The specialist's choice –Simon Naeslund lists favourites among watches
Specialists choice
Simon Naeslund
Bukowskis' internationally acclaimed watch auction, Important Timepieces, is Scandinavia's most prominent auction for collectors' watches, handpicked and carefully selected by Bukowskis' watch experts. The autumn edition includes watches from the most prominent manufacturers, such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, and Audemars Piguet. We can also present some rarer brands in the auction, such as Urban Jürgensen and Gerald Charles.
Simon Naeslund, Specialist Watches, lists a couple of selected highlights in the autumn auction.
– We continue to see strong demand for popular models and now also with unique dials in a higher price range. This autumn, we are presenting three unique ones, all made from different stones.
Rolex, Day-Date, "Onyx Dial" - catalogue number 61
–A dial that has been highly attractive and collectible in recent time, is the Onyx dial for one of Rolex's most prestigious and iconic watch models, the Day-Date in 36mm. Onyx is a mineral and a variety of chalcedony. It exists in a number of different colors. For the Onyx dial, Rolex has chosen to only use the completely black parts of the stone, which gives the impression of having a perfectly deep black lacquered finish on the dial. The minimalistic impression that the all-black Onyx dial gives, combined with its fine details in yellow gold that matches the stunning 18K yellow gold case is a modest and timeless choice of dial.
First presented on the Day-Date 18038, the Onyx dial has continuously been available up until the discontinuing of the 36mm Day-Date 18238, in 2000. It has since 2000 only been available as a service dial for the classic Day-Dates and also extremely sought after, with now a limited supply controlled by Rolex which is called "Exchange Only" - which means that you can't order it unless you already have one that needs replacing due to damage. The onyx dial for the Day-Date 36 is a representation of what the Day-Date is all about. The dial is sleek, it's striking, it is elegant, and it is truly timeless.
Rolex, Cosmograph, Daytona, chronograph, "Sodalite Dial" - catalogue number 62
–Rolex has made two types of sodalite hard stone dials for the Cosmograph Daytona. One version with diamond indices, and one without. The version without diamonds features applied Arabic numerals, whereas the diamond version only has applied numerals for the 15, 30, and 45-minute markings. Unlike the non-diamond version, the Arabic numerals are painted white on top. The reason for this is to compensate for the reduced legibility due to the diamond hour markers.
This sodalite dial can be found both on Daytona models with bracelet, reference 116509 and with a leather strap, reference 116519.The dial is literally a thin slice of sodalite, made in a single piece that is then applied to the brass dial base. To fully appreciate these stone dials, it requires understanding just the level of complexity that goes into making them. Sodalite is a hard yet fragile mineral. It is named after sodium, of which it contains a lot of. Whilst sodalite is most known for being blue, it can also be yellow, green, pink, or grey. Rolex has only used blue sodalite hard stones for its dials. Many of the dials crack through the manufacturing process. In addition, this particular dial has applied diamond markers which makes it even more difficult and complex to make.
Rolex, GMT-Master II, "Meteorite Dial" - catalogue number 63
–The GMT-Master was first released in 1954 as a cooperation between the leading airline company at the time, Pan American Air Ways (Pan Am) and Rolex. Their ambition was to create a watch, that could display two timezones simultaneously which allowed the wearer to keep track of two timezones. They achieved this by making a watch that displayed the home time with an additional hour hand (GMT-hand) and the local time with the standard hour hand.
In 2019 at the Basel Watch fair Rolex presented a novelty of the GMT-Master II - reference 126719BLRO in white gold, featuring a meteorite dial. It became the first watch from this collection to feature a stone dial. What makes this watch particularly unique is that each dial is different as they are made from natural stones. Because of the scarcity, rare nature, and complexity of the material, the dial is largely made by hand to ensure perfection. A meteorite is a piece of debris from a solid mass such as a meteoroid, comet, or asteroid which survives the fall from space and successfully lands on earth or the moon. Bear in mind that most meteorites that fall to earth burn before they reach the earth. Various factors such as friction and pressure cause the mass to heat up and gain energy once the debris enters the atmosphere.
This process can be seen from earth and is commonly known as a fallen or shooting star. At this stage, the debris is a meteor and what you see is a fireball falling rapidly. Once the meteor has landed on a bigger mass such as earth or the moon it then becomes a meteorite. Because of this, the material is fairly rare and hard to work with and this is what causes each dial to be unique for the watch. What stands out on the meteorite dial is the white dial with a tone of gray, with a striking pattern across the dial. As each dial is different, different patterns can be found and some dials can be more desirable than others because of the placements of the marks.
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