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

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1994
    Reference No: 18239
    Movement No: 6'984'029
    Case No: S857172
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: 18K white gold and wood
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3155, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K white gold Rolex President bracelet, max length 180mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K white gold Rolex deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 36mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex guarantee March 25, 1995, numbered hang tag, product literature, presentation box and outer packaging.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Ever glamorous, the Day-Date model delights with its myriad of dial, bracelet, bezel and gold-finished designs. Since its inception in 1956, it remains one of the most surprising and diverse flagship models Rolex has ever produced. Apart from prototype models, the Day-Date has only been cased in precious metals, attesting to its glamor and prestige.

    This wonderfully preserved Day-Date features a beautiful briar root wood dial. Given that the wood is a naturally occurring specimen, no two wood dials are exactly the same in appearance. Furthermore, it is particularly rare to find an example cased in white gold displaying a white gold coronet and markers, as most Day-Dates are available in yellow gold.

    This particular example is preserved in particularly impressive and almost-pristine condition, with crisp hallmarks beneath the lugs and the green caseback sticker is still intact. Furthermore, the top of the lugs and caseback display crisp, milled finishes, attesting to the originality of the timepiece. It is even accompanied by its original guarantee and presentation box, further adding to its collectability and desirability.

  • 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. 18239
A rare and attractive white gold calendar wristwatch with center seconds, wood dial, caseback sticker, bracelet, guarantee, hang tag and presentation box

Circa 1994
36mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF18,000 - 30,000 
€18,700-31,200
$20,600-34,300

Sold for CHF48,260

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