Burlwood Dial, Bark Finish 18078 Rolex Day-Date

Burlwood-Dial-Rolex Day-Date-18078-Bark-Finish

Not only is this a burlwood Day-Date, quite an uncommon thing already, but it rather fittingly is sporting a what is known as (and I’m not making this up) a bark finish case. You see how the bezel and centre links are almost textured like tree bark? It’s a finish that was made at Rolex…

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Anthracite, Matte Grey Dial 1803 Rolex Day-Date

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Stone dials are fraught, Tiffany stamps are equally perilous, and the only thing less common than a Stella dial is one without a crack in the lacquer. That’s the cynic’s view of the state of Day-Dates, and it’s definitely somewhat supportable. However, not all that glimmers in Day-Date is quite so loud or need be…

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Sequoia Wood Dial 1803 Rolex Day-Date

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If you really know your Day-Dates, this wood dial will immediately look a different to what you’re used to seeing. It’s made of sequoia, not the birch, mahogany, or walnut you’re perhaps more familiar with, and it’s what came first. In fact, this isn’t just the first wood dial Rolex, it’s one of the earliest…

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Coral Red Stella Dial 1803 Rolex Day-Date

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The emoji Day-Date isn’t the first time Rolex let their hair down, but when they did so in the past, man, it was just so much more tasteful and elegant. They say subtlety is an art that’s been lost on our generation and I’m inclined to agree. Back in the 70s, this ‘cherry’ red Stella…

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Ghost ‘Havana’ Dial 1802 Rolex Day-Date

1802-Rolex-Day-Date-Ghost-Havana-Dial

The interest of Day-Date collecting lies in nuance. All Day-Dates share a similar proportion, functionality, and design. But the details can vary so wildly as to leave a completely different impression: lapis dials, gem setting, retailer signatures, claw indices, or Florentine finishing are all so distinct that they may as well be different models. You’re…

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Birch Wood Dial 18039 Rolex Day-Date

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Amongst the many great accolades Rolex hold, one of the most bizarre has to be convincing their clientele back in the four and five digit era that wood was a luxury material. Wood; you know, the stuff you burn to keep warm, that’s always decomposing slowly, that’s only valuable in tonnes. Granted, Rolex chose very…

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Bloodstone Dial 18039 Rolex Day-Date

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There is no more scarce standard production Day-Date than the jasper, or here Bloodstone, dial in white gold or platinum. Readers of Hairspring will know, in white precious metal, there are fewer than 10. Probably 9. Bloodstone is a jasper, just one with red veins, iron spots that gemologists—or ‘stoners’ as I like to call…

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‘Japan No Lume’ 1803 Rolex Day-Date

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Hardstone dials are all the rage these days. Day-Dates are synonymous with onyx, lapis, and jasper. But in the earliest days of the Day-Date, there weren’t stones. There were Stellas. And before there were Stellas, there were gilt pie-pans. An early Day-Date in white precious metal is just about the ultimate in discreet opulence as…

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Jasper Dial 18039 Rolex Day-Date

Jasper-Dial-Rolex-Day-Date-18039

Of all standard production Rolex models, white precious metal and a jasper dial has to be in the top five of outright rarity. You’ll see jasper in yellow gold with some frequency, a handful yearly popping up in the market. But in white precious metal, not gem set, fewer than 10 are known. My current…

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Tom Landry’s 18038 Rolex Day-Date

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Tom Landry is one of the most important and influential figures there has ever been in American football. And this is his Day-Date. No, not just the same reference. This is Landry’s actual Rolex, the precise one that’s been immortalized and carved on his statue’s wrist outside Texas Stadium. Head coach of the Dallas Cowboys…

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