Onyx Dial 18206 Rolex Day-Date

If you have a robust memory, you may recall back in 2020 Lange released an 1815 Rattrapante in Honeygold, the brand’s first split seconds. Immediately and nearly unanimously, the watch world exclaimed, ‘Wow that’s beautiful . . .wait, didn’t they make one of those already?’ It just sort of seemed like a rattrapante always should have been there, peeking out behind the Double Split. Similarly, I sat down at a cocktail bar recently and my friend asked the bartender for Lagavulin 18. If you know scotch, you’ll know 18 year is a frequent bottling for most distilleries. And it seems like the esteemed Lagavulin has always made one. But mostly, it’s just 8 year, 16 year, and distiller’s, any 18 is a special or limited release you’re not going to find a normal bar. All of which brings me to this Onyx dial Day-Date; it’s in platinum.

White metal Day-Dates aren’t particularly uncommon, even this ref. 18206 which sports platinum (and is the only platinum quickset Day-Date to not feature diamonds on the case or bezel). Onyx dials, whilst rarer as a stone dial, aren’t impossible to come by. A quick search will find you 50 on the market at any given time. But put the two together, ie a white metal (white gold or platinum) Day-Date with an Onyx dial, and opportunities vanish. This doesn’t feel intuitive, surely Rolex has made the Onyx dial many times in white metal? False. Only a handful are actually known. And for the newer audience, you can’t just swap dials around between yellow gold and platinum, the window surrounds are finished in precious metal to match the case.

The last Onyx dial in white metal that came up for auction was at Phillips in 2017 and was in white gold (ref. 18039). The fun of platinum Day-Dates is that the metal proved too difficult to machine the fluting we’re used to seeing. Instead, Rolex left it perfectly smooth which is a real ‘IYKYK’ detail. The last time this example changed hands was at The Hour Glass in Singapore in 1990, its original sale, and as such comes with Chinese Day and Date discs, another incredibly cool detail. There is really no market precedent for this example. The Phillips sale was at 32K USD, but that was well before the modern Day-Date market formed. This one will likely return nearly an order of magnitude more. The Lagavulin 18 of Day-Dates indeed, as the last time I found a bottle it was nearly 1000% above retail. And you’d think either was a totally normal occurence. Neither is.

This example has it all, frankly. The case is lovely, great lugs, deep hallmarks, all signatures correct. Its onyx dial shows no hairline fractures I can see, which is a rare feat. The watch comes with box and booklets from a well-regarded Dutch retailer.