Artists of the Collection
Rolex
Geneva, Switzerland · founded 1905
The Geneva watch manufacture that gave the world the first waterproof wristwatch (Oyster, 1926), the first self-winding movement with a rotor (Perpetual, 1931) and the first wristwatch with an automatically changing date in a window (Datejust, 1945). Founded in London in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis, it has been based in Geneva since 1919. The Day-Date of 1956 — the first wristwatch to display, besides the date, the full name of the day of the week, made exclusively in gold or platinum — became a symbol of status and earned the nickname “President”.
From the 1970s, bespoke Day-Dates were made to the special order of Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, bearing the Sultan's name, the national emblem (the khanjar) or a crest on the dial; the ruler presented them as gifts of state, and today they rank among the most sought-after Rolex watches on the collectors' market. In our collection the manufacture is represented by one such example from 1974.
