Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 1972 Reference No: 1803 Movement No: DD454841 Case No: 3'400'007 Model Name: Day-Date Material: 18k yellow gold Calibre: Automatic, 1556, 26 jewels Bracelet/Strap: 18k yellow gold Rolex President bracelet, 185 mm. maximum length Clasp/Buckle: 18k yellow gold Rolex folding deployant clasp Dimensions: 36 mm. diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed Accessories: With Rolex Attestation de Chronomètre Officiel dated 31 March 1974 and International Service Guarantee dated 21 November 2013. Literature: For another Day-Date reference 1803 with champagne dial, please see Day-Date The Presidential Rolex by Pucci Papaleo, page 134.
Catalogue Essay
The present watch is a lovely example fitted with a rare champagne dial and still retaining its original guarantee. This Day-Date has been preserved in excellent overall condition.
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.