Too small. Hard to service. Old. Out of style.
These are just a few of the supposed problems with the Rolex Bubbleback. Still, it’s one of the most historically important vintage Swiss made Rolex replica watches, using Rolex’s waterproof Oyster case and its first automatic “Perpetual” movements; it was also one of the first truly “collectible” wristwatches – collectors started hoovering them up in the 1980s.
Rolex produced the Bubbleback from 1933 through the mid-1950s. Never an official designation, “Bubbleback” is a nickname collectors have given to a loose list of references with big, bubble-like casebacks to accommodate the automatic winding rotor.
I’ve always been fascinated by the Bubbleback. Not just for its historical importance. The designs are incredibly varied, from Art Deco to Bauhaus and everything in between, reflecting the long production run. It’s so wide and varied that the Bubbleback is nearly impossible to catalog comprehensively, though some have certainly tried. They were also one of the first “hype” watches, with collectors paying seemingly unfathomable, six-figure sums for rare Bubblebacks during the run-up in the 1980s and early ’90s.
They’ve largely fallen out of favor since as collectors have moved on to later perfect fake Rolex sports watches. But the Bubbleback still has a small, dedicated following. Despite their flaws or maybe because of them, I love Bubblebacks.
Another one of those acolytes is Justin Gruenberg of The Keystone. While Gruenberg’s often associated with rare vintage Cartier, Patek, and other such treasures, when I visited him in L.A. a couple of months ago, I wanted to see some of his favorite Bubblebacks.
“I’m fascinated by the lengths Rolex was willing to go during this period,” Gruenberg said of the Bubbleback. “It’s the total opposite of where they are now, consolidating the manufacturing process and ensuring every release is a hit. It’s an era where they were experimenting with different colors, layouts, numerals, graphics – that’s what I’m into.”
During this time, Rolex wasn’t just making Bubblebacks, so Gruenberg also showed me a few “flatbacks” – manual-wind cheap US Rolex copy watches, even early chronographs – to give a feel for what else Rolex was up to. While Rolex focused its production in the 1950s and ’60s, the era leading up to that was an incredible time of experimentation. If you look closely enough you’ll also start to see many of the ideas and innovations that would take hold later, many of which still define Rolex today.
The main text will tell the story of the Bubbleback, from its origin in the 1930s to its take-off in collectibility in the ’80s to today. In the photo captions we’ll look at specific watches from this era of Rolex.
First, A Short History Of The Bubbleback
“Bubbleback” refers to the round, domed caseback of these early automatic 1:1 online Rolex replica watches. Rolex introduced its first automatic “perpetual” movement in 1931. The first Bubbleback came in 1933, with a bulging caseback to make space for those new 360-degree winding rotors. I won’t explore the entire history of the automatic wristwatch, but the legendary David Boettcher has written about the Hardwood self-winding watch and precursors to the Rolex Perpetual.
Prior to that, Rolex introduced its first waterproof “Oyster” case in 1926; while it wasn’t the first waterproof wristwatch (that honor goes to Depollier), it certainly advanced and commercialized the technology. After figuring out its Oyster cases in the 1920s, these Bubblebacks are the first watches to combine two of Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf’s key tenets that came to define the brand: Oyster Perpetual. “Oyster” for the waterproof case, “Perpetual” for the automatic movement. There’s a reason these two words are still on almost every Rolex dial even today, nearly 100 years later.
Rolex and Wilsdorf worked closely with manufacturer Aegler to improve early automatic winding movements. Eventually, multiple patents were granted to protect the winding of a wristwatch by an oscillating rotor. This is why no other manufacturers produced full-rotor automatic movements at scale until the 1950s – but there’s Ben’s article about the Patek 2526 for that story.
For nearly two decades, Rolex essentially had the perpetual rotor to itself and produced an incredible variety of fake Rolex watches for sale.
1980s: The Original Bubbleback Collectors
The Bubbleback’s importance in combining Rolex’s waterproof “Oyster” case and “Perpetual” automatic movements didn’t go unnoticed by early wristwatch collectors. In the 1980s and ’90s, the Rolex Bubbleback was the watch to have, the way a vintage Daytona was in 2017 or a steel Nautilus was in 2021.
