No Reserve
890
Rolex
Ref. 18038
Day-Date
A fine and rare yellow gold wristwatch with center seconds, day, date and “wood” dial
- Estimate
- HK$60,000 - 120,000•€6,500 - 13,000$7,700 - 15,400
HK$132,300
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- Circa 1981
- Reference No
- 18038
- Movement No
- 0’581’245
- Case No
- 6’583’703
- Model Name
- Day-Date
- Material
- 18K yellow gold
- Calibre
- Automatic, cal. 3055, 27 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- Leather
- Clasp/Buckle
- Gold plated Rolex pin buckle
- Dimensions
- 36mm diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
The present Rolex Day-Date ref. 18038 in yellow gold features a rare and desirable birch wood dial. While the Day-Date has featured a wide array of dial materials over the course of its production which still continues today, it has become a fascination for collectors to seek for the rarest dials ever featured in the iconic President’s watch. While each natural material requires a different method of execution, wood dials certainly ranks close to the toughest to produce due to its delicacy.
Matching perfectly with the yellow gold hue of the case, birch wood dials displays a beautiful tan brown color that is unique with every example. With matching gold hands, indexes and apertures, the appeal is further harmonized while retaining excellent legibility. The present example is offered in attractive overall condition and is a piece that will surely captivate the attention of dedicated collectors of rare Day-Dates.
Matching perfectly with the yellow gold hue of the case, birch wood dials displays a beautiful tan brown color that is unique with every example. With matching gold hands, indexes and apertures, the appeal is further harmonized while retaining excellent legibility. The present example is offered in attractive overall condition and is a piece that will surely captivate the attention of dedicated collectors of rare Day-Dates.
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.
Browse Maker