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1983/84 Rolex Lady Datejust 26 Tigers Eye Stone Dial, 1983 — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

1983/84 Rolex Lady Datejust 26 Tigers Eye Stone Dial, 1983

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Rolex (maker)
Date
1983
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Materials / technique
18k Yellow Gold
Stock no.
199
Credit line
Dealer listing, Watches of Knightsbridge (199)
Catalogue title (original)
1983/84 Rolex Lady Datejust 26 Tigers Eye Stone Dial (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Watches of Knightsbridge (dealer), London (stock number 199), this is a wristwatch by Rolex, made in Switzerland, dated 1983. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: 18k Yellow Gold. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Watches of Knightsbridge

1983/84 Rolex Lady Datejust 26 reference 6917/8 in yellow gold with rare original tiger’s eye stone dial & Mini-President bracelet.

Specifications — Watches of Knightsbridge

Reference: 6917; Metal: 18k Yellow Gold; Movement: Automatic

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

Atlas type guide

Calendar, moon-phase and perpetual calendar watches

Calendar complications range from a simple date to the perpetual calendar, which automatically allows for months of different lengths and leap years until 2100. Pocket watches with perpetual calendars were made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; Patek Philippe made the first perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925, and series production followed in 1941. The annual calendar (Patek Philippe, 1996) needs correction only once a year.

Moon-phase displays use a disc with two moons and 59 teeth advanced daily, approximating the 29.5-day lunation; more precise trains reduce the error to one day in over a century.

What to look for

  • Apertures or subsidiary dials for day, date, month and leap year.
  • Moon disc under a 'bosom' shaped aperture.
  • Recessed correctors on the case band for setting the calendar.

Dating clues

  • Triple-date wristwatches: popular c. 1940–1955.
  • Perpetual calendar wristwatches: from 1925 (unique) and 1941 (series).

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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