Reference:2136 - Revision history

Admin: Resize hero: 340px -> 250px

2026-04-30T04:21:50Z

Resize hero: 340px -> 250px

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:21, 30 April 2026
Line 16:		Line 16:

	<span id="core-facts"></span>		<span id="core-facts"></span>
	[[File:Ref 2136 hero.jpg\|thumb\|right\|~~340px~~\|alt=2136 example hero\|2136 example]]		[[File:Ref 2136 hero.jpg\|thumb\|right\|250px\|alt=2136 example hero\|2136 example]]
	== Core facts ==		== Core facts ==

Admin: SEO: og:image + image_alt + og_type + timestamps

2026-04-29T03:21:08Z

SEO: og:image + image_alt + og_type + timestamps

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:21, 29 April 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{#seo:		{{#seo:
	\|title=Rolex Oyster ~~2136~~ — BezelBase		\|title=Rolex 2136 Oyster Perpetual — Production, Dial Variants, Serial Ranges \| BezelBase
	\|description=The 2136 is an early Oyster: small, varied, and still more documentary object than settled model line. That is the right way to approach it.		\|description=The 2136 is an early Oyster: small, varied, and still more documentary object than settled model line. That is the right way to approach it.
	\|image=Ref 2136 hero.jpg		\|image=Ref 2136 hero.jpg
Line 7:		Line 7:
	\|og_type=article		\|og_type=article
	\|published_time=2026-04-17T21:04:10Z		\|published_time=2026-04-17T21:04:10Z
	\|modified_time=2026-04-29T02:34:~~25Z~~		\|modified_time=2026-04-29T02:48:31Z
	\|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large		\|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
	}}		}}

Admin: SEO: og:image + image_alt + og_type + timestamps

2026-04-29T02:48:31Z

SEO: og:image + image_alt + og_type + timestamps

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:48, 29 April 2026
Line 7:		Line 7:
	\|og_type=article		\|og_type=article
	\|published_time=2026-04-17T21:04:10Z		\|published_time=2026-04-17T21:04:10Z
	\|modified_time=2026-04-~~27T13~~:29:~~52Z~~		\|modified_time=2026-04-29T02:34:25Z
	\|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large		\|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
	}}		}}

Admin: SEO: og:image + image_alt + og_type + timestamps

2026-04-29T02:34:25Z

SEO: og:image + image_alt + og_type + timestamps

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:34, 29 April 2026
Line 4:		Line 4:
	\|image=Ref 2136 hero.jpg		\|image=Ref 2136 hero.jpg
	\|image_alt=2136 example hero		\|image_alt=2136 example hero
			\|type=article
	\|og_type=article		\|og_type=article
	\|published_time=2026-04-17T21:04:10Z		\|published_time=2026-04-17T21:04:10Z
	\|modified_time=2026-04-~~25T02~~:52:~~37Z~~		\|modified_time=2026-04-27T13:29:52Z
	\|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large		\|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
	}}		}}

Admin: Lexical slop sweep: filler adverbs, load-bearing, stands as, breadcrumb, register

2026-04-27T13:29:52Z

Lexical slop sweep: filler adverbs, load-bearing, stands as, breadcrumb, register

Show changes

Admin: Strip Chevalier (Colin A. White is not a pseudonym; remove confusing label)

2026-04-27T04:33:14Z

Strip Chevalier (Colin A. White is not a pseudonym; remove confusing label)

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:33, 27 April 2026
Line 170:		Line 170:

	== Sources ==		== Sources ==
	* The Vintage Rolex Field Manual~~, Chevalier Edition~~ — ~~unknown~~, Morning Tundra		* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
	* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-83-146 Antiquorum Geneva — Rolex ref 2136 SS cushion c.1925] — Antiquorum		* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-83-146 Antiquorum Geneva — Rolex ref 2136 SS cushion c.1925] — Antiquorum
	* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29892/lot/89/rolex-a-9k-gold-manual-wind-wristwatch-ref-2136-glasgow-import-mark-for-1937/ Bonhams Lot 89 — Rolex ref 2136 9K gold Glasgow 1937] — Bonhams		* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29892/lot/89/rolex-a-9k-gold-manual-wind-wristwatch-ref-2136-glasgow-import-mark-for-1937/ Bonhams Lot 89 — Rolex ref 2136 9K gold Glasgow 1937] — Bonhams

