Rolex - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XVII Hong Kong Friday, November 24, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1987
    Reference No: 16520
    Movement No: 11’094
    Case No: R938’755, inside caseback stamped “16500”
    Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona, "Test Dial"
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 4030, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped “78360”, end links stamped “503”, max length 185mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex deployant clasp stamped “M5”
    Dimensions: 40mm diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by a written verification by Mr. Pucci Papaleo and a copy of the “Daytona Perpetual” book.

  • Catalogue Essay

    As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Rolex Daytona this year, it is the perfect timing to revisit the watch’s extraordinary history. The unlimited possibilities of the phenomenal chronograph have become a true global sensation and captured the hearts of generations of watch enthusiasts. A timeless design that embodies functionality, design innovation and history, sculpted with rigorous attention to detail and precision, the reference 16520, unveiled in 1988, is the company’s first Daytona to house an automatic movement, and marks a very important chapter in Rolex’s history. The present timepiece possesses a fascinating and highly collectable conceptual “test dial”, accentuating and elucidating the very essence of the Perpetual Daytona with a Zenith-based production.

    The dial of a watch is nothing less than a true métier d’art with great artistic expertise and authenticity. Stepping at the forefront between the wearer and the mechanical movement, the dial communicates all information with strict legibility requirements, hours, minutes, seconds, date and meters within one canvas no more than 30mm. The choice of typography and unobstructed balance demands huge impact in the performance of a watch, especially for tools such as the legendary Daytona.

    Striped down to the bare minimum, the white canvas laid important grounds for the core foundation of the three-registered chronograph. According to scholars, only three variants of such are known, which all belong to the Zenith-based production of the cal. 4030. Fabricated for deep studies and professional usage by the firm for chronometer testing in forming the holistic vision of the Daytona, these dials are of extreme rarity and are true “wonder” of its kind.

    Widely recognized as “Mr. Daytona”, Mr. Pucci Papaleo, the Italian scholar, collector-turned-author began his study of watches before this topic was broadly considered an area of study. Prior to his focused expertise on Daytona, he was interested in early Rolex and Patek Philippe chronographs, by the end of the 1980s, his attention and appetite grew stronger and stronger on chronographs of the Swiss manufacturer, Rolex, and particularly, the Daytona. Regarded as one of, if not “the”, most influential man in the world of vintage Daytona, his intricate study and scholarship are orchestrated in multiple opuses such as “The Ultimate Rolex Daytona” and the “Daytona Perpetual” that is delivered with the present lot, because the dial of the present watch belongs to the group of COSC dials that Mr. Pucci Papaleo photographed in 2018 for the publication of the “Daytona Perpetual” book, which features similar details of the example that is illustrated in the book on page 119.

    Presented in an extremely attractive condition, the present lot is further sanctified by a verification written and signed by the scholar himself, Mr. Pucci Papaleo, stating that the present dial is a similar example of the one illustrated in the “Daytona Perpetual” book, confirming the esteemed Singer provenance. Let us seize upon this very rare opportunity to marvel at the magnificent Zenith Daytona once again and to celebrate a new dawn for this extraordinary timepiece.

  • 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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974

Ref. 16520
A historically important stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with “test dial” and bracelet

Circa 1987
40mm diameter
Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed

Estimate
HK$800,000 - 1,200,000 
€96,900-145,000
$103,000-154,000

Sold for HK$889,000

Contact Specialist

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

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XVII

Hong Kong Auction 24-25 November 2023