- By Isabella Proia
If you’ve attended any of the recent auction previews in Los Angeles or New York, you may have heard a short, brunette watch specialist wax poetic about a diamond-set Rolex wristwatch. Did her voice crack with emotion as she talked about the beauty and difficulty of the gem-setting, the perfect balance of the burgundy Stella dial with the baguette diamond indexes? Maybe it did, but she’s not going to admit to that. If she managed to draw you into her excitement, you would have heard her explain how at first, this watch didn’t excite her at all – just your average diamond encrusted Day-Date in platinum, nothing to get the heart racing. But then, she saw it in the metal, first in Los Angeles where it drew her eye often enough until she had to try it on. During their reunion in New York, she pointed the piece out to every passerby, visitor, collector, viewing assistant, and husband that came through the gallery.
Let us build this watch from the ground up. It is a platinum Rolex Day-Date from the early 1970s in completely unblemished condition. It has a burgundy Stella dial, layers of translucent lacquer creating a multi-dimensional warmth that balances perfectly with the coolness of platinum. Perfectly selected baguette diamonds act as hour markers, while round brilliant dials adorn the bezel. The case itself is substantial and impressive, but this is a watch that should never be parted from its bracelet, from which it derives its nickname ‘Octopussy’. This nickname is not to be confused with the ‘Pussy Galore’, the collector’s moniker for a Rolex GMT-Master reference 6542, as it worn by the main female antagonist of the same name in the classic James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). Instead, the moniker Octopussy derives from another female Bond character of the same name in the eponymous film from 1983. Between the resemblance to the suction cups of an octopus and the collecting community’s fondness for James Bond, the lighthearted nickname has stuck to this particular Day-Date configuration (though it is not known if any Bond girl ever wore such a Day-Date).
The President bracelet has bezel-set baguette diamonds on the center links flanked by round-cut diamonds on the outer links, thus resembling the suction cups of one of the most elusive and interesting of marine cephalopods, the octopus. Each diamond is matched perfectly in shape, size, and clarity It is not just all sparkles and bling with this watch either – the smaller design elements are what really pull the watch together. The date wheel’s elegant serifs are often overlooked in this reference, but highly coveted by collectors of Daytonas and Submariners, and the serifs are equally resplendent in the silver print on the dial. Each lume plot is perfectly formed and aligned with the baguette diamond hour markers, as well as perfectly matching the luminous material on the hands.
It all comes together with a commanding opulence, a luxury watch at its most luxurious. As exotic and elusory as the shy and intelligent octopus, this Rolex Day-Date ‘Octopussy’ in stunning condition and sublime form will make a rare appearance at the Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN on 12th May 2018.