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

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 1993
    Reference No: 18238
    Case No: S359'141
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: 18k yellow gold and diamonds
    Calibre: Automatic, 3155
    Bracelet/Strap: Rolex President, end links stamped 55B
    Clasp/Buckle: Concealed deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 36mm. Diameter
    Signed: Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed
    Provenance: Property from An Important Asian Collector

  • Provenance

    Property from An Important Asian Collector

  • Catalogue Essay

    The Rolex Day-Date is one of the very rare watch models that has been able to surprise the market more than most other wristwatches thanks to its nearly unlimited number of case and dial variations. The present reference 18238 features one of the most loved and rarest dial versions carved from a petrified fossil. The result is simply stunning and its fascination stems from two facts. First it is easy to understand how incredibly difficult it must be for the dial maker to carve a thin slice of fossil then add 10 diamond settings, the gold frames for the apertures and the coronet, add the printing and finish to it, all without cracking the surface. Secondly, the appeal this watch has to its wearer is every time when he (or she…) is reading the time and is reminded of how time is all relative. A millions of years old fossil from the past, traversed by the hour, minute and seconds hands of the present timed by the observatory tested Day-Date.

  • 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. 18238
A very rare and unusual yellow gold and diamond-set calendar wristwatch with bracelet, centre seconds and fossil hard stone dial

1993
36mm. Diameter
Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF12,000 - 24,000 

Sold for CHF43,750

Contact Specialist
Livia Russo
+41 22 317 81 86

Glamorous Day-Date

Geneva Auction 9 May 2015 7pm