Rolex - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: SIX Hong Kong Monday, May 28, 2018 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1970
    Reference No: 1019
    Case No: 2'589'036
    Model Name: Milgauss
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1580, 26 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped "558" and 78360" to the endlinks, maximum length 200mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex deployant clasp stamped "J8"
    Dimensions: 40mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial movement and clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex Garantie stamped by Torino retailer Austrua and dates July 1988, additional black dial in sleeve, additional hands in sleeve, additional crystal, Italian Oyster booklet, 88/89 calendar card, guarantee and COSC translation leaflet and booklet, sale tag, box and outer packaging with Astrua label and silver dot.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The present specimen is without a doubt one of the most honest and complete to appear at auction. It not only perfectly exemplifies the lack of demand at the time of its commercialization, but it is also an extremely rare example of the same watch being originally sold with both a first series silver dial and hands and a second series black dial and hands.

    The story of this watch begins in the early 1970s when it was originally shipped to prominent Turin-based retailer Astrua with a silver dial. Failing to immediately find an owner, the watch sat in the safe of Astrua for more than a decade and finally, the current owner bought it in 1988 (coincidentally, the last year of production of the model). However, the buyer is an extremely demanding collector, he specifically demanded an additional black dial but also additional handset; Astrua was happy to grant this request and thus supplied a black dial and handset which was a second series given the time when the request was submitted, coming in the original Rolex factory sleeve.

    Completing the extraordinary set of accessories of this timepiece, it is provided not only with its 1988 Rolex Garantie double stamped by Astrua, but also with its original 1970s box and outer packaging, duly bearing both the Astrua label and the tiny silver dot identifying this piece as a silver dial one. Compounding to this the extremely well preserved condition of both case and dial - the owner used it only a handful of times - it is safe to say that the present Milgauss 1019 is one of the most attractive and collectible to recently appear on the public market.

  • 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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910

Ref. 1019
A fine, rare and extremely well preserved stainless steel amagnetic wristwatch with center seconds, additional black dial and hands, Garantie and box

Circa 1970
40mm Diameter
Case, dial movement and clasp signed

Estimate
HK$160,000 - 240,000 
€17,600-26,400
$20,500-30,800

Sold for HK$500,000

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2001
thomasperazzi@phillips.com

Ziyong Ho
Specialist
+852 9386 2032
ziyongho@phillips.com

Jill Chen
Specialist
+852 2318 2033
jillchen@phillips.com

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: SIX

Hong Kong Auction 29 May 2018