Admin: SEO: og:image + image_alt + og_type + timestamps

2026-04-27T04:02:45Z

SEO: og:image + image_alt + og_type + timestamps

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:02, 27 April 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	\|title=Rolex Oyster 2136 — BezelBase		\|title=Rolex Oyster 2136 — BezelBase
	\|description=The 2136 is an early Oyster: small, varied, and still more documentary object than settled model line. That is the right way to approach it.		\|description=The 2136 is an early Oyster: small, varied, and still more documentary object than settled model line. That is the right way to approach it.
			\|image=Ref 2136 hero.jpg
			\|image_alt=2136 example hero
			\|og_type=article
			\|published_time=2026-04-17T21:04:10Z
			\|modified_time=2026-04-25T02:52:37Z
			\|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
	}}		}}

Admin: Tighten prose and repair broken SEO template

2026-04-25T02:52:37Z

Tighten prose and repair broken SEO template

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:52, 25 April 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	\|title=Rolex Oyster 2136 — BezelBase		\|title=Rolex Oyster 2136 — BezelBase
	\|description=The 2136 is an early Oyster: small, varied, and still more documentary object than settled model line. That is the right way to approach it.		\|description=The 2136 is an early Oyster: small, varied, and still more documentary object than settled model line. That is the right way to approach it.

			}}

	<small>[[Reference:oyster\|Oyster]] -> '''2136'''</small>		<small>[[Reference:oyster\|Oyster]] -> '''2136'''</small>
Line 136:		Line 138:
	Because the 2136 is an early 9ct gold octagonal Oyster, and because Mercedes Gleitze wore an early 9ct gold octagonal Oyster during her 1927 Channel swims, the two are frequently conflated in casual references. That conflation is wrong.		Because the 2136 is an early 9ct gold octagonal Oyster, and because Mercedes Gleitze wore an early 9ct gold octagonal Oyster during her 1927 Channel swims, the two are frequently conflated in casual references. That conflation is wrong.

	Gleitze’s watch is reference '''34075''', ~~confirmed by~~ Sotheby’s Geneva (9 November 2025, Lot 134, ~~Important Watches Part I). The catalog describes~~ it as a pre-production prototype~~, “one of only a handful of pre-patent-approved Oysters known,” with a~~ 9ct gold octagonal case, wire lugs~~, 31×27 mm~~, Glasgow 1926/1927 import marks, and the caseback ~~engraving: ''“Miss M.~~ Gleitze ~~The Companion ‘Oyster’.~~ Vindication Channel Swim. October ~~21st.~~ 1927~~.”'' Inside the caseback is stamped R.W.C. LTD~~. The dial carries “7 World’s Records, Patent Applied for 114948, Oyster Patent winding crown” text. ~~The movement~~ is a 9¾’’’ Hunter, later service-updated to Cal. 600. The watch sold for CHF 1,392,000.		Gleitze’s watch was reference '''34075''', not 2136. Sotheby’s Geneva confirmed that in ''Important Watches Part I'' (9 November 2025, Lot 134), cataloguing it as a pre-production Oyster prototype in 9ct gold with an octagonal case, wire lugs, Glasgow 1926/1927 import marks, and the engraved caseback naming Mercedes Gleitze and the Vindication Channel Swim of 21 October 1927. The dial carries the “7 World’s Records / Patent Applied for 114948 / Oyster Patent winding crown” text. Inside is a 9¾’’’ Hunter movement later service-updated to Cal. 600. The watch sold for CHF 1,392,000.

