Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Corum · Bubble
Corum Bubble 40 mm Meteorite Grade
Reference 32291OR.53
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Corum
- Collection
- Bubble
- Model
- Corum Bubble 40 mm Meteorite Grade
- Reference number
- 32291OR.53
- Year / era
- 1975 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Tourbillon
- Movement
- Spring Drive
- Case material
- Grade 5 titanium
- Dial type
- Meteorite
- Strap / bracelet
- Milanese mesh
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 100 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- Grade 5 titanium
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Meteorite
- Hands
- Skeletonised sword hands, white luminescent
- Indexes
- Applied Roman numerals
- Bracelet / strap
- Milanese mesh
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 69C — Spring Drive
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 70 hours
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Tourbillon
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1975 – 1986
- Limited-edition quantity
- 100 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Corum Bubble 40 mm Meteorite Grade sits within Corum's Bubble line, introduced in 1975. It carries the house codes established since 1955 — grade 5 titanium case, meteorite dial and spring drive — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Corum
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1955
- Founder
- René Bannwart
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Premium
- Major collections
- Admiral, Bubble, Golden Bridge, Coin Watch
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Anti-magnetic silicon escapement
- Famous movements
- Spring Drive · Automatic, Swiss lever escapement · Automatic chronograph · High-beat automatic
- Notable watches
- Corum Admiral 39 mm Salmon Carbon (1959) · Corum Admiral 42 mm Green Platinum (2000) · Corum Admiral 36 mm Blue Sapphire (1989) · Corum Admiral 37 mm Blue 18k (1957)
Brand history
Corum has spent more than 71 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Admiral, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
René Bannwart established Corum in 1955, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Corum calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1955
René Bannwart founds Corum in Switzerland.
1969
The quartz era forces Corum to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Corum enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Corum continues to produce Admiral, Bubble, Golden Bridge and other icons in limited numbers.