“In the ’80s, the Bubbleback was the most popular vintage Rolex, long before everyone started wearing vintage Daytonas, Submariners, and GMTs,” says dealer Ken Jacobs of Wanna Buy A Watch. Collectors latched onto the variety of the Bubbleback: All kinds of dial designs; cases in steel, gold, or two-tone; bezel variations; hooded or non-hooded lugs; even the different bracelet types.
Jacobs said that at their peak, some of the most collectible Bubblebacks – two-tone pink gold case, original dial, on a matching Gay Freres beads-of-rice bracelet if you’ve got it – might sell for $9,000 to $12,000. But truly special examples with rare dials could command much more. As with many vintage luxury replica Rolex watches, pink gold Bubblebacks would command a premium for their relative rarity. Meanwhile, most stainless steel Bubblebacks would’ve been sold on straps for $3,000 to $5,000. Look around the market today, and you’ll see those prices haven’t changed much, 30 years (and 30 years of inflation) later.
While considered small today, part of the appeal of the Bubbleback in the ’80s was that they wore quite large compared to other wristwatches being collected (think Art Deco watches and vintage American brands like Hamilton, Elgin, and so on). This is also why Bubblebacks with hooded lugs that wore even larger were especially in demand.
One of those early Bubbleback collectors was Jason Singer, who showed an incredible variety of Bubblebacks in his Talking Watches. But, Singer’s trajectory as a collector mirrors the broader market. While he discovered the Bubbleback early, he then moved on to later sports Rolex. Jacobs said that as these sports models increased in popularity, Bubblebacks fell out of favor by the early ’90s.
“Everything was bigger, sporty, and Bubblebacks faded into the background in the American market,” Jacobs said.
A Quick Word On The ‘Modular’ Nature Of Bubblebacks And The Origin Of The ‘California’ Dial
The first high quality super clone Rolex Bubbleback watches generally feature dial designs with applied or luminous Arabic or Roman numerals, or “California” dials that mix Arabic and Roman numerals. In the ’30s, Rolex even obtained a patent for this design, called “Error Proof” dials.
But, when Bubblebacks started gaining popularity later with collectors in the 20th century, dial refinishers, especially Kirk Rich in Los Angeles, would often mimic this mixed numeral style. As these dials proliferated, they became known as “California” dials. It used to be something of a shorthand for a refinished dial. Nowadays, it’s a nickname for this style that mixes Arabic and Roman numerals.
“Back then, people just wanted a dial that looked cool,” Jacobs said. “It was early in the popularization of vintage watches and Rolex, and the U.S. was definitely a fashion market. It wasn’t a big deal.” Jacobs explained that this was a time when vintage fashion was rising in popularity and vintage stores, including his, began opening up on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. Vintage Levi’s, Hawaiian shirts, Rolex Bubblebacks – it was all part of the look.
Typically, original California or Error-Proof dials are solid colors with radium luminous numerals, while the refinished ones can have an assortment of color combinations, often without lume. This starts to get to the very nature of the Bubbleback.
“These are almost modular watches,” Gruenberg says. “You see so many things that have been switched out, it’s kind of the intrinsic nature of Rolex and its design compared to Patek.” He says it’s often hard to know for certain whether a particular dial and case combination is correct or original – there are so many variations you’re bound to find something new every once and a while.
Here’s how accepted the practice of swapping out parts was when collectors started buying Swiss made replica Rolex Bubbleback watches. Jacobs told me that when Bubblebacks were at their peak, Wanna Buy A Watch was working on a “Build a Bubbleback” program. Essentially, customers would be able to flip through a catalog, pick their case, dial, and bracelet/strap, and WBAW would put together that watch. They never got around to offering this program, but it shows how in-demand Bubblebacks were, and how accepted it was that parts might be swapped in and out to make for a watch that looked better.
The Bubbleback also had a long production run. While it’s generally accepted that Rolex stopped making them in the mid-1950s as a new generation of movements allowed for slimmer cases, Jacobs said that you can find Bubblebacks that sold as late as the early ’60s.
