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 38 mm Slate Ceramic
Reference 52014OR.70
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Corum
- Collection
- Bubble
- Model
- Corum Bubble 38 mm Slate Ceramic
- Reference number
- 52014OR.70
- Year / era
- 1984 · 1980s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Annual calendar
- Movement
- Automatic, Swiss lever escapement
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- Oyster bracelet
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Bezel
- Emerald-set
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Oyster bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 41A — Automatic, Swiss lever escapement
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 65 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Annual calendar
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1984 – 1987
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Corum Bubble 38 mm Slate Ceramic sits within Corum's Bubble line, introduced in 1984. It carries the house codes established since 1955 — ceramic case, slate grey dial and automatic, swiss lever escapement — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
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.