Lot 133

Rolex

Prince Brancard Chronometer

An attractive vintage bicolor wristwatch

One of the most elegant amongst the Rolex shaped watches is certainly the "Prince Brancard", reference 1490. It has a rectangular shape with flared sides and a slightly curved back, so that a better fit to the wrist is guaranteed. In addition to their shape the main difference between the Rolex Prince watches and most other watches of this time is the Prince's duo-dial design, which means the hours and minutes are at the top and the seconds are at the bottom. Because of this feature the watches were also knows as "Doctors's Watches" - the separation of hours and seconds allowed precise timing of respiration and pulse. The Rolex Prince watches were designed in 9 K, 14 K and 18 K, white, yellow and pink gold as well as in steel, silver and platinum - combinations of these metals such as steel and gold for example were also made.