	The ~~2136 and~~ the ~~34075 share physical characteristics (~~octagonal ~~case,~~ wire lugs, R.W.C. LTD. caseback ~~stamp, 9ct gold)~~ because ~~they~~ both ~~come from the earliest~~ Oyster ~~construction. They are not the same watch~~. The 34075 is a pre-production ~~piece Rolex issued to Gleitze before the reference-numbering system was even in use; the~~ 2136 is the catalog reference ~~that later covered~~ production ~~of the similar men’s octagonal Oyster~~. ~~The prevailing view among collectors who have worked on this question is that~~ the 2136 ~~was produced contemporaneously with and after~~ the Gleitze ~~swim~~, ~~sharing~~ the Gleitze ~~watch’s design language without being derived from it~~.		The overlap is real, but the watches are not the same. Both are early 9ct gold octagonal Oysters with wire lugs and R.W.C. LTD. caseback stamps because both belong to Rolex’s first Oyster architecture. The 34075 predates the reference system and was issued to Gleitze as a pre-production watch. The 2136 is the later catalog reference for related production pieces. Best current reading: the 2136 is a production cousin of the Gleitze watch, not the Gleitze watch itself.

	Some dealer listings conflate the two. The 2136 is not the Gleitze watch. The correct frame: the 2136 is a production cousin of the Gleitze watch, not the Gleitze watch itself.		Some dealer listings conflate the two. The 2136 is not the Gleitze watch. The correct frame: the 2136 is a production cousin of the Gleitze watch, not the Gleitze watch itself.

Admin: Trim another small batch of dense reference prose

2026-04-24T21:34:35Z

Trim another small batch of dense reference prose

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:34, 24 April 2026
Line 5:		Line 5:
	<small>[[Reference:oyster\|Oyster]] -> '''2136'''</small>		<small>[[Reference:oyster\|Oyster]] -> '''2136'''</small>

	The 2136 is an early Oyster. It belongs to the first wave of references Rolex assembled after the 1926 Oyster patents, when the company was still learning what a waterproof wristwatch should look like and how to sell it. Most surviving examples are small ~~9ct gold watches retailed through the British jewellery trade~~, ~~but the reference also turns up in stainless steel, nickel silver~~, and ~~rose gold of various karatages. There is no~~ settled ~~production span, no canonical dimension, and no single dial~~. ~~What exists~~ is ~~a reference number shared across several years of small, hand-assembled gold watches, each carrying enough variation that collectors treat every surviving 2136 as a documentary object in its own~~ right.		The 2136 is an early Oyster: small, varied, and still more documentary object than settled model line. That is the right way to approach it.

	<span id="core-facts"></span>		<span id="core-facts"></span>
Line 97:		Line 97:
	== The 15-jewel movement ==		== The 15-jewel movement ==

	The ~~2136’s movement is a Rolex~~ Hunter-type ~~caliber of 10½ lignes, built on the pre-Perpetual~~ architecture ~~Aegler supplied to Rolex throughout the late 1920s and 1930s~~. ~~Caliber designations of this era are inconsistent~~ across sources~~. Period Rolex documentation is thin~~, ~~and modern collector catalogs attribute these movements variously to Cal. 10, Cal. 700 precursors, or unnumbered Hunter bases. What~~ is ~~consistent across surviving 2136 examples is the specification~~: 15 jewels, ~~straight-line lever escapement~~, ~~monometallic balance with~~ the Rolex-~~patented Superbalance designation, blued Breguet overcoil hairspring, rhodium-plated, and adjusted in six positions and three temperatures for all climates~~.		The 2136 uses the usual early Hunter-type Oyster movement architecture. The naming is messy across sources, but the useful spec is stable enough: 15 jewels, Superbalance, and the early Rolex manual-wind format rather than anything later or more standardized.

