In honor and memory of her late husband Robert Safford, Vicki donated this stunning Rolex to the Watch Project to help others reach their dreams of higher education. Both she and Bob believed in the importance of higher education and have supported Brian's Foundation since its inception in 1992.
This is a lady's 18k yellow gold vintage Rolex dress wristwatch. The square case measures 14 mm and has an integrated 13.25 mm, 18 karat yellow gold herringbone design bracelet. The champagne dial has raised yellow gold markers. Set down the east and west sides of the case are eight round four-cut diamonds, approximately .03 carat each. The caliber 1401 manufactured mechanical movement is manually wound.
A special thanks to Rummelle’s Jewelers, an authorized Rolex dealer in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for their professional help in preparing this lot for auction.
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.
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.
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