Rolex - RETROSPECTIVE: 2000 - 2020 Geneva Sunday, November 8, 2020 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 2019
    Reference No: 116506
    Case No: 8H7E9672
    Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona
    Material: Platinum
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 4130, 44 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Platinum Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped "78596", max length 190mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Platinum Rolex deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 40mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by original Rolex Guarantee retailer stamped dated January 5, 2019, product literature, wallet, hangtags, travel pouch and Rolex fitted presentation box

  • Catalogue Essay

    Rolex has created some of the most surprising, beautiful and unusual timepieces for the Arab States in the Gulf. The manufacture's custom pieces date back to the 1950s, when Rolex fitted Arabic discs to the most luxurious Day-Date watches. Very few "Arabic" Rolexes were produced during this period, and the earliest examples were almost exclusively cased in platinum.

    Today, Rolex continues to dazzle and surprise with its unusual and beautifully finished watches. It cultivates and sustains its successful relationship with the Arab States by producing a multitude of special order watches for the region. While Rolex had used Eastern Arabic numerals sparingly on some Day-Dates, to the best of our knowledge, the manufacture has only produced one manual winding Cosmograph Daytona with such numerals. Known as "The Arabian Knight", it was sold at Phillips' Daytona Ultimatum sale for 1,932,500 Swiss Francs. The present example, produced in exceedingly limited numbers and sold only by Middle East retailers, most definitely pays homage to "The Arabian Knight".

    Offered in like-new condition, the present watch is offered with all its original accessories. It is furthermore the first time this model has ever come on the auction market.

  • 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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Ο243

Ref. 116506
A highly rare and attractive platinum chronograph wristwatch with Eastern Arabic numerals, bracelet, guarantee and presentation box

2019
40mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF60,000 - 100,000 
€55,600-92,700
$65,400-109,000

Sold for CHF151,200

Contact Specialist

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

41 79 637 1724
aghotbi@phillips.com

 

Thomas Perazzi

Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2031

WatchesHK@phillips.com

RETROSPECTIVE: 2000 - 2020

Geneva Auction 8 November 2020