Manufacturer: Rolex Year: 1976 Reference No: 1803 Case No: 3'799'977 Model Name: Day-Date Material: 18k white gold Calibre: Automatic, 1556 Bracelet/Strap: Rolex President, end links stamped 53 Clasp/Buckle: Concealed deployant clasp Dimensions: 36mm. Diameter Signed:Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed Literature: The present lot is illustrated in Day Date, The Presidential Rolex by Pucci Papaleo, Spin Edizioni
Catalogue Essay
The present Day-Date is distinguished by an absolutely eye-catching contrast created by the white gold case, its stunning dial and Seventies style.
Beyond its extremely rare white gold case, this timepiece features a dégradé green dial adorned with 8 round cut diamond indexes and 2 baguette-cut diamonds at 6 and 9 o’clock.
The deployant clasp of the 8385 President bracelet internally bears the engraved Rolex hallmark and 18K gold markings.
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.