ROLEX DAY-DATE REF. 1803 GREEN STELLA DIAL

At the origin of the worldwide success of Rolex, there is a Bavarian man Hans Wilsdorf. In 1905, he founded his company in London and specialized in the distribution of watch parts. Three years later, he invented the name Rolex, which seems to be the contraction of « horlogerie exquise » (exquisite watchmaking) and is also pronounceable in all languages. Convinced of the pocket watch disappearance, this pragmatic visionary obtained the first Swiss chronometry certificate attributed to a wristwatch in 1910. His models are precise, but Wilsdorf also wanted them to be as robust as possible, therefore impervious to any external intrusion. The company moved to Geneva in 1926 and brought out its first waterproof watch in history: the Oyster. In 1945 he created the famous Datejust and then the Day-Date, the first watch to display the day of the week in full lettering in a circular window at 12.

The model presented here is a rare and very beautiful Day-Date model from 1971, in perfect condition. This is the reference 1803. It has a round yellow solid gold case of 36 mm diameter with fluted bezel, screwed crown and case back. Magnificent green lacquered Stella dial with day displayed at noon and date at 3. Straight hands and central second hand. Self-winding mechanical movement, certified chronometer.

This emblematic watch is the Presidents’ watch, a stunning success story that proves Rolex’s ability to make unique luxury watches.