Rolex 3827 ‘Antimagnetic’ in Rose Gold

When you see a Rolex with square pushers and a push-back case design, you know things are getting interesting. Last round, I presented a non-sigma Cosmograph that everyone will be familiar with. Today I’m pushing that lineage: meet Grandad. The Rolex antimagnetic chronograph preceeded the 1955 6234, a watch most associate with the start of the Cosmograph lineage. The early Antimagnetic is a watch that defeated all the odds in a post-war Switzerland to build a deadly-accurate and beautiful chronograph in tough economic circumstance.

This three-register non-oyster is just one generation before the famed Barilotto, a watch which my pick of the last Phillip’s sale and the first Oyster chronograph. It is one of the smaller available cases of this generation, a 33mm rose gold with beveled lugs. The movement is a rhodium-plated 17-jewel with a monometallic Breguet balance. The dial, case, and movement were all signed by Rolex. Although there is not an abundance of material on these very early post-war Rolex chronographs, it is safe to say the watch was well ahead of its time in incorporating an antimagnetic material science to a consumer chronograph. This was a science developed in wartime from which the public benefited. Its success paved the way for the Oyster Chronograph we know and love today, the Cosmograph.

This example comes in Rose Gold with a very strong condition. Its case is seemingly unpolished with stout lugs and light even scratches throughout. Its dial is very well-preserved and unrestored. The scales are all legible, there is minimal subdial rust, and the blank space is only lightly patinated. The caliber has no mention of service. It is sold through well-regarded Swiss retailer.

Find this 3827 here from Vintage Watches Zermatt for 65000 USD.