Rolex. An extremely rare and large 18K white gold and diamond-set tonneau-shaped wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, date and bracelet

The Quartz Rolex, reference 5100, was introduced in 1970 and immediately so successful that the initial pilot series production was completely sold out prior to delivery. Model 5100 was the first Rolex to have a sapphire crystal and the quick date change mechanism. It was also revolutionary for the new case design, much more angular in its shape than the Oyster case. Designed to be made in very limited quantities only, each Rolex Quartz is engraved with the limited edition number.

Whereas the majority of reference 5100 was cased in yellow gold, only very few example were finished in white gold. The present example is a reference 5100/2 and was finished with a diamond bezel. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only example known in white gold with such bezel and we understand that less than a handful of examples were ever made in this combination.

Another very unusual and handsome feature is the grey dial highlighted with 11 diamond-set hour markers, rendering this "fresh to the market" example a rare trophy for the collector of 1970's design.

For another example of Reference 5100 see Lot 206 in this auction.