Rolex Day-Date Ref. 1803 - Satin Blue Dial Unpolished

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 Reference 1803 dates to circa 1971 and is an excellent yellow gold example with a stunning dial. The case, characteristic 'fluted' yellow gold bezel, and 'President' bracelet all appear to be unpolished and show uniform normal wear throughout. The case remains thick and symmetrical and has clear hallmarks on the underside of the lugs and visible factory finishing on the top of the lugs. Inside, the rare satin blue dial remains in simply fantastic condition. There is none of the usual degradation around the applied indices or luminous plots, which remain fully-intact and evenly patinated with a perfectly matching handset. This piece comes fitted to a South American 'President' bracelet, which nicely matches the Spanish day disk within.

This is a fantastic example of an icon with a pop of color. We only see one or two of these blue-dial examples a year, with this being one of the finest we have ever come across.