Rolex

nickel lever movement, 17 jewels, mono-metallic compensation balance, silvered dial, applied arabic and baton numerals, two engine turned subsidiary dials for constant seconds and 30-minute register, outer scales calibrated for tachometer and telemeter, circular steel two-piece Oyster case with screw-down crown and case back, case, dial and movement signed, with a steel Rolex buckle.

Chronographs did not appear in the 1934 Rolex catalogue, however, by 1937, five examples were displayed [Dowling & Hess, The Best of Time, Rolex Wristwatches, 2nd Ed, p.215].

Reference 3525 was one of Rolex's earliest Oyster cased chronographs and remains amongst the most popular with collectors. Production of the reference seems to have begun either at the very end of the 1930s or beginning of the 1940s. The outstanding condition of the present lot is remarkable and explicable by the fact that it has been stored without use for many years. With a wonderful dial, the case retains superb definition; the knurling, reference and case numbers to the outside back are exceptionally fresh.

For a discussion of the reference and a variety of other examples, see Gobbi, P., I Chronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, pp. 162-192. A very similar dial to the present wristwatch is shown ob cit. p.187. For a copy of an original advertisement by Rolex featuring reference 3525, see Patrizzi, Collecting Rolex Wristwatches, p. 308.