Rolex - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XV Hong Kong Monday, November 28, 2022 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1977
    Reference No: 18038
    Movement No: 0’553’603
    Case No: 5’454’111
    Model Name: Day-Date, “Golden Walnut”
    Material: 18K yellow gold
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3055, 27 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Rolex pin buckle
    Dimensions: 36mm diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
    Literature: A similar example prominently illustrated in the Day-Date The Presidential Rolex by Pucci Papaleo p 434

  • Catalogue Essay

    Nicknamed the “Golden Walnut” by Pucci Papaleo, the present ref. 18038 is a yellow gold Day-Date featuring a delicious non-luminous lacquered wood dial in reddish-brown mahogany briar root. Combining exceptional craftsmanship with organic beauty, the close-grained pattern found in this example is extremely difficult to execute as each wood dial is painstakingly delicate and requires only the most skilled artisans to perfect. Complemented with a Chinese quickset calendar, the present timepiece is exemplary of just how personal a Day-Date can be and that it can be used to expresses the cultural identity of its wearer. The rarest of all language discs, the hand-written quick-set calendar is most likely to have been originated from Taiwan.

    Well-preserved for 45 years, the present “Golden Walnut” is offered excellent overall condition and further enhanced with the effects of natural aging and sun exposure, giving it a completely unique allure like no other Day-Dates. Given its rarity and natural charm, the opportunity to acquire this watch is perhaps as rare as the timepiece itself.

  • 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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884

Ref. 18038
An exceedingly rare and attractive yellow gold wristwatch with center seconds, day, date, Chinese calendar and "Golden Walnut” wood dial

Circa 1977
36mm diameter
Case, dial, movement and buckle signed

Estimate
HK$80,000 - 120,000 
€9,500-14,300
$10,300-15,400

Sold for HK$214,200

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2001
WatchesHK@phillips.com

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XV

28 - 29 November 2022 (Online Registration ends 27 Nov, 2pm HKT)