However, these later Bubblebacks often had simple stick markers and leaf hands. They didn’t really look like “Bubblebacks,” in other words. Especially in the ’80s, dealers would automatically replace or refinish these to match the older aesthetic that collectors wanted. This is also when enterprising refinishers started producing after-market Mercedes hands to match the look of the dial. It was all common and accepted, at least in the U.S. – again, it just looked cool.
“Nowadays, 99 percent of Bubbleback dials have probably been worked on or refinished,” Gruenberg said. That said, many of these dials were refinished in the early days of Rolex replica watches shop collecting and are pretty unsophisticated and easy to spot. If it’s not immediately obvious whether a dial is refinished, the print quality is often lacking. Gruenberg says to look in particular at the “R” in Rolex or the “Swiss Made” beneath six o’clock. Compare it to known original dials (like those in this article!), and you’ll often see it doesn’t match or looks sloppy.
While refinishing or restoring dials was common, there were some lines Jacobs says he hated to see dealers cross. The biggest was refinishing a Tudor dial to the half-Roman, half-Arabic style. Original Tudor dials didn’t use this style and it felt like trying to turn a Tudor into a Rolex. Even worse was refinishing a Tudor dial as a “Rolex” or simply adding a Rolex signature. While a refinished Rolex dial was never misrepresented as anything but that, this practice felt like trying to disguise a Tudor as a Rolex so it could sell for more.
‘Japanese Condition’
While American collectors, especially in Southern California, started discovering the best quality fake Rolex Bubbleback watches in the 1980s, they were far from the first.
“Long before us though, the Japanese were collectors and connoisseurs of the Bubbleback,” Jacobs said. Unlike American collectors, they always valued original dials. Jacobs said that when he or another American dealer took in an especially good Bubbleback, they had a term for it: “Japanese Condition.”
“American dealers would save great condition, original dials for Japanese collectors,” Jacobs said. “But the bar was so fucking high.” And it wasn’t just originality, the entire Rolex replica watches store site had to be a nine out of 10 or better. While the Bubbleback has mostly fallen out of favor with American collectors, the same isn’t true in Japan.
“In Italy, in Japan, they’re still collecting [the Bubbleback],” Gruenberg said. “It’s never really fallen out of favor.” He recalled going to Japan in 2008 and 2009 when he started as a professional dealer and demand for good Bubbleback being as strong as ever. While there isn’t a huge market for Bubblebacks, there are still historical collectors and dealers who buy any high-quality Bubbleback that pops up. Today, many of the best Bubblebacks are still in the hands of Japanese collectors.
“But in the U.S., we mostly fell out of love with small watches until recently,” Gruenberg said. Despite the recent trend that has lifted everything from Cartier to Piaget to the Patek Calatrave ref. 96, there hasn’t been much renewed interest in the Bubbleback.
(I briefly mentioned the Bubbleback to my Hodinkee Japan colleague, Masaharu, and we discussed doing a “Part 2” on this story from the perspective of Japanese collectors. “Japanese collectors started the Bubbleback’s popularity back in the day,” he said. “Many of those collectors stopped buying after international markets got into it.” Stay tuned!)
Some Nerdy ‘Perpetual’ Movement Stuff
Rolex introduced its first automatic perpetual caliber 620 in 1931, commercializing its new self-winding patents. It would then use the cal. 620 in the First Series Bubblebacks produced until 1935, starting with reference 1858. Over the years, best Rolex fake watches updated the 600 series with newer calibers to improve accuracy, reliability, and durability after the original perpetual movement.
Besides the caliber 600 series, Rolex produced its automatic movements in other sizes during the Bubbleback era. The caliber 400 series, including the cal. 410 and 420, is typically found in smaller Bubblebacks.
In the late 1940s and into the ’50s, Rolex introduced the slimmer caliber 500 series. These calibers illustrate how Rolex continued to refine its automatic movements, allowing for slimmer cases and the transition from the chunkier Bubbleback design.
