Manufacturer: Rolex Year: 1979 Reference No: 18038 Case No: 5'972'218 Model Name: Day-Date Material: 18k yellow gold, diamonds and sapphires Calibre: Automatic, 3055 Bracelet/Strap: Rolex President, end links stamped 55 Clasp/Buckle: Concealed deployant clasp Dimensions: 36mm. Diameter Signed:Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed
Catalogue Essay
Another glamorous 18038 reference of the late Seventies exhibiting a gorgeous dial adorned with baguette-cut blue sapphires and round cut diamonds.
It is powered by the Rolex calibre 3055 movement featuring 27 rubies and a 28'800 beat per hour frequency.
Internally engraved on the concealed clasp of this ref. 8385 President bracelet, you may observe the classic "18K" hallmarks; the so-called Helvetia head and the international precious metal stamp.
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.