Rolex Day-Date Ref. 18038 - 'Coral' 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 leather strap with a matching gold buckle, but also on a solid gold bracelet (called a 'President' bracelet), like the example that we have here.

However, this isn't your run of the mill Day-Date...

The piece that we have here features a striking, orange 'coral' stone dial, which belongs to a family of watches produced with a series of rare and exotic stones. These dials are as rare as they are beautiful to behold. Produced for a limited time these dials were handmade by artisans — something we don't usually associate with the sports watches that Rolex is known for — and have always been coveted as some of the more collectible vintage Rolexes, full stop.

This example comes to us with a lightly previously polished case, remaining in excellent overall condition showing just light wear throughout and free of any over-polishing or significant blemishes. The 'fluted' yellow gold and bezel and 'President bracelet are in matching condition, showing previous polishing and light wear throughout. The highlight of this piece though, of course, is that vibrant pink-orange dial. Free from applied indices and luminous material, it features an applied coronet logo at the usual position and framed day and date apertures in gold and is complimented by a correct non-luminous gold handset. The dial itself exhibits hairline fracturing — largely vertical ones on the left side with one horizontal one starting at the 10 o'clock position and extending to the date window at 3 o'clock.

This ultimately allows for a significant discount to a perfect dial, and, frankly, the ability to wear it care-free!