Rolex - The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII Geneva Saturday, May 13, 2023 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1989
    Reference No: 18238
    Movement No: 5'397'025
    Case No: L917121
    Model Name: Day-Date
    Material: 18K yellow gold, diamonds and ammonite
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3155, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K yellow gold Rolex President bracelet, max length 180mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Rolex deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 36mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex Guarantee dated October 1990, product literature, service card dated December 2005, presentation box and outer packaging.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Incredibly rare, this reference 18238 most notably displays a hard stone ammonite dial with diamond-set markers. One of the most unusual dial materials ever to be featured on a watch, this dial in made up of fossilized ammonites (a prehistorical mollusc). Consequently, no two dials are exactly the same in nature, giving each watch a distinctive and unique appearance.

    Rolex in particular excels in using hard stone and unusual materials. The manufacture has elevated its dress watches with materials such as rubellite, blood stone, coral, and a number of different fossil stones, providing an unusual design twist to classic models.

    Preserved in excellent condition, the present watch is furthermore accompanied by its original accessories such as the Rolex Guarantee dated October 1990, product literature, service card dated December 2005, presentation box and outer packaging.

  • 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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149

Ref. 18238
A highly rare and attractive yellow gold and diamond-set calendar wristwatch with ammonite dial, bracelet, guarantee and presentation box

Circa 1989
36mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF20,000 - 40,000 
€20,800-41,600
$22,800-45,700

Sold for CHF33,020

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East

+41 79 637 17 24
AGhotbi@phillips.com

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva

+41 79 460 55 88
TiffanyTo@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII

Geneva Auction 13 - 14 May 2023