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Rolex
Ref. 18168, stamped 18000 inside the case back
Day-Date
A very rare and attractive yellow gold and baguette diamond calendar wristwatch with bracelet, centre seconds and lapis lazuli hard stone dial
- Estimate
- CHF25,000 - 50,000
CHF138,200
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- 1986
- Reference No
- 18168, stamped 18000 inside the case back
- Case No
- 9'178'646
- Model Name
- Day-Date
- Material
- 18k yellow gold and diamonds
- Calibre
- Automatic, 3055
- Bracelet/Strap
- Rolex President, end links stamped 55
- Clasp/Buckle
- Concealed deployant clasp
- Dimensions
- 36mm. Diameter
- Signed
- <em>Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed </em>
18k yellow gold
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
The most impressive bezel set with 24 baguette cut diamonds, two for each hour segment, is the point of particular interest for this reference 18168. Only very few examples of this high-end Day-Date version were ever finished and sold, due to its substantial retail price. The lapis lazuli dial, shining in different tones of blue and displaying the typical gold coloured veneering of this noble hard stone is a perfect addition to this Day-Date reference. The lapis lazuli dials have no hour markers. They were fitted with a unique hand design, gently tapering gold hands with a dark enamel insert. The gold frames for the date and day apertures are another enhancement to this dial and were reserved for the most elaborate of all hard stone dials.
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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