A rare steel Rolex Zerographe reference 3346, notable for a seconds hand that resets at the push of a button, was the headline draw in Fratello’s preview of Antiquorum’s Geneva sale on 9 May 2021. The 32 mm watch carried a pre-sale estimate of CHF 50,000–80,000 and was reported to sell for CHF 225,000 including buyer’s premium. Those are historical auction figures, not a current valuation.
What made the Rolex Zerographe unusual?
The featured watch was a steel Rolex reference 3346, lot 292. Fratello’s 6 May 2021 preview dated the model to about 1937; that is an approximate date, rather than a confirmed production year. Its unusual appeal lies in the central seconds mechanism: instead of the conventional start-stop-reset sequence associated with many chronographs, the red central seconds hand runs continuously and can be reset directly with a pusher.
How its seconds-hand reset works
Pressing the pusher at 2 o’clock resets the continuously moving red seconds hand, allowing another timing measurement to begin. Sources describe this as a flyback or flyback stop-seconds mechanism. An Antiquorum preview characterized the 3346 as Rolex’s first chronograph with an in-house movement and described its caliber as manually wound, with 17 jewels and flyback stop-seconds; that historical characterization is the auction preview’s account.
The family-discovery story
Fratello reported that the watch came from the original owner’s family and was found while the family was cleaning the grandmother’s apartment. The article also said the final three digits of the case serial were engraved beneath the bezel. These are reported provenance and originality details, not independently established here.
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Estimate and reported auction result
Before the sale, Fratello and MasterHorologer reported an estimate of CHF 50,000–80,000 for lot 292. MasterHorologer and Montres-de-luxe.com later reported a result of CHF 225,000 including buyer’s premium. The figures refer to Antiquorum’s 9 May 2021 Geneva auction and should not be read as a current market price or valuation.
The sale comprised 535 lots and had an aggregate low-estimate value of about CHF 7.5 million, according to Fratello. MasterHorologer reported the sale total as CHF 10,358,555 including buyer’s premium. In his preview, watch writer Sacha Davidoff put the uncertainty succinctly: “auctions are always a bit of a gamble.”
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The Heuer and Audemars Piguet watches in the preview
The Zerographe was not the only unusual watch Fratello highlighted. The preview also discussed a Heuer Autavia reference 1163 and an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak reference 5402. Their estimates were reported before the sale; the cited coverage does not establish their final auction results.
| Watch | Lot | What the preview noted | Pre-sale estimate | Reported result in the cited coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolex Zerographe reference 3346 | 292 | Steel, 32 mm; continuously running red central seconds hand with a pusher reset; family-discovery provenance reported by Fratello. | CHF 50,000–80,000 | CHF 225,000 including buyer’s premium, reported by MasterHorologer and Montres-de-luxe.com. |
| Heuer Autavia reference 1163 | 163 | Unusual orange dial. Fratello called it an exotic dial and cautioned against assuming it was a prototype; production status was unclear in the article. | CHF 15,000–20,000 | Not stated in the cited coverage. |
| Audemars Piguet Royal Oak reference 5402 | 535 | Early A-series example with a tropical, color-changed dial. Fratello noted a movement number that did not match the reference and inferred it was likely assembled outside AP workshops. | CHF 40,000–80,000 | Not stated in the cited coverage. |
How to interpret the Zerographe’s rarity
Fratello said a dozen examples had surfaced, but other secondary reports used different counts or referred to auction appearances. Those accounts do not establish a total production number. The evidence supports describing the reference as rare and unusual, but not assigning a definitive number of examples made.
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Sources
- Fratello Watches, “Rare Rolex Zerographe Up For Auction Alongside AP And Heuer,” 6 May 2021
- MasterHorologer, Antiquorum Geneva sale report, 10 May 2021
- Montres-de-luxe.com, report on the Zerographe result
- Antiquorum preview description of the Rolex reference 3346
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