Description

Three of the most coveted features in vintage Rolex collecting converge in a single watch. This is a Rolex Day-Date reference 1807 in 18-karat yellow gold: an oxblood lacquered “Stella” dial, one of the rarest and most sought-after dial configurations ever produced, housed in the bark-finish variant of the President case, with a matching bark-finish President bracelet, and a Spanish-language day disc reading “JUEVES.” Each of these characteristics would be remarkable individually. Together, they produce a Day-Date of extraordinary collector significance and visual impact.

The President’s Watch – and the Rarest of Its Kind

The Rolex Day-Date debuted in 1956 as the world’s first wristwatch to display both the date and the day of the week spelled out in full. Crafted exclusively in precious metals, it quickly earned the unofficial title of the President’s watch, a name cemented by its association with Eisenhower, Nixon, Johnson, Reagan, and Clinton, among many heads of state worldwide. It was, and remains, a watch that announces arrival.

The reference 1807 is a variant of the standard 1803 that commands instant attention even among specialist collectors. Rolex gave the 1807 a distinctive hand-engraved bark finish on both the bezel and the centre links of the President bracelet, a textured, almost sculptural surface that contrasts sharply with the polished lugs and creates an effect closer to goldsmithing than watchmaking. Produced alongside the 1803 from the 1960s into the 1970s, the reference 1807 was always a minority production, now significantly scarcer than its smooth-bezel and fluted-bezel counterparts. When one surfaces, collectors take notice.

The Stella Lacquer Dial – Depth You Cannot Photograph

In the early 1970s, Rolex made one of its boldest decisions: to offer its flagship Day-Date in a series of intensely coloured, high-gloss lacquered dials produced with specialist pigments supplied by Stella S.A. of Geneva. Turquoise, coral, canary yellow, seafoam green — and this: oxblood. A deep, jewel-toned burgundy that shifts from dark wine-red in shadow to a glowing ruby in direct light. These were not simply painted dials. Each one was built up through multiple cycles of lacquer application and oven baking, then hand-polished and sealed with a transparent varnish. The process was so painstaking, and so prone to failure, that many dials cracked during production and were discarded. The result is a dial of extraordinary visual depth that photographs consistently underrepresent.

Stella dials were originally produced for markets in the Middle East and parts of Asia, where bolder aesthetics were preferred. They sold slowly in the West, and Rolex is believed to have destroyed batches of remaining stock in the late 1980s. Low production, high attrition, and decades of collector appetite have made clean Stella examples, particularly in rarer colours such as oxblood, among the most coveted objects in all of vintage Rolex.

The Dial

The oxblood lacquer surface shifts from deep, nearly black burgundy to a rich ruby depending on the angle and the light, a characteristic that makes this dial impossible to tire of. Applied gold baton indices punctuate the dial with deliberate restraint, their three-dimensional presence amplified by the glassy lacquer surface beneath them. The gold dauphine hands provide a clean, highly legible sweep against the dark ground. At 12 o’clock, the day window reads in Spanish, “JUEVES” here, Thursday, a detail that confirms the watch was delivered new to a Spanish or Latin American market retailer, and one that lends a further layer of provenance and character. The Cyclops magnifier at 3 o’clock frames the date window in the signature Rolex manner.

Specifications

Brand: Rolex

Model: Day-Date Automatic (ref. 1807)

Year: circa 1970s

Case material: Gold-tone (18k yellow gold)

Case diameter: approx. 36 mm

Bezel: Hand-engraved bark-finish gold-tone bezel

Dial: Oxblood lacquered “Stella” dial with applied gold baton indices and Cyclops date magnifier

Strap: Gold-tone President bracelet with bark-finish centre links and signed Crownclasp

Movement: Automatic – Rolex Calibre 1556 (serviced)

Condition: Good vintage condition with light signs of wear consistent with age

Accessories: Watch only (no box or papers)

Warranty: 1 year warranty

Availability

This vintage day-date automatic watch is available through Vintage Times Amsterdam.

For further information or high-resolution images, please feel free to contact:

Vintage Times

Vintage Times Amsterdam is a small watch boutique who mainly deals online and with a select group of private collectors. We are constantly looking for rare vintage timepieces and try to present the best condition available. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact for more information about this watch or other timepieces from our collection. We ship worldwide and also welcome you for a visit at our office in Amsterdam.

Vintage Times

email: [email protected]

tel / app: +31 6 4 1111 044