Rolex - STYLED. Timeless Watches & How to Wear Them New York Wednesday, December 5, 2018 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 2012
    Reference No: 116598RBOW, inner case back stamped 2118
    Movement No: 3E'111'5P9
    Case No: 07'17U'191
    Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona, "Rainbow"
    Material: 18K yellow gold, sapphires, diamonds
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 4130, 44 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K yellow gold Rolex Oyster bracelet, max length 205mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Rolex twinlock deployant clasp, stamped 6DD
    Dimensions: 40mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.
    Accessories: Accompanied by original Rolex guarantee card, product literature, leather envelope, outer presentation box, hang tags, and bezel protector.

  • Catalogue Essay

    During the 1980s, Rolex began to adorn their sports watches with precious gemstones for its most exclusive and demanding clientele. Among these first early gem-set sports watches are the manually-wound Daytona references 6269 and 6270 (the former with brilliant-cut diamonds at the bezel and the latter with baguette-cut diamonds) and the GMT-Master reference 16758 "SARU" set with rubies, diamonds, and sapphires. In the late 1990s through the 2000s, Rolex specifically utilized the ultimate luxury tool watch, the Cosmograph Daytona, as a vehicle for gemological experimentation. Examples with large baguette-set bezels, pavé diamond dials, emeralds, rubies or sapphires to name a few combinations have been produced, always in very small quantities and with extreme attention to quality and execution.

    Set with 36 rainbow-hued sapphires, 56 diamonds adorning the lugs and crown guards, and diamonds indicating the hours, to call the Rainbow Daytona luxurious and lavish is an exercise in understatement. Each sapphire – every single gemstone used is internally flawless - is perfectly cut to fit without prongs into the bezel, and selected with the right color for transitioning to the stones on adjacent sides, so that rather than seeming like 36 individual stones, they blend into one another. Due to the difficulty in sourcing these stones, subjecting them to Rolex’s high standards, and then fitting them into the watch, production numbers remain extremely low and only a handful have surfaced at auction.

    The now-discontinued yellow gold model was quickly followed by a white gold variation, also discontinued, and then, unexpectedly, earlier this year (2018) Rolex surprised the community at Baselworld by introducing a version cased in Everose, sparking new passions (and likely inflaming old desires) for this most exclusive of Daytonas. To behold the exceptionally created Rainbow Daytona is second only to owning it. The present lot is in excellent and complete, making it an opportunity to own what has become a legendary wristwatch, not just among Rolexes but all wristwatches.

  • 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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Ο34

Ref. 116598RBOW, inner case back stamped 2118
A very rare, heavy and attractive yellow gold, diamond and rainbow-colored multi-gem set chronograph wristwatch with bracelet, fitted presentation box and original guarantee

Circa 2012
40mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

Estimate
$180,000 - 280,000 
CHF179,000-279,000
€156,000-243,000
HK$1,410,000-2,200,000

Sold for $212,500

Contact Specialist
Paul Boutros
Head of Watches, Americas
+1 212 940 1293
pboutros@phillips.com

STYLED. Timeless Watches & How to Wear Them

New York Auction 5 December 2018