Manufacturer: Rolex Year: 1958 Reference No: 6611B Movement No: DDN'884'156 Case No: 401'546 Model Name: Day-Date Material: 18K white gold Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1055B, 25 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex pin buckle Dimensions: 36mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and pin buckle signed
Catalogue Essay
It is widely acknowledged among Rolex scholars and collectors, that the Day-Date is the most varied, unusual and creative model the firm has ever produced. The Day-Date was Rolex’s first model to display separate day and date apertures. Since the model’s official launch in 1956, the Day-Date has seen a multitude of watch design variations.
Manufactured only two years after the introduction of the Day-Date model in 1956, the present watch is an extremely rare version of reference 6611B. Cased in white gold, it is one of a handful of known examples in white metal.
This watch is furthermore distinguished by its excellent condition. The dial is free of heavy tarnishing, and the watch is even fitted with an Italian day disc, giving it a lot of flair. Most importantly, the hands are not painted with luminous material, but enamel. This is fitting, as the dial does not have luminous dots either.
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.