Watches including the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation Benefit Lots 
30 November 2022
Watches including the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation Benefit Lots 
100

Rolex from Eric Wind

'Oyster Perpetual Mosaic Shantung' Ref. 1002, stainless steel wristwatch


Dial: Blue mosaic
Movement: Automatic
Case material: Stainless steel
Case size: 34 mm
Bracelet/Strap: Oyster bracelet
estimate: $1,000–2,000
result: $8,750
follow artist
own a similar item?
free evaluation

100% of the proceeds from this lot go to the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation
provenance: Collection of Eric Wind

This work will ship from Chicago, Illinois.

print

Donor: Eric Wind

Vintage Mosaic Blue Dial Shantung Rolex Oyster Perpetual Model 1002

Eric Wind


Eric Wind owns Wind Vintage, a company that is dedicated to offering exceptional watches for sale at all price points and providing advisory services to top vintage watch collectors around the world. Eric previously served as Vice President, Senior Specialist for Christie's where he helped lead the sale of a number of important watches at auction around the world and through private treaty. He is a regular contributor to HODINKEE.

This Rolex Oyster Perpetual reference 1002 with a blue mosaic/shantung dial has an unpolished case and is one of Eric’s favorite Rolex dials ever. This stunning watch is not your typical Rolex!

The Rolex name is synonymous with quality watches that have pushed limits in watch making. The name gained recognition in 1926 with the first waterproof wristwatch the “Oyster” and in 1927, with genius marketing efforts, the “Oyster” crossed the English channel on the wrist of swimmer, Mercedes Gleitze, to prove its worth. Next came the innovation of the perpetual rotor, which senses ever so slight wrist movement, to keep the self-winding watch running. Rolex has continuously showcased superior timekeeping performance, stacking itself up against the world’s greatest adventurers, athletes, and explorers.

While pushing boundaries in timekeeping has been a priority at Rolex, design is never sacrificed. The Rolex watch band adheres to both form and function priorities. At Rolex, the band is referred to as a bracelet. 

The “Oyster” bracelet, designed in the 1930s, comprises three flat links. The “President” bracelet, made of three arched links has a rounder profile and was designed in 1956 for the Day-Date and certain Datejust models. The “Jubilee” bracelet, rounded like the “President”, features a five-piece link for the Oyster Perpetual Datejust watch.

The Brian LaViolette Foundation was formed by the LaViolette family to honor the memory of their son, Brian, who passed away in a swimming accident in Green Bay, Wisconsin when he was just fifteen years old in 1992. Brian was not only an excellent student, athlete, and musician, but he loved watches, starting his own collection when he was four years of age.

Since 1992, the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation has presented 1,058 scholarships to deserving college-bound students in Northeastern Wisconsin, the United States, and other parts of the world. The Foundation continues Brian's legacy by helping high school seniors financially to achieve their educational dreams and, at the same time, providing them with encouragement and inspiration. 


Donate directly, no paddle number needed:
DONATE

Learn more about the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation

Rolex

follow artist

In 1905, at age 24, German businessman Hans Wilsdorf founded a company with Alfred Davis called Wilsdorf & Davis in London with the goal of selling high-quality, affordable timepieces. Three years later, he and Davis registered the brand name Rolex in Switzerland with a singular vision: quality, good-looking watches. Wilsdorf created the first watch to receive the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision in 1910. In 1914, he changed the name of the company to The Rolex Watch Company and several years later he moved their headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland, where the company remains to this day.

Rolex is likely the most recognizable watch in the world, and for good reason. The “Crown” (as it is affectionately called by collectors) it is in many ways the brand to which all other brands are compared. Rolex’s “firsts” are myriad and include the first waterproof watch in 1926 and the first self-winding mechanism in 1931. They are not the oldest watchmaker, nor are they the most exclusive, and certainly not the most expensive. However, when one thinks watches the first name that often comes to mind is Rolex, in large part due to it having been the timepiece of choice for athletes and adventurers.

In 1927, a Rolex Oyster made it across the English Channel on the wrist of swimmer, and in 1953, a Rolex survived Sir Edmund Hillary’s Mount Everest conquest. The dive into the Mariana Trench and the James Cameron Deepsea Expedition are two more examples of where a Rolex came out unscathed. The company also designed watches specifically for pilots, navigators, and world travelers.

It can be argued that every single model in the Rolex lineup is iconic, from the Submariner to the Daytona. For as long as Rolex has existed, the company has been synonymous with sport, adventure, luxury, and royalty. Some of the most famous names in history have donned a Rolex including Sir Winston Churchill, Paul Newman, and Roger Federer.

Auction Results Rolex

Rolex

Iconic 'Cosmograph Daytona Paul Newman' stainless steel wristwatch, Ref. 6239

estimate: $200,000–250,000

result: $230,000

Rolex

Iconic 'Big Red Daytona Cosmograph' stainless steel wristwatch Ref. 6265

estimate: $60,000–80,000

result: $125,000

Rolex

'Daytona' stainless steel wristwatch, Ref. 6263

estimate: $30,000–50,000

result: $52,920

Rolex

'Day Date Stella' gold wristwatch, Ref. 1803

estimate: $40,000–60,000

result: $50,000

100