Rolex - The Geneva Watch Auction: THREE Geneva Saturday, May 14, 2016 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 1948
    Reference No: 4768
    Case No: 624'911
    Model Name: Anti-Magnetique
    Material: Stainless steel and yellow gold
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 72C, 17 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Crocodile
    Clasp/Buckle: 18k yellow gold buckle, signed Rolex
    Dimensions: 35mm. Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
    Literature: For similar versions see Pucci Papaleo's I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, pg. 366-371

  • Catalogue Essay

    In the latter half of the 1940s Rolex created their first anti-magnetic triple calendar chronograph wristwatch, also known as the “Dato Compax”.

    Reference 4768 was produced in stainless steel, yellow gold, pink gold, steel and yellow gold and steel and pink gold. According to scholarship, after the launch in 1947, only 220 examples were made in total. The current watch from 1948 is encased in stainless steel accented with a yellow gold bezel, crown, and date hand. Housed inside is the most reliable Valjoux 72C movement, which is fitted in some of today’s most desirable models ever created by the firm.

    The present example fitted with elongated teardrop lugs and a stunning silvered dial is in excellent overall condition, and has been well preserved over its 60 plus year life span. Understated, sophisticated, and particularly rare, this watch is a true treasure for the savvy Rolex collector.

  • 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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Σ109

Ref. 4768
A very rare and extremely attractive stainless steel and yellow gold anti-magnetic triple calendar wristwatch with tachometer scale

1948
35mm. Diameter
Case, dial, movement and buckle signed

Estimate
CHF50,000 - 100,000 
€45,900-91,800
$51,500-103,000

Sold for CHF233,000

Contact Specialist
Nathalie Monbaron
+41 22 317 81 83

The Geneva Watch Auction: THREE

Geneva Auction 15 May 2016