Rolex - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XIV Hong Kong Friday, May 27, 2022 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1995
    Reference No: 18238
    Movement No: 7’311’810
    Case No: W959’525; inside caseback stamped “18200”
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: 18K yellow gold and diamonds
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3155, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: Gold plated Rolex pin buckle
    Dimensions: 36mm diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
    Accessories: Accompanied with two gold Rolex spring bars and hang tag.
    Literature: A similar example of the dial prominently illustrated in Day-Date: The Presidential Rolex by Pucci Papaleo, pp.302-303

  • Catalogue Essay

    Ever glamorous and luxurious, the Day-Date model delights with its myriad of dial, bracelet, bezel and gold-finished designs. The firm has elevated its Day-Date models with materials such as rubellite, blood stone, coral, and even fossil, providing an unusual design twist to the iconic model.

    The present rare variant of reference 18238 dressed in a ravishing orange red lacquered degrade dial adorned with brilliant baguette-cut diamonds as hour markers is simply exceptional. Unmistakable with its darker hue fading off the edge of the dial, the variant is nicknamed the "Hermes" in the Day-Date The Presidential Rolex book published by renowned scholar Pucci Papaleo. Preserved in excellent condition, all crisp hallmarks are present behind the lugs, further underscoring its condition and rarity.

  • 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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1106

Ref. 18238
A rare, fine and attractive yellow gold wristwatch with center seconds, day, date, diamond-set indexes and orange red dégradé dial

Circa 1995
36mm diameter
Case, dial, movement and buckle signed

Estimate
HK$180,000 - 280,000 
€22,900-35,700
$23,100-35,900

Sold for HK$201,600

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia 
+852 2318 2001
WatchesHK@phillips.com

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XIV

Hong Kong Auction 27 - 28 May 2022