Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 1982 Reference No: 18039, inside case back stamped 18000 Movement No: 0'169'650 Case No: 7’306’170 Model Name: DateJust Material: 18k white gold and onyx Calibre: Automatic, 3055, 27 jewels Bracelet/Strap: 18k white gold Rolex President bracelet, 180 mm. maximum length Clasp/Buckle: 18k white gold Rolex folding deployant clasp Dimensions: 36 mm. diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed Literature: For another example of a white gold Day-Date with onyx dial, please see Day-Date The Presidential Rolex by Pucci Papaleo, page 290.
Catalogue Essay
This striking Day-Date manufactured in 1982 is fitted with an onyx hardstone dial. The black onyx is further distinguished with its silver graphics and white gold fittings. Particular attention must be given to the absence of hour markers since the only holes made on the dial are those for the hands and for the date and day apertures. The present white gold Day-Date with black onyx dial is extremely rare and seldom appears at auction and the watch is further highlighted with its freshness to the market and its original condition.
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.