Rolex Day-Date Ref. 1803 Rose Gold - Satin Blue Dial

When the Day-Date was released in 1956, Rolex had made numerous attempts to capture the market with more complicated timepieces such as the Ref. 6036, the Ref. 8171, and the Ref. 6062, but it seemed like buyers were not particularly fond of complicated Rolexes. All of that changed when President Dwight D. Eisenhower was spotted wearing one Rolex in particular: a Day-Date. The model has since become known worldwide as ‘The President’ and as a symbol of success and prestige. Simply put, this one stuck.

The Day-Date was available for many years on a matching solid gold bracelet (called a 'President' bracelet), but also on a leather strap like the example that we have here. 

The example that we have here is a very special and incredibly rare Reference 1803 dating to circa 1965. For starters is solid rose gold — far rarer than examples in white gold. It featured a correct satin blue dial with rose gold indices and a matching handset. 

The case has been light previously polished and remains symmetrical and shows normal signs of wear throughout. The correct 'fluted' rose gold bezel has also been lightly previously polished and shows matching normal wear. Inside, the rare blue dial presents nicely, with a clean satin surface that is largely devoid of the usual degradation around the applied indices or luminous plots. There is some light wear present on the edge and just above the Rolex text when inspected under magnification. The Tritium plots exhibit a light and even patina at all positions, and the handset matches nicely.

Particularly when fitted to a leather strap, this 'elevated' and very configuration lends itself to a very special and elegant wearing experience while remaining very much under-the-radar. If you know, you know.