979
Rolex
Ref. 1803, repeated inside caseback
Day-Date
An extremely rare and highly attractive pink gold wristwatch with center seconds, day, date, black pie-pan dial with baguette and diamond-set indexes and bracelet
- Estimate
- HK$150,000 - 300,000€17,600 - 35,100$19,200 - 38,500
HK$304,800
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- Circa 1968
- Reference No
- 1803, repeated inside caseback
- Movement No
- DD118’317
- Case No
- 1’903’421
- Model Name
- Day-Date
- Material
- 18K pink gold
- Calibre
- Automatic, cal. 1556, 26 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- 18K pink gold Rolex Oyster riveted bracelet, end links stamped “76”, max length 195mm
- Clasp/Buckle
- 18K pink gold Gay Frère deployant clasp stamped “2.67”
- Dimensions
- 36mm diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Ever glamorous, the Day-Date model delights with its myriad of dial, bracelet, bezel and gold-finished designs. Since its inception in 1956, it remains one of the most surprising and diverse flagship models Rolex has ever produced. Apart from prototype models, the Day-Date has only been cased in precious metals, attesting to its glamor and prestige.
An extremely rare example of reference 1803 in pink gold, the present watch is nicknamed "Ice Cube" inspired by its alternating play of baguette and diamond-set indexes on its glossy black pie pan dial. An example bearing a 1’9 million serial, this specimen is from circa 1968, nearly 58 years ago. A highly desirable and rarely seen configuration, the watch also features a bracelet in the same pink metal elevating its good looks.
An extremely rare example of reference 1803 in pink gold, the present watch is nicknamed "Ice Cube" inspired by its alternating play of baguette and diamond-set indexes on its glossy black pie pan dial. An example bearing a 1’9 million serial, this specimen is from circa 1968, nearly 58 years ago. A highly desirable and rarely seen configuration, the watch also features a bracelet in the same pink metal elevating its good looks.
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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