157
Rolex
Ref. 1601
DateJust
An extremely fine, rare and almost mint white gold and diamond-set wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, date and bracelet
- Estimate
- HK$200,000 - 300,000
HK$275,000
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- 1972
- Reference No
- 1601
- Movement No
- D252490
- Case No
- 3'213'768
- Model Name
- DateJust
- Material
- 18k white gold and diamonds
- Calibre
- Automatic, 1570, 26 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- 18k white gold <em>Rolex Jubilee </em>bracelet, 195 mm. maximum length, end link stamped 53
- Clasp/Buckle
- 18k white gold <em>Rolex </em> folding deployant clasp stamped Rolex SA 3.70
- Dimensions
- 36 mm. diameter
- Signed
- <em>Case, dial and movement signed </em>
- Accessories
- With <em>Rolex</em> service receipt.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
The present DateJust is a fabulous example. Manufactured in 1972, the watch looks like it left the factory yesterday. The case, unpolished, still retains all factory finishes including the satin finish to the top of the lugs. The gold marks are untouched, likewise the milled band to the case back. The dial, fitted with diamond-set numerals and white graphics, is extremely charismatic and in excellent condition. The luminous dots are still perfectly formed and are all consistent in their size and aging. The white gold Jubilee bracelet from the same period is equally as rare and in equally untouched condition as the rest of the watch.
Reference 1601 is very rare to be found in white gold retaining its white gold Jubilee bracelet. Without exaggeration, thanks to its untouched white gold case, stunning blue dial and extremely crisp white gold Jubilee bracelet, it can be considered one of the most collectable examples of this landmark model.
Reference 1601 is very rare to be found in white gold retaining its white gold Jubilee bracelet. Without exaggeration, thanks to its untouched white gold case, stunning blue dial and extremely crisp white gold Jubilee bracelet, it can be considered one of the most collectable examples of this landmark model.
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.
Browse Maker