Guilloche Dial 1803 Rolex Day-Date, Pink Gold

Until this year in the new 1908, the words Rolex and guilloché almost never went together. But very, very occasionally, there was a Day-Date with a hand engine turned dial. A quick Google will turn up the last one that came to market which we covered, a square pyrimidal cut. Some of the more famous examples from Phillips a few years ago feature asymmetrical, concentric, radiating circle cuts. This one might just outshine all of them for some of the details. This is a vertical graining but with occasional diamond grouping wavers, almost like Vacheron’s vieux panier made a baby with a tapestry dial. And here, in pink gold, it’s outrageous.

Textures we’ve seen in 1803s include tapisserie, hobnail, various radiating concentric circles, and the inimitable ‘brooklyn brdige’, which probably takes the cake (Google it). The details and right up there as well. It’s pink gold, which accounts for just a tiny fraction of 1803 production. Then, the indices are doorstops, a wide and flat style seen on late 1960s dials. And as if this weren’t enough, the day wheel is French. But almost as counter to the grace of the whole spec, the pink gold bracelet is an Oyster, not President. I’m not sure it’s possible a more elegant 1803 ever left the doors of Wilsdorf. But the bracelet, that’s all business. It’s Léa Seydoux in a leather jacket and jeans.

So how does one value an 1803 of which you won’t find another example even if you wait years? Well, look to similar but different guilloché Day-Dates and then separately account for the metal. Some of the rarer guilloché 1803s have hammered from 75k in yellow gold with simple pyramids all the way up to 190k for an ‘Eastern’ Arabic, tapisserie guilloché dial at Phillips in 2015 in pink gold also. That same latter watch would hammer considerably higher today. The extremely rare Brooklyn bridge dials are the only examples which have punched above to 300k. So consider the playing field 100-250k, very roughly, for the special ones in pink gold. Insert the usual spread for condition and provenance, the former of which is insane here. This is about as desirable a Day-Date as they come, it’s where non-stone dials get as desirable as stone dials. And Léa looks better in casual anyway.

This example has a fantastic case with great engravings and edges. The lugs are super defined. It has not seen a lot of wrist time. The perfect tritium hands and dial confirm this. It’s a safe queen. It comes from a well-regarded Dutch retailer.