Rolex - The Geneva Watch Auction: SIX Geneva Friday, November 10, 2017 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 2016
    Reference No: 116649 EMBR
    Movement No: 33'245'389
    Case No: G'018'140
    Model Name: Submariner "Emerald"
    Material: 18K white gold
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3135, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K white gold and diamond set Rolex Oyster bracelet, max length 200mm.
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K white gold Rolex twinlock folding deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 40mm. Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex guarantee dated 18 March 2016, product literature and fitted presentation box.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The present watch takes all the design elements of the Submariner “tool watch”, including the rotatable bezel used to time dives, and propels them to a whole new stratosphere of coolness and decadence.

    Presented at Baselworld 2010, the Rolex reference 116649 with its emerald and diamond set bezel and full pavé dial is a truly majestic reiteration of what is most probably the best known sports watch in history: the Submariner.

    Produced for only a very short period, the “Emerald Submariner” dazzles with an incandescent glow resulting from the potent mix of monochromatic white gold case contrasting with diamonds and the visually arresting green of the perfect natural untreated emeralds.

    The bezel is set with 36 emeralds and 12 diamonds; the pavé dial is set with diamonds and with 8 emeralds for the hour markers. It is amazing how Rolex, known throughout the world for its "tool" watches has mastered the delicate art of emerald setting, to the point that models featuring these perfectly cut emeralds are fetching huge premiums on the secondary market. We can give as example the mega rare and most probably unique emerald and diamond set Rolex Daytona reference 16568 EM that was sold north of US$ 1 million in a recent transaction. Furthermore, watches set with such emeralds of flawless quality and color have led prominent members of the elite to adopt them as their wrist adornments of choice; Mirka Federer, manager and wife of the Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer, with her diamond and emerald set Day-Date, immediately comes to mind.

    We are delighted to offer a reference 116649 EMBR for the first time on the auction market. A watch like no other, the “Emerald Submariner” is theatrical, vibrant and completely disruptive. It is made for the non-conformist rake who already has everything and is looking for a timepiece to complete a collection consisting of the world’s finest timepieces that have come out of Switzerland in the past 100 years.

  • 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. 116649 EMBR
An extremely rare and attractive white gold, emerald and diamond-set divers' wristwatch with date, bracelet and original guarantee

2016
40mm. Diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF180,000 - 360,000 
€155,000-311,000
$186,000-372,000

Sold for CHF275,000

Contact Specialist
Alexandre Ghotbi
+41 22 317 81 89
aghotbi@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: SIX

Geneva Auctions 11 - 12 November 2017