Rolex - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: NINE Hong Kong Monday, November 25, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1994
    Reference No: 18338, inside caseback 18200
    Movement No: 6’740’634
    Case No: S494’422
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: 18K yellow gold and diamond
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3155, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K yellow gold Rolex President bracelet, endlinks stamped 55 B, max length 195mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Rolex President concealed folding clasp stamped “8385”
    Dimensions: 36mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed
    Accessories: Further accompanied by Rolex Guarantee stamped Bucherer Luzern dated August 1994 and fitted presentation box

  • Catalogue Essay

    With its original debut in 1956, the Rolex Day-Date has acquired an important status of its own stature. Perceived by many as “The President’s Watch”. Since then, the Day-Date has evolved in numerous variations such as the material of the dial. Available in most spectrums of the color wheel, the stella dials were made of glossy lacquer, giving the dial a lively pop. Furthermore, dials were also made of wood and portraying its natural texture. Finally, its extraordinary variations included hardstones in the likes this present example fitted with a tantalizing “Jurassic” fossil dial.

    To carve out a thin layer of fossil without cracking the surface and to drill holes to fit in other components without breaking or opening a single mottle on the surface. The present ref. 18338 is offered in excellent overall condition and accompanied by the full set of accessories.

  • 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

934

Ref. 18338, inside caseback 18200
A fine, attractive and rare yellow gold and diamond-set wristwatch with day, date, sweep center seconds, diamond indexes, “Jurassic” fossil dial, bracelet, guarantee and presentation box

Circa 1994
36mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed

Estimate
HK$120,000 - 200,000 
€13,700-22,800
$15,400-25,600

Sold for HK$175,000

Contact Specialist

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

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: NINE

Hong Kong Auction 25-26 November 2019