820
Rolex
Day-Date
A very fine and rare yellow gold and diamond-set wristwatch day, date, sweep center seconds, bracelet, dégradé dial, guarantee and box
- Estimate
- HK$100,000 - 150,000€11,000 - 16,600$12,800 - 19,200
HK$118,750
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- Circa 1987
- Movement No
- 18038
- Case No
- R453716
- Model Name
- Day-Date
- Material
- 18k yellow gold and diamond-set
- Calibre
- Automatic, cal. 3055, 27 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- 18k yellow gold Rolex President bracelet, max length 180mm
- Clasp/Buckle
- 18k yellow gold Rolex concealed deployant clasp
- Dimensions
- 36mm diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
- Accessories
- With Rolex warranty dated 10 June 1988, fitted presentation box and outer packaging
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
It was in the 1970s that Rolex introduced dials with vibrant colors at the centers fading to a much darker tone towards the edges. With their bold colours, attention is first drawn to the center of each dial. This varying tone earns the nickname 'dégradé' or 'vignette' dial. The present Day-Date reference 18038 is fitted with a brown 'dégradé' dial that is further enhanced with diamond-set numerals and has been retained in close to excellent condition.
Literature
Rolex
Swiss | 1905Founded 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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