Rolex - The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII Geneva Saturday, May 13, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1999
    Reference No: 18208
    Movement No: 7'817'626
    Case No: A53129
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: 18K yellow gold
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3155, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K yellow gold Rolex President bracelet, max length 180mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Rolex deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 36mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex guarantee dated October 10, 1999, product literature, presentation box and outer packaging.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The Day-Date line (together with its less complicated sibling the Datejust) has historically been a canvas for Rolex to express its unbound creativity. As a result, the model features some of the most unusual dial configurations ever seen on a Rolex watch. The company went well beyond experimenting with different graphic styles, and the Day-Date can be found with dial options spacing from wood to lacquer, fossil, marble, coral etc.

    Offered in absolutely crisp and unspoiled condition and furthermore complete of its original warranty, the present reference 18208 with smooth bezel features a charismatic yellow mother-of-pearl dial with Roman numerals - a particularly rare dial variant for the Day-Date model. Furthermore, the case is preserved in impressive and most probably unpolished condition, with the caseback sticker intact. Such well-preserved examples hardly appear on the market, giving it enormous collectibility.

  • 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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Ref. 18208
A rare and extremely well-preserved yellow gold calendar wristwatch with mother-of-pearl dial, caseback sticker, bracelet, guarantee and presentation box

Circa 1999
36mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF15,000 - 30,000 
€15,600-31,200
$17,100-34,300

Sold for CHF25,400

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East

+41 79 637 17 24
AGhotbi@phillips.com

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva

+41 79 460 55 88
TiffanyTo@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII

Geneva Auction 13 - 14 May 2023