Rolex also introduced the caliber 700 series in the ’40s. Again, these movements were thinner and more refined than their predecessors, while also improving winding efficiency. This allowed Rolex to introduce models with slimmer, more contemporary cases. For example, Rolex used the caliber 710 in the first Datejust, introduced in 1945. This is also when Rolex introduced larger 36mm replica Rolex watches wholesale, much larger than the traditional Bubbleback, nicknamed Ovettone, or “big egg” by Italian collectors. Early and Ovettones have slightly protruding casebacks, sometimes referred to as “semi-Bubblebacks.” It marks the beginning of the transition to larger, slimmer, sportier watches from Rolex.
By the early 1950s, Rolex introduced its 1000 series calibers, which allowed for thinner cases and flat casebacks, marking the end of the Bubbleback era.
Collecting The Rolex Bubbleback Today
“I’m no longer a friend of the Bubbleback,” Jacobs said. “Or rather, it’s not a friend to me.” He explained that servicing vintage Bubblebacks is a huge challenge. It’s almost impossible to source parts for the calibers inside Bubblebacks; even if you do, it’s hard to find the right watchmaker for the job.
“Then, even if you buy a running Bubbleback, there’s no assurance that it’s going to keep running or have a workable power reserve.” As a retailer who offers a guarantee on every watch he sells, Jacobs says it’s almost impossible to sell Bubblebacks on a commercial level.
Gruenberg concurred.
“Anyone who knows me knows I rarely set them. It’s purely about the design.” For those used to smaller China Swiss fake Rolex watches, the case size is just about perfect.
Beyond that, there’s the condition issue. Most dials have been restored or refinished. Similarly, many cases have been over-polished over the years. Gruenberg says to pay special attention to the brushing on the case.
“The case brushing is pretty unique to the Bubbleback,” he said. “Restorers aren’t really able to get the finish down the second time. So pay attention to the sharpness of the bezel, the brush strokes in the polishing.”
It’s Not All About The Bubbleback
“There are a lot of watches from that 1940s-50s era that can be had for basically nothing,” Gruenberg said. He pointed to the tonneau-shaped Rolex Viceroy as another example, as well as early manual-wind Oysters that can be picked up for as little as $1,000 to $2,000 on eBay.
There are also Rolex replica watches paypal with more historical significance that feel like a relative deal. Gruenberg showed me his Zerographe as an example. The Zerographe is the first chronograph Rolex produced in an Oyster case, and collectors think there are only a dozen or so around. Recently, collector Phil Toledano showed us a Zerographe he acquired at auction for what he felt was a relative deal, about $50,000.
Jacobs agreed that this era of Rolex has more to offer than just the Bubbleback.
“Boys’ size Rolex was also extremely popular in the ’80s,” he said. Since Rolex’s presence didn’t really start to expand in the U.S. until after World War II, he said to look to Canadian market watches like the Raleigh, Victory, and Sky-Rocket as special watches.
Gruenberg also pointed to the Rolex era before the Bubbleback: the rectangular Rolex Prince.
“I don’t understand why people want a Cartier Tank but not a rectangular Patek or Rolex,” Gruenberg said. But we’ll save that for another day.
That said, it’s important to remember that many of the Bubblebacks or other Rolex fake watches for men of this era are, like Jimmy Carter, gracefully aging to 100 years old. It’s hard, if not impossible, to find one in decent condition. And when you do, there’s no guarantee that it’ll run well, or even at all.
More broadly, this era of 1:1 quality replica Rolex watches has always felt like the perfect blend of sports and elegance. By the early 1950s we had the Submariner, GMT-Master, Explorer, and all the other sports models that continue to make up the Rolex catalog. But before that was an incredible era of experimentation and innovation in complications and design. I’ve written about the 6062 Triple Calendar before, but there’s also the Jean-Claude Killy, the Galaxy, and so many others.
As Gruenberg said, it’s all about the design. Much the way Southern California collectors in the ’80s latched onto the Bubbleback for their look, variety, and for the fashion statement they made – for collector’s today, it’s much the same. But it’s important not to forget the historical importance of the original “Oyster Perpetual.”