Rolex - Glamorous Day-Date Geneva Friday, May 8, 2015 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 1979
    Reference No: 18038, stamped 18000 inside the case back
    Case No: 5'802'147
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: 18k yellow gold
    Calibre: Automatic, 3055
    Bracelet/Strap: Rolex President, end links stamped 49, 53
    Clasp/Buckle: Concealed deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 36mm Diameter
    Signed: Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed
    Accessories: None
    Literature: The present lot is illustrated in Day Date, The Presidential Rolex by Pucci Papaleo, Spin Edizioni

  • Catalogue Essay

    The natural stone-made dials were named by Rolex ‘special dials’ and were part of a small series not listed in their ‘Master Catalogue’. During the Eighties, this selection of dials was proposed to retailers who wanted to offer a more exclusive and elite Day-Date version to their clients. The dial of this incredible timepiece is made of jasper. Further notice must be given to the absence of hour markers. Besides what could appear simply a matter of style, it was rather the need to restrict as much as possible the workings on the dial in order to preserve its integrity.This 18038 reference dazzles us with its magnificent state of conservation. The metal displays perfectly shaped bevels as well as mint brush finished surfaces, rendering the watch in extremely well preserved original condition.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

    One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.

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Ref. 18038, stamped 18000 inside the case back
A very rare and unusual yellow gold calendar wristwatch with centre seconds, bracelet and jasper hard stone dial

1979
36mm Diameter
Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF15,000 - 30,000 

Sold for CHF68,750

Contact Specialist
Livia Russo
+41 22 317 81 86

Glamorous Day-Date

Geneva Auction 9 May 2015 7pm