Manufacturer: Rolex Year: 1973 Reference No: 1803 Movement No: DD360861 Case No: 3’181’632 Model Name: Day-Date Material: 18k white gold Calibre: Automatic, 1556, 26 jewels Bracelet/Strap: 18k white gold Rolex President bracelet, 175 mm. maximum length, end link stamped 53 Clasp/Buckle: 18k white gold Rolex concealed folding deployant clasp Dimensions: 36 mm. diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed
Catalogue Essay
This white gold reference 1803 Day-Date with fluted bezel is fitted with a rare Chinese day and date wheel. The white dial is further enhanced with black Roman numerals, contrast elegantly with the Chinese characters. Chinese calendar is perhaps the rarest of all language discs that Rolex fitted to the Day-Date collection, further enhancing the appeal of this watch.
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.