Live Auction 16153Rare Watches
Rolex. A rare and fine 18K gold and diamond-set automatic wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, day, date, bracelet,meteorite dial and box
Lot 103

Rolex. A rare and fine 18K gold and diamond-set automatic wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, day, date, bracelet,meteorite dial and box

Signed Rolex, Oyster Perpetual, Day-Date, ref. 18038, case no. 6’307’350, circa 1979

Closed12 November 2018

Price Realised

CHF 20,000

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Rolex. A rare and fine 18K gold and diamond-set automatic wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, day, date, bracelet,
meteorite dial and box
Signed Rolex, Oyster Perpetual, Day-Date, ref. 18038, case no. 6’307’350, circa 1979
Movement: cal. 3035, automatic, 27 jewels, signed
Dial: meteorite, signed
Case: screw back, inside case back stamped 18000, 36 mm. diam., signed
With: 18K gold Rolex President bracelet, hidden deployant clasp stamped 8385, overall length of approx. 180 mm., period brochure, fitted presentation box

Specialist note

The present ref. 18038 is one of the exceedingly rare examples of the model fitted with a meteorite dial, finished with an acid wash to enhance the natural pattern of the meteorite known scientifically as the "Widmanstätten" pattern, the lustrous silvery effect perfectly complementing the diamond-set indexes.

Rolex obtained some of the famous Gibeon meteorite discovered in 1836 by Captain J. E. Alexander scattered along the banks of the Great Fish River in Namibia. The meteorite itself is millions of years old and believed to have fallen to earth in prehistoric times and spread over a wide area. Today, this historical deposit is protected by Namibian law.