Rolex Day-Date 18038 'Tiger Eye'

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Tiger Eye is a gemstone from the quartz group. It has a beautiful gold and brown streaky appearance with a silky lustre and it stands for courage and motivation. This stone will help you to be successful and self-confident at everything you do. Furthermore, it will tell you what your true inner desires are. Most certainly, it will tell you that your inner desire is to have this Rolex Day-Date 18038 with 'Tiger Eye' dial.The nickname ‘Tiger Eye’ refers to the stone’s chatoyance, which means 'cat’s eye effect' in French. Stone dials typically contain no markers and together with the gilt text and applied 18k yellow-gold Rolex coronet, the dial takes on a lovely warm hue. Gemstone dials are beautiful due to the natural variation of the material used, but they’re also quite fragile. Many of them have developed cracks or rips over the years. Therefore, a flawless dial, like the one on this watch, greatly increases its desirability.This 18k yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date carries reference 18038 and houses calibre 3055. It was bought in 1983 by a very stylish Dutch person - which is honestly hard to imagine - or someone who just loved the Dutch language - which is honestly also hard to imagine - as the day-disc is in Dutch. Something we don't see that often! The watch comes on a very tight 18k yellow-gold President bracelet with the lovely concealed clasp. The 18k yellow-gold case measures 36 mm, has thick lugs and the bezel is sharp and shiney, which shows the watch has barely been polished. The watch still has its original box, certificate and booklets.

Introduction

Rolex Day-DateIn 1956, Rolex introduced one the most iconic watches ever made: the Day-Date. The Day-Date was the first waterproof self-winding chronometer certified wristwatch with a day and date function. And to top it off, it was only available in gold or platinum! Rolex also designed a new three-link bracelet, known as the ‘President,’ to pair with this special watch. With exception of the most modern executions, the Day-Date comes exclusively in a 36mm case.Reference 18xxxThe arrival of the 18xxx series Day-Dates in 1978 ushered in the first signs of the ‘modern’ watchmaking era for Rolex. These Day-Dates were the first regular production Rolex watches to receive a sturdy and scratch resistant sapphire crystal. To accommodate the new crystal, the iconic Oyster case had to be increased in thickness as well, giving the Day-Date a more modern look.Other significant developments were the change from the beloved pie-pan dials to the new flat dials and the unveiling of a brand new movement. The caliber 3055 introduced a single quickset function, which meant that the date could finally be adjusted separately from the time and date.Like its predecessors, the 18xxx Day-Dates were available with different bezel and case decorations. The most common references are:

  • Ref. 18026: Domed bezel (platinum)
  • Ref. 18028: Domed bezel
  • Ref. 18038: Fluted bezel
  • Ref. 18039: Fluted bezel (white gold)
  • Ref. 18046: Diamond-set bezel and index (platinum)
  • Ref. 18048: Diamond-set bezel and index
  • Ref. 18049: Diamond-set bezel and index (white gold)
  • Ref. 18078: Bark-finished bezel in yellow gold (usually paired with President bracelet with bark-finished centerlinks)
  • Ref. 18079: Bark-finished bezel in white gold (usually paired with President bracelet with bark-finished centerlinks)

Specifications

Shipping

Packages are generally dispatched within 2 days after receipt of payment and are shipped within the Netherlands by Registered Mail through the Dutch carrier PostNL and for other countries by Fedex. Consult us if you prefer another method of shipping. For most destinations tracking is available.