	Six-position adjustment is a meaningful claim for a 1930s wristwatch of this price point. Most contemporary watches of the era were adjusted in three positions, sometimes five. Six-position adjustment was chronometer-grade territory, and Rolex used the specification on its better movements to signal that the Oyster’s case and movement both met serious precision standards. Movement plates on surviving 2136s are signed with the Rolex wordmark and the Superbalance designation; a few examples carry additional chronometer markings, though the 2136 was not submitted to official observatory certification as a matter of course.		Six-position adjustment is a meaningful claim for a 1930s wristwatch of this price point. Most contemporary watches of the era were adjusted in three positions, sometimes five. Six-position adjustment was chronometer-grade territory, and Rolex used the specification on its better movements to signal that the Oyster’s case and movement both met serious precision standards. Movement plates on surviving 2136s are signed with the Rolex wordmark and the Superbalance designation; a few examples carry additional chronometer markings, though the 2136 was not submitted to official observatory certification as a matter of course.

Admin: Trim another small batch of dense reference prose

2026-04-24T21:32:25Z

Trim another small batch of dense reference prose

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:32, 24 April 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{#seo:		{{#seo:
	\|title=Rolex Oyster 2136 — BezelBase		\|title=Rolex Oyster 2136 — BezelBase
	\|description=The 2136 is an early Oyster. ~~It belongs~~ to ~~the first wave of references Rolex assembled after the 1926 Oyster patents, when the company was still learning…~~		\|description=The 2136 is an early Oyster: small, varied, and still more documentary object than settled model line. That is the right way to approach it.
	~~\|keywords=Rolex, 2136, Oyster, specifications, reference guide~~
	~~\|type=article~~
	}}

	<small>[[Reference:oyster\|Oyster]] -> '''2136'''</small>		<small>[[Reference:oyster\|Oyster]] -> '''2136'''</small>
Line 84:		Line 81:
	[[File:Ref2136_9ct_cushion.jpg\|thumb\|right\|300px\|alt=9ct gold cushion-case 2136 — the alternate shape.\|9ct gold cushion-case 2136 — the alternate shape.]]		[[File:Ref2136_9ct_cushion.jpg\|thumb\|right\|300px\|alt=9ct gold cushion-case 2136 — the alternate shape.\|9ct gold cushion-case 2136 — the alternate shape.]]

	The 2136 appears in two case shapes: octagonal~~, which is most common,~~ and cushion~~, documented on earlier (c.1925) examples. Both configurations carry the 2136 reference~~. The octagonal ~~Oyster case~~ is ~~a distinctive form: eight flat sides, each a short facet, meeting at angles rather than curves. The Field Manual describes~~ the ~~octagonal as~~ one ~~of the two original Oyster shapes alongside the cushion, and notes that~~ it ~~was dropped within a few years of the 1926 launch because the cushion sold better, which~~ is what makes surviving octagonals more desirable now than they were then. The 2136 is part of that octagonal population, produced into the 1930s when most contemporaries had moved to rounder or cushion shapes.		The 2136 appears in two case shapes, octagonal first and cushion alongside it. The octagonal form is the one collectors care about most because it is both early and visually distinct.

	The cushion 2136 sold at Antiquorum in April 1999, dated c.1925, is the lone documented example of that shape in the indexed public record. If the dating is accurate, it pre-dates the Oyster patent grant and suggests either a pre-production piece, a misdated lot, or the reference being applied retroactively to a case from the earliest Oyster experiments. The Antiquorum catalog noted the case was fitted with a dust-protecting cap over the crown, an early-Oyster detail consistent with the pre-1930 period.		The cushion 2136 sold at Antiquorum in April 1999, dated c.1925, is the lone documented example of that shape in the indexed public record. If the dating is accurate, it pre-dates the Oyster patent grant and suggests either a pre-production piece, a misdated lot, or the reference being applied retroactively to a case from the earliest Oyster experiments. The Antiquorum catalog noted the case was fitted with a dust-protecting cap over the crown, an early-Oyster detail consistent with the pre-1930 period.