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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Day-Date 18079}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Day-Date 18079}}
{{#seo:
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Day-Date 18079 — White Gold Bark President, 1977–1988
|title=Rolex Day-Date 18079 — White-Gold Bark Day-Date | Rolexopedia
|description=The Rolex 18079 is the white-gold bark-finish (écorce) 5-digit Day-Date President — caliber 3055, sapphire crystal, circa 1977-1988. The scarce white-gold twin of the 18078, collected with burgundy Stella, black diamond and silver sunburst dials.
|description=White-gold Day-Date 18079 with bark-finish bezel and President bracelet, caliber 3055, and auction-documented dial examples.
|keywords=Rolex 18079, Day-Date 18079, bark finish Day-Date, écorce, white gold President, caliber 3055, Stella dial, 5-digit Day-Date
|keywords=Rolex 18079, Day-Date 18079, white gold, bark finish, écorce, caliber 3055, Stella dial
|image=Ref 18079 hero.webp
|image=Ref 18079 stella.webp
|image_alt=White gold Rolex Day-Date 18079 with bark finish bezel and bracelet
|image_alt=White-gold Day-Date 18079 with a burgundy Stella dial and bark-finish bezel and bracelet
|type=Article
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|og_type=article
|published_time=2026-09-27T00:00:00Z
|modified_time=2026-09-27T00:00:00Z
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
|titlemode=replace
|titlemode=replace
}}
}}
<small>[[Reference:day-date|Day-Date]] -> '''18079'''</small>
<small>[[Reference:day-date|Day-Date]] → '''18079'''</small>


The 18079 is the bark-finish Day-Date in white gold, the scarcest finish of the 5-digit generation in the scarcer of its two golds. Bezel and bracelet centre links carry the coarse vertical texture Rolex called écorce, the case flanks stay polished, and everything behind that is the [[Reference:18039|18039]]: 36mm President case, caliber 3055, sapphire crystal, single quickset. Sotheby's put the balance plainly in a catalogue note on the 1807X group, observing that the vast majority were built in yellow gold. Bark in white gold is a small subset of a finish that never sold well to begin with, and the examples that reach the major houses are usually the ones where the texture meets a strong dial.
<div class="rp-lead">[[File:Ref 18079 stella.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=White-gold Day-Date 18079 with a burgundy Stella dial and bark-finish bezel and bracelet|1978 white-gold 18079 with burgundy Stella dial, diamond markers, and bark-finish bezel and bracelet.]]</div>


[[File:Ref 18079 hero.webp|thumb|right|340px|alt=White gold Rolex Day-Date 18079 with bark finish bezel and bracelet|Rolex Day-Date 18079 in 18k white gold — the bark (écorce) texture runs from the bezel through the President centre links; this circa-1982 example carries a German day disc.]]
The 18079 is the white-gold bark-finish Day-Date in the five-digit caliber-3055 generation. Rolex used the French term ''écorce'' for this worked surface. The bezel and the President bracelet's centre links carry the texture; the case flanks remain polished. Auction catalogues place the documented examples between circa 1978 and circa 1982, with the broader 3055 generation generally dated 1977–1988. These records do not establish the 18079's exact production limits.


==Core facts==
==Core facts==


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
|-
! detail
! detail
Line 31: Line 33:
|-
|-
| production
| production
| circa 1977/78 to 1988
| Individual auction examples dated circa 1978–1982; broader five-digit caliber-3055 generation generally dated 1977–1988
|-
|-
| movement
| movement
| caliber 3055, 27 jewels, 28,800 vph, single quickset (date); hacking seconds
| caliber 3055; 27 jewels and 28,800 vph on documented examples; date quickset, day advances with the hands
|-
|-
| case
| case
| 36mm 18k white gold President
| 18k white gold, 36 mm on the cited auction examples
|-
|-
| crystal
| crystal
| sapphire with Cyclops
| sapphire with Cyclops, as described in the family records
|-
|-
| bezel
| bezel
| bark (écorce) finish in white gold
| white-gold bark (écorce) finish
|-
|-
| bracelet
| bracelet
| President in white gold with bark-finished centre links, concealed Crownclasp
| white-gold President with bark-finished centre links on documented examples
|-
| dial
| silver sunburst, burgundy Stella with diamonds, black diamond-set
|-
|-
| crown
| documented dials
| Twinlock screw-down
| silver sunburst, burgundy lacquered Stella with diamonds, and black diamond-set
|-
|-
| siblings
| siblings
| 18078 (yellow-gold bark), 18039 (white-gold fluted), 18049 (white-gold diamond)
| 18078 (yellow-gold bark), 18039 (white-gold fluted), 18049 (white-gold diamond bezel)
|-
| predecessor
| 1807
|-
|-
| successor
| successor
| caliber-3155 bark generation from 1988 (18248 in yellow gold)
| 18248, the yellow-gold bark reference in the caliber-3155 generation
|}
|}


