Rolex - The New York Watch Auction: XI New York Saturday, December 7, 2024 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1967
    Reference No: 1803
    Movement No: DD’035’793
    Case No: 1’761’342
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: 18K pink gold
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1556, 26 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K pink gold Rolex woven bracelet, max overall length approximately 215mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K pink gold Rolex deployant clasp, stamped 2.68
    Dimensions: 36mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The Day-Date needs no introduction – though we have attempted it in myriad other catalogue essays. In the mid-1960s, like every other era in its history, Rolex was using the Day-Date as a blank canvas for aesthetic experimentation. In this era, a selection of finely textured dials were sometimes fitted to this model, though they did not last long and few exist today. Some have more uniform geometric patterns, like the present watch, while others are a bit more playful.

    The symphony of textures of this example is exquisite: the oversized woven mesh bracelet in pink gold, the classic fluted bezel, and the multi-level, multi-textured dial. The dial is often described as “guilloché”, but it is more akin to a “clous de Paris” texture, with tiny individual pyramids clustered together and raised in a “pie-pan” style step above the minute track. The hour markers are referred to as “door-stop” due to larger, tapered baton indexes at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. The color combination of rich pink gold with a smoky, silvery gray dial adds yet another graceful layer to this already fantastical combination.

    An exceptional offering, the present pink gold Day-Date is a rare find indeed, with an original and extraordinary Rolex mesh bracelet, textured dial, and pink gold livery.

  • 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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Ref. 1803
An exceptional, highly interesting, and very rare pink gold calendar wristwatch with day and date apertures, guilloché dial, and woven mesh bracelet

Circa 1967
36mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

Estimate
$30,000 - 60,000 
CHF26,400-52,800
€28,100-56,200
HK$233,000-466,000

Sold for $53,340

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros
Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches, Americas
+1 (212) 940-1293
watchesny@phillips.com

Isabella Proia
Head of Sale, New York
+1 (212) 940 1285
iproia@phillips.com

The New York Watch Auction: XI

New York Auction 7 - 8 December 2024