Property from an Astute Collector
953
Rolex
Ref. 18038
Day-Date
A fine and rare yellow gold and diamond-set calendar wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, blue dégradé 'Stella' dial and bracelet
- Estimate
- HK$80,000 - 120,000€9,400 - 14,100$10,000 - 15,000
HK$150,000
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- Circa 1985
- Reference No
- 18038
- Movement No
- 1'449'958
- Case No
- 8'952'381
- Model Name
- Day-Date
- Material
- 18k yellow gold and diamonds
- Calibre
- Automatic, 3055, 27 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- 18k yellow gold <em>Rolex President </em>bracelet, 165 mm. maximum length
- Clasp/Buckle
- 18k yellow gold <em>Rolex </em>folding deployant clasp
- Dimensions
- 35 mm. diameter
- Signed
- <em>Case, dial and movement signed</em>
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Rolex has reinvented the Day-Date ever since being introduced to the market in 1955. A very popular variant is the 'Stella', which is very fashionable and sought after today. The present watch is fitted with the rarest variant of 'Stella' dial and is known by the market as dégradé or vignette dial, which is a word used by photographers to describe an image which is clear at the centre while fading off at the edges. Finished with gold graphics and enhanced with diamond-set numerals, this dégradé blue 'Stella' dial provides a stunning look and is an appealing example.
Literature
Rolex
Swiss | 1905Founded 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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