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Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold "Havana" Dial (1978) *Watch Only* [ID15274]

15-months Warranty.
Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold
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  • Product ID:
    15274
  • Brand:
    Rolex
  • Model:
    Day-Date 36
  • Reference:
    1803
  • Year:
    1978
  • Movement:
    Cal. 1556
  • Case material:
    Yellow gold
  • Bracelet:
    53/ 22 links/ "President"
  • Bezel:
    Yellow gold
  • Diameter:
    36mm
  • Glass:
    Plexiglass
  • Dial:
    "Havana"/ "Pie Pan"
  • Box:
    No
  • Papers:
    No
  • Serial Number:
    5,06...
  • Clasp Code:
    A
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Product details:

Rolex Day-Date 1803 36mm Yellow Gold "Havana" Dial (1978)

*Watch Only*


Pre-owned Rolex Day-Date Ref. 1803, with a 36mm Oyster 18ct yellow gold case, 18ct yellow gold fluted bezel, matte beige ("Havana") "Pie Pan" 5-minute track "T SWISS T" dial with Tritium "stick batons" indices and hands, date indicator at 3 o’clock with cyclops magnifier and day indicator in Spanish between 11 and 1 o’clock. Plexiglass crystal. Automatic movement calibre 1556. 18ct yellow gold "President" bracelet with folding "Crownclasp".

Just as it did over with the Datejust Ref. 1601, the Ref. 180x range of Day- Date is where the series first garnered an enormous number of dial options. Classic shades of black, white and silver were plentiful, but like this one matte beige "Havana" dial is very rare. An all-gold dial on a solid yellow gold watch was to become the ultimate status symbol along the corridors of power.

As for the handset and hour markers, this Rolex Day-Date has the simple stick batons.

Additionally, all of the dials on the 1803 Day-Dates, just as they were on the Datejust of the era, were "Pie Pan" style (something that was not done on later Day-Date references). The "Pie Pan" nickname comes from the actual shape of the dial surface; the outer edge angles downwards, giving the dial the shape of an inverted pie pan.

Luminescence was only on certain types, used economically mostly on the hands. The 180x series would have the first to use Tritium, following on from the controversial Radium of earlier years.

And finally, the languages. On the Ref. 1803, you could take your choice of 11 dialects as opposed to today’s 26. This Rolex Day-Date has the day of the week in Spanish.

This Rolex Day-Date is powered by Rolex’s calibre 1556 "Superlative Chronometer, Officially Certified". Rolex didn’t start manufacturing its own calibres until 1957. Until then, the movements had been sourced from the likes of long-term partner Aegler. That all changed with the introduction of the 1500 series, the first mechanisms made completely in-house by Rolex themselves. With its unique complication, the Day-Date was in need of a calibre all to itself. While the first 2 references in the series continued to use third-party movements, by 1959, Rolex had perfected the calibre 1555; a variant of the 1530 with the added utility necessary to drive the second calendar display. The cal. 1555 was produced from 1959 to 1967, overlapping in some models of the Day-Date with its successor, the calibre 1556, released in 1965. Ostensibly identical, the only major difference between the 2 movements was a considerable rise in balance frequency. The later calibre followed the example set by the rest of the 1500 series and saw its rate increased to 19.800 BPH. As well as a marginal improvement in accuracy, the higher beat gave the mechanism an added imperviousness to shocks. In addition, the cal. 1556 was rated as a 26-jewel movement, with the top end of the center wheel receiving the extra stone, although it too had supplementary jewels in the calendar that weren’t included in the official count. The calibre 1556 was the last of the series to power the Day-Date.

In a very good state of conservation. Watch only (without original box and papers).


Read more about this watch...


The
Day-Date is one of the pillar watches produced by Rolex. Building on the success of the Datejust, in 1956 Rolex released a new flagship watch: the Rolex Day-Date Ref. 6510 and 6511. It was the first self-winding, waterproof wristwatch ever made to display both the date and the day of the week spelled out in full through windows on the surface of the dial. In 1958, Rolex released the 3rd iteration of the Day-Date watch, the Ref. 1803. The 1803 was very much the same watch; however, it was built around Rolex’s new and improved 1500 series of movement. The Ref. 1803 was only ever a 36mm model, released in yellow, white and rose gold, always 18ct as opposed to the 14ct option on a number of Rolex’s other offerings. It was also, very sparingly, released in the finest of the precious metals, platinum. As with all of the brand’s reference numbers of the period, the last digit tells us the type of the bezel used. The Ref. 1803 had the fluted surround. It was in this series where the brand experimented with different dial options, bezel textures, and bracelets. The reference 1803 remained in production for 20 years until it was discontinued with the arrival of the reference 18038 in 1978.

On top of it all was an acrylic crystal "Plexiglass" that was fitted to the 1803 and its predecessors before Rolex switched to using synthetic sapphire for their Day-Date crystals.

The Ref. 1803 was the first reference to wear the bracelet we most associate with the watch, the "President". It was created specifically for the Day-Date.

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