1024
Rolex
Ref. 18038
Day-Date
A very fine and rare yellow gold wristwatch with center seconds, day, date, dégradé dial, diamond-set indexes, bracelet, guarantee and box
- Estimate
- HK$88,000 - 120,000€10,500 - 14,300$11,300 - 15,400
HK$176,400
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- Circa 1988
- Reference No
- 18038
- Movement No
- 1’948’134
- Case No
- R453716
- Model Name
- Day-Date
- Material
- 18k yellow gold
- Calibre
- Automatic, cal. 3055, 27 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- 18K yellow gold Rolex President bracelet, max length 180mm
- Clasp/Buckle
- 18K yellow gold Rolex concealed folding clasp
- Dimensions
- 36mm diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed
- Accessories
- Accompanied by Rolex guarantee stamped Bucherer dated 10th June 1988, instruction manual, product literature, outer packaging and fitted presentation box.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Adored by collectors due to its diverse spectrum of vibrant colours offered, the Rolex Stella Day-Date offers a fun and contemporary appeal to the firm’s robust luxury President’s model. Derived originally from a company by the name of Stella based in Châtelaine and Geneva, the company was responsible for supplying Rolex with a special type of lacquer used in these rare and exotic dials.
Released in 1978, the Day-Date ref. 18038 was the successor to the iconic ref. 1803 featuring for the first time a robust sapphire crystal replacing the former Plexiglas. Another practical upgrade was the introduction of a quickset function for the date through its new cal. 3055. The reference is also one of which where these rare and exotic Stella dials were fitted upon.
The present example Rolex Day-Date ref. 18038 from circa 1988 with an “R” serial features a wonderfully paired brown degrade Stella dial where the exotic brown hue intensifies towards the edge of the dial. Against its yellow gold case, the appeal is simply sublime further enhanced with 10 diamond-set indexes. Offered with its full set of accessories and in attractive overall condition, the present example is surely a nice piece to wear casually on the weekend.
Released in 1978, the Day-Date ref. 18038 was the successor to the iconic ref. 1803 featuring for the first time a robust sapphire crystal replacing the former Plexiglas. Another practical upgrade was the introduction of a quickset function for the date through its new cal. 3055. The reference is also one of which where these rare and exotic Stella dials were fitted upon.
The present example Rolex Day-Date ref. 18038 from circa 1988 with an “R” serial features a wonderfully paired brown degrade Stella dial where the exotic brown hue intensifies towards the edge of the dial. Against its yellow gold case, the appeal is simply sublime further enhanced with 10 diamond-set indexes. Offered with its full set of accessories and in attractive overall condition, the present example is surely a nice piece to wear casually on the weekend.
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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