Rolex - The Geneva Watch Auction: XIX featuring the Guido Mondani Collection Geneva Saturday, May 11, 2024 | Phillips

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  • Condition Report

  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1959
    Reference No: 6542
    Movement No: DN900521
    Case No: 424'267
    Model Name: GMT-Master
    Material: 18k yellow gold
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1066, 25 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: 18k yellow gold Rolex buckle
    Dimensions: 38mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
    Provenance: Phillips Hong Kong, Rolex Milestones, 28 November 2016, lot 811

  • Provenance

    Phillips Hong Kong, Rolex Milestones, 28 November 2016, lot 811

  • Catalogue Essay

    First released in in 1954, the GMT-Master reference 6542 was designed for pilots to use in their line of work. With the rise of international travel in the 1940s and 1950s, Rolex initially created the model for Pan Am airlines to track dual time zones. This ingenious design featured an immediately recognizable bakelite bezel with the twenty-four hour radium numerals painted on the underside, made to glow in any weather condition. Bakelite was Rolex's material of choice, due to its low reflectivity and high readability. The additional luminous 24 hour tipped hand allowed the viewer to immediately track a second time zone.

    Given that the GMT-Master was created for specific, work-related purposes, most examples were cased in stainless steel. These watches were worn in the most practical sense and made to withstand the elements. Yet, Rolex also manufactured a very limited number of watches cased in yellow gold, and fitted with a brown bakelite bezel. Due to the immense fragility of these watches, it is incredibly rare to find examples fitted with their original bakelite insert. The fact is even more pertinent as most of the bakelite bezels were recalled by Rolex due to their radium content. The original GMT-Master eventually ceased production in 1959.

    The present watch is among the last batch of reference 6542s to be released, is presented in excellent and astounding condition. The bakelite bezel is intact, with hardly any blemishes and the radium is without losses. The brown lacquer dial displays rich tones, and the case is incredibly crisp, with a sharp milled finish to the top of the lugs and a sharp hallmark to the back of the lug.

  • 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.

    View More Works

211

Ref. 6542
A fine and rare yellow gold dual time wristwatch with sweep center seconds, date, brown lacquer dial and bakelite bezel

Circa 1959
38mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and buckle signed

Estimate
CHF100,000 - 200,000 
€102,000-204,000
$109,000-219,000

Sold for CHF127,000

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches, Europe, and 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: XIX featuring the Guido Mondani Collection

Geneva Auction 11 - 12 May 2024