1988 Rolex Day-Date Champagne on Bracelet 18038
Ref: 18038

Points of Mention

This watch is sold with its original box, booklets, and swing tags but no Rolex paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original 18ct Yellow Gold Rolex signed Presidential bracelet Reference 8385-M4 which is correct for 1988 with a hidden deployment clasp, the bracelet has 21 links 2 short of “Full” and will fit a 7.15-inch wrist. The watch is from Circa. 1988, based on the serial numbers, and is sold in worn, vintage condition, but overall very fair condition, the bracelet is in excellent condition with minimal stretch. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.

The Watch

Here we have a 1988 Rolex Day-Date Champagne on Bracelet 18038 with a 36mm 18ct Yellow Gold Oyster case that gently curves over your wrist with elegant tapered lugs, a lug-to-lug length of 43.5mm and a case thickness of 12.5mm ensures a comfortable fit on your wrist. Polished and brushed surfaces transition with soft rounded edges, on the right side, a signed screw-down crown and the fluted bezel hold a flat sapphire crystal above a sunburst champagne dial. An outer minute track has Roman numerals precisely printed above applied 18ct Yellow Gold baton indexes that catch the light in a magical way when you rotate your wrist. At 3 o’clock a framed date window with cyclops magnification on the crystal, at 12 o’clock a day crescent, elegant 18ct Yellow Gold hands infilled with Tritium is complemented by a sweeping tapered second hand, at 12 o’clock an applied Rolex crown with “Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date'' and at 6 o’clock “Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified”. On the reverse a screw-down coin-edged case back, inside an automatic Rolex Cal. 3055, 27 jewels, beating at 28,800 beats per hour, this movement was first introduced in 1978 and has a base on the Rolex Cal. 3055. The watch comes fitted on its original 18ct Yellow Gold Rolex signed Presidential bracelet Reference 8385-M4 which is correct for 1988 with a hidden deployment clasp, the bracelet has 21 links 2 short of “Full” and will fit a 7.15-inch wrist and the watch comes with its Rolex presentation box, booklets and swing tags only.

Personal Note

The Brand

In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements which were installed in British cases and sold to jewellers who put their names on the dials. Recognising the potential for their brand, Wilsdorf created the brand name Rolex in 1908. In 1910, a Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland. Demand for Rolex watches rose swiftly, and British taxes on the Swiss movements Rolex used prompted Wilsdorf to move the business to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919. With production costs lowered, Wilsdorf quickly set out to solve the age-old problem of moisture and dust entering a watch case and damaging the movement. The Rolex watchmakers came up with a fully sealed watch case, which Wilsdorf named the Oyster, and released to an appreciative audience in 1926. In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic winding wristwatch, giving it the legendary name Oyster Perpetual. In 1945, they released Datejust. The Datejust was the first watch to have the date jump instantaneously at midnight. The 1950s saw a whole lot of releases such as the Air-King (1958), the Explorer (1953), the Submariner (1953), the GMT Master (1955), the Day-Date (1956), the electromagnetic field resistant Milgauss (1956), the Lady-Datejust (1957) and the first Deep Sea model (1960). Wilsdorf’s death in 1960, saw ownership of Rolex S.A. (a collection of sub-companies) passed to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation which was founded by Wilsdorf in 1945, the mission of which is simply to sustain Rolex S.A. indefinitely.