Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 1964 Reference No: 1803 Movement No: DD78989 Case No: 1'088'320 Model Name: Day-Date Material: 18k white gold and diamonds Calibre: Automatic, 1556, 26 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Black Rolex crocodile leather strap Clasp/Buckle: 18k white gold Rolex buckle Dimensions: 36 mm. diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed Literature: For another example of a reference 1803 in white gold with diamond-set numerals, please see Day-Date The Presidential Rolex by Pucci Papaleo, page 142.
Catalogue Essay
This white gold reference 1803 houses a purple dial that is embellished with eight brilliant-cut diamonds and two baguette-cut diamonds. The overall condition is quite spectacular considering the age of the watch. Overall, the watch is a very sharp, good-looking and healthy example.
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.