Oddities combined: Ferrite dial, bark finish and Russian day disc.

The Day-Date is, of course, best known for its shiny fluted bezel. But many more bezel variations were made. The ref. 18248 is a rather uncommon variations. It features a bark-finish bezel and bracelet. This 18248 from 1988 sports an uncommon ferrite dial, a ceramic material with a beautiful streaky black and grey texture. The dial, furthermore, features 18k applied yellow-gold Roman numerals and a closed 18k yellow-gold hand set.

The 18k yellow-gold case measures 36 mm and is in excellent condition. More importantly, the original bark President bracelet is in impeccable state, with little to no stretch. This is quite a feat as these bracelets were typically worn hard and, because they are so uncommon, it is hard to find a replacement in good condition. The watch runs on Rolex’ caliber 3155 automatic movement with a handy double quickset function to set the date and the day disc, last mentioned being Russian. This language is not often used and a rarity of its own.