149
Rolex
Ref. 18238
Day-Date
A highly rare and attractive yellow gold and diamond-set calendar wristwatch with ammonite dial, bracelet, guarantee and presentation box
- Estimate
- CHF20,000 - 40,000€20,800 - 41,600$22,800 - 45,700
CHF33,020
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- Circa 1989
- Reference No
- 18238
- Movement No
- 5'397'025
- Case No
- L917121
- Model Name
- Day-Date
- Material
- 18K yellow gold, diamonds and ammonite
- Calibre
- Automatic, cal. 3155, 31 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- 18K yellow gold Rolex President bracelet, max length 180mm
- Clasp/Buckle
- 18K yellow gold Rolex deployant clasp
- Dimensions
- 36mm Diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
- Accessories
- Accompanied by Rolex Guarantee dated October 1990, product literature, service card dated December 2005, presentation box and outer packaging.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Incredibly rare, this reference 18238 most notably displays a hard stone ammonite dial with diamond-set markers. One of the most unusual dial materials ever to be featured on a watch, this dial in made up of fossilized ammonites (a prehistorical mollusc). Consequently, no two dials are exactly the same in nature, giving each watch a distinctive and unique appearance.
Rolex in particular excels in using hard stone and unusual materials. The manufacture has elevated its dress watches with materials such as rubellite, blood stone, coral, and a number of different fossil stones, providing an unusual design twist to classic models.
Preserved in excellent condition, the present watch is furthermore accompanied by its original accessories such as the Rolex Guarantee dated October 1990, product literature, service card dated December 2005, presentation box and outer packaging.
Rolex in particular excels in using hard stone and unusual materials. The manufacture has elevated its dress watches with materials such as rubellite, blood stone, coral, and a number of different fossil stones, providing an unusual design twist to classic models.
Preserved in excellent condition, the present watch is furthermore accompanied by its original accessories such as the Rolex Guarantee dated October 1990, product literature, service card dated December 2005, presentation box and outer packaging.
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