Rolex - Glamorous Day-Date Geneva Friday, May 8, 2015 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 1960
    Reference No: 1804
    Case No: 549'237
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: Platinum and diamonds
    Calibre: Automatic, 1556
    Bracelet/Strap: Rolex President
    Clasp/Buckle: Folding deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 36mm. Diameter
    Signed: Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed
    Literature: The present lot is illustrated in Day Date, The Presidential Rolex by Pucci Papaleo and featured in 100 Superlative Rolex Watches, by John Goldberger, page 163

  • Catalogue Essay

    The reference 1804 was manufactured in yellow, white and pink gold and in platinum. It is distinguished by a diamond-set bezel instead of the traditional fluted one. The present lot, manufactured in 1960, features a platinum case with a bezel adorned with 44 diamonds.The extraordinary Arabic dial showcases white gold relief, applied Arabic script numerals and full Arabic calendar, which further renders this timepiece as one of the most desirable objects in the world of collectable Rolex. Exceptional and highly unusual, the present watch is an outstanding Day Date which would crown any important Rolex collection.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded 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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Ref. 1804
A very rare and important platinum and diamond-set wristwatch with Arabic calendar, applied white gold Arabic numerals, centre seconds and bracelet

1960
36mm. Diameter
Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF50,000 - 100,000 

Sold for CHF185,000

Contact Specialist
Livia Russo
+41 22 317 81 86

Glamorous Day-Date

Geneva Auction 9 May 2015 7pm