Rolex Day-Date Ref. 1804 - Champagne Diamond 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.

This particular piece is a not often seen Reference 1804. It dates to circa 1971 and is typically distinguished by its factory-set diamond dial and a diamond-set bezel. At some point in the life of this piece, that bezel was replaced with a 'fluted' unit from an 1803, resulting in a piece that, on the surface, has all of the looks of an 1803 with a factory diamond dial. In fact, we would bet that it was even swapped at the dealer at the time of purchase based on the uniform wear on this piece. The case, bracelet and bezel all show normal signs of wear, seemingly devoid of any previous polishing. The lugs remain thick and symmetrical throughout and the hallmarks defined. The champagne dial inside is also exceptional — virtually flawless, in fact. It is a non-luminous unit and has the correct non-luminous handset to match.  

This then, is a fantastic, well-rounded example of an icon with some spice on the dial.