polish in it's life, retaining a thick case with thick lugs and a fantastic back cover. The original silvered dial is near mint with very little blemishes or discoloration but there is one tiny mark under the center column most likely due to careless watchmaker while removing the hands. Otherwise it presents very well but we believe this dial would be a later replacement some point in it's life as the style is from 1950s rather than 1940s which is a common job when watches were sent for servicing. It is an original Rolex dial with matching hands and all tritium present where they should be. The original screw-locking tube is a little worn over the decades so do lock the crown with extra care and these watches are not water-proof nor shock-proof so don't ever drop them or expose them to moisture.

The movement is in very good condition and the rotor winds on a single direction as it should. This is the first automatic movement by Rolex and the first commercially successful automatic watch in the world when launched in the 1930s. An icon and an important model to collect from Rolex but they were small watches as men in those years wore 30mm timepieces.

The serial number of this watch dates it to 1945, at the end of World War Two which was a very difficult year for many people and yet there is joy for the Great War finally ended and we began to find peace and gather love. Somebody spent a small fortune to purchase this Rolex and kept it very very well by her keepers throughout the last 70yrs.

It will be difficult to find another Rolex Bubble-back of this quality from around the world due to scarcity and we are not in a hurry to sell this as a vintage watch purchase or sale is emotional than rational.