==Where it sits in the line==
==Where it sits in the line==


The 5-digit Day-Date splits by finish and then by metal. Bark is the finish; the closing digit is the metal. Phillips spelled the rule out in the catalogue essay for a white-gold bark example, noting that the final digit — a 9 in this case — indicates 18k white gold. That makes the [[Reference:18078|18078]] the yellow-gold bark and the 18079 its white-gold twin, alongside the fluted [[Reference:18039|18039]] and the diamond-set [[Reference:18049|18049]].
The 18079 is the white-gold member of the five-digit bark pair. Phillips' catalogue essay identifies the final 9 as the 18k white-gold designation, making 18078 the yellow-gold counterpart. The fluted white-gold 18039 and diamond-bezel white-gold 18049 share the same broad generation and caliber family.


Bark descends from the 4-digit [[Reference:1807|1807]] and belongs to the same 1970s appetite for worked gold surfaces that produced the Florentine 1806 and the Morellis 1811. It is a coarse vertical woodgrain, unmistakable next to the fine cross-hatch of a Florentine bezel. The finish drew few buyers when new, which is why the 18078 is already the scarce member of the yellow-gold set, and the white-gold 18079 sits scarcer still. Everything mechanical is shared with the [[Reference:18038|18038]], which holds the generation's account.
The bark treatment follows the four-digit 1807. The 18079's documented identity rests on the combination of white gold, bark bezel, and bark President centre links. Other dial treatments are documented on individual watches, but the reviewed catalogues do not establish a complete factory dial list.


==Production outline==
==Production outline==


The reference belongs to the 180XX group introduced in 1977, when sapphire crystals and the caliber 3055 replaced the acrylic-and-1556 4-digit Day-Dates, and it runs to 1988 and the caliber 3155.
The 18079 sits in the five-digit Day-Date generation associated with caliber 3055 and sapphire crystals. Phillips dates one example to 1978, Sotheby's dates another circa 1979, and Antiquorum dates a full-set example circa 1982. Those are lot-level dates. No source reviewed here gives a factory production total or a definitive first and last year for the reference.


Documented case numbers cover the first half of the span. Phillips catalogued a 1978 example at 5,257,008, Sotheby's a circa-1979 example at 6,043,469, and Antiquorum a circa-1982 example at 7,294,504. No Rolex production figure has surfaced, and the scarcity collectors cite for the reference is drawn from how rarely it appears rather than from factory data. Within the run it is a stable, single-spec watch whose variety lives in the dial.
The circa-1982 Antiquorum watch has case number 7,294,504 and a certificate of origin dated December 1988. The certificate records a later delivery or sale date than the catalogue's case date; it should not be used to date the case's manufacture.


==Movement notes==
==Movement notes==


The 18079 runs the caliber 3055: 27 jewels, 28,800 vph, hacking seconds, free-sprung Microstella balance, chronometer certified, with quickset on the date only. The day advances only by running the hands through midnight, and stays that way until the caliber 3155 arrives in 1988 with the double quickset. The bark changes the surface of the gold and nothing under it. The [[Reference:Movements]] page holds the caliber lineage and the [[Reference:18038|18038]] entry covers the 3055 in detail.
The documented watches use caliber 3055. Antiquorum specifies 27 jewels, and the five-digit Day-Date movement record gives 28,800 vph with a date-only quickset. The day changes as the hands pass midnight. Caliber 3155 brought independent day correction to the later generation. The movement page records the wider lineage and its source limits.


==Dial map==
==Dial map==
[[File:Ref 18079 black dial.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=White gold bark Rolex 18079 with diamond-set black dial|A circa-1979 bark 18079 with a diamond-set black dial — the middle of the reference's documented range.]]


Three configurations carry the documented record, and they map the reference's range.
The reviewed auction records show three configurations:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! catalogue date
! dial
! record
|-
| circa 1978
| Burgundy lacquered Stella dial with round diamond markers and baguettes at six and nine
| Phillips, 2015, lot 56
|-
| circa 1979
| Black diamond-set dial
| Sotheby's, 2025, lot 119
|-
| circa 1982
| Silver sunburst dial
| Antiquorum, 2022, lot 324
|}


The plain expression is a silver sunburst with baton indexes, catalogued by Antiquorum on a circa-1982 example that came with its original box and papers. At the other end sits the burgundy Stella: an enamel-lacquered ground with round-cