943
Rolex
Ref. 18038
Day-Date
An attractive and rare yellow gold wristwatch with day, date, center seconds, "onyx" dial and bracelet
- Estimate
- HK$94,000 - 155,000€10,300 - 16,900$12,100 - 19,900
HK$200,000
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- Circa 1981
- Reference No
- 18038
- Movement No
- 1’419’039
- Case No
- 6’739’608
- Model Name
- Day-Date
- Material
- 18K yellow gold
- Calibre
- Automatic, cal. 3035, 27 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- 18K yellow gold Rolex President bracelet, endlinks stamped “55”, max length 190mm
- Clasp/Buckle
- 18K yellow gold Rolex concealed folding clasp stamped “D”
- Dimensions
- 36mm diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Encased in yellow gold and featuring a black onyx dial, the present Rolex Day-Date ref. 18038 from circa 1981, displays a clean and elegant aesthetic. With the absence of numerals, a clean-cut appearance allows the wearer to enjoy the beautiful hardstone dial. With a natural “glossy” appearance, onyx measures 7.0 on the Mohs hardness scale, indicating its strong natural composition of the stone. The Rolex Day-Date ref. 18038 was initially introduced in the late 1970’s with the production of the reference spanning close to 10 years.
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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