Oyster Centregraph 3478

[mrsentinel]

Hello again. I am looking into bidding on this interesting Oyster watch. I have read up on the forums about these and I do believe the dial, hands, and movement are original. The seller doesn't show a side profile of the crown, so I don't know if it is original. What is odd is that the pictures I have seen of others watches show the "Oyster Watch Co" inside the caseback. This one shows Tudor and the serial number seems off for the time period of this watch. The Cal 59 movement looks correct based on pictures I have seen. The "3478" does line up with what are commonly found on these watches. So I got a few questions for the veterans here:

1) Did these watches come with a variety of casebacks from Oyster, Rolex, and Tudor? I have seen all three show the 3478 model number.

2) The serial is 447638. That would date it as a tudor to 1968. It would date in Rolex to 1945. Since these watches were sold in WW2 to Soldiers, it seems the Rolex Serial numbers make more sense. Clarification is appreciated.

3) I attempted to find ballpark pricing on these pieces, but dang they are all over the place. Any idea what these cost on ebay vs dealers? What would you bid on this piece?

[motoikkyu]

I think I have a similar watch but I am not 100%. The Oyster Centregraph I have is attractive, but tiny (29mm). I have worn it, I cheated and put it on a very wide, 70's style strap, but it's small even for a guy who wears bubblebacks regularly. I bought mine on eBay for under $400.

[mrsentinel]

I would like to see a picture of your strap and watch. 29mm is small!

[Old Expat Beast]

Some early Tudor watches came with Oyster dials. This was late 30s to mid 40s, before Tudor as established as a company, as far as I can tell.

It's discussed here: www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=477498

This Singapore newspaper ad is from 1937. Gammeter's was the city's AD at the time.

[mrsentinel]

What about the serial number?

[Vlad]

"Some early Tudor watches came with Oyster dials. This was late 30s to mid 40s, before Tudor as established as a company, as far as I can tell. "

I believe Tudor was established in the mid 30s (please correct me if I'm wrong), and as such, I don't necessary agree with the above statement

As far as original question, yes there are Tudor 3478 - I have one identical to the one you are looking at (gold plated, SS Tudor 3478 case back). FYI, my serial is 475,xxx

I'll post a picture later.

I have not seen any 3478 with only ROLEX marking on it - almost always Oyster, rarely Tudor - as all 3478s I have seen were with Type 59 movement, and that's not what Rolex used in Rolex branded watches.

The watch is from 1945, Oyster Watch Co followed Rolex Oyster serial numbers.

Vlad

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Vlad

"Some early Tudor watches came with Oyster dials. This was late 30s to mid 40s, before Tudor as established as a company, as far as I can tell. "

I believe Tudor was established in the mid 30s (please correct me if I'm wrong), and as such, I don't necessary agree with the above statement

As far as original question, yes there are Tudor 3478 - I have one identical to the one you are looking at (gold plated, SS Tudor 3478 case back). FYI, my serial is 475,xxx

I'll post a picture later.

I have not seen any 3478 with only ROLEX marking on it - almost always Oyster, rarely Tudor - as all 3478s I have seen were with Type 59 movement, and that's not what Rolex used in Rolex branded watches.

The watch is from 1945, Oyster Watch Co followed Rolex Oyster serial numbers.

Vlad

The name goes back to the 1920s, but Tudor as a company was only established in 1946.

[motoikkyu]

Here are the photos promised: a wristshot of me wearing the Centregraph on a wide band, and the watch alongside a 6614, which has a 36mm case. As you can see, it's small. I bought it to prove it was still possible, in 2017, to purchase a legitimate Rolex on eBay for under $300USD, if you didn't care too much about size.

[Vlad]

for the record, here's a Tudor 3478 case back (Type 59, sub seconds). This one even has RWC markings