Birch Wood Dial 18239 Rolex Day-Date

Birch is the kind of adjective you expect to find next to ‘Eames Chair’, not ‘Day-Date’. Before Rolex were entirely luxury-first, they tried all kinds of unusual things in order to get an order from their clients. You could order a stone dial, a stella dial, or indeed wood. Wood isn’t exactly the peak of timeless luxury material, it’s literally set on fire for warmth. Granted, Rolex chose very lovely varieties, lacquered them to freeze any degradation, and only used beautifully grained or burled sections (there was a high rejection rate, it’s legend that only 1 in 10 dial blanks were selected), but it’s still wood. Yet, this decomposing dial is as collectable as any decades later, just as a marker of a very different point in Rolex’s history. Think of it as organic Day-Date, for better or worse. But definitely better.

Rolex have been subverting expectation and playing with norms to the tune of huge revenue longer than you think; the first wood dials appeared shortly after Stella circa ‘73; they’re about as old as the earliest hardstone. The earliest (180X) are very dark, often referred as sequoia and rarely seen. Then came the trio most know: a darker walnut, mahogany, and this birch briar. The birch can be burled, or not (as seen here). The non-burled dials are just a bit lesser seen. Each would be cut, sanded, lacquered and printed. You’ll find them with luminous and non-luminous hands, but almost all were signed T Swiss T regardless (dial blanks were all printed together). If you unscrew the crown, you can smell the wood. The vast majority of wood dials are in yellow gold cases, which makes this discreet white gold all the more alluring.

Unlike much of the Rolex market, Day-Dates are still having their Day (no pun intended). In the last few years white gold birch woods soared to 40-50K USD and just sort of stayed there. The rarer woods like mahogany and walnut add another considerable premium. The earliest and roughest Sequoia woods can go even crazier (Rolex did at least lacquer the wood since then, Google how rough those look and you’ll get splinters through the screen). They’re a far too often overlooked peer of the Stella and stone crowd, a Syd Barrett to David Gilmour or Roger Waters. It shined in the Day-Date’s nascent years, like a crazy diamond, not to be seen again since.

This example sports a great dial, you often have to watch out for these warping over time, as moisture can effect wood with some waves. This one doesn't show any signs of it. All print is original and clear. The white gold case too, which I haven't even touched on, is mega. The edges are extremely proud, great top brushing, and tips look solid as well. It's on a hidden-clasp, which is period correct, from a well-regarded Amsterdam retailer. The cherry on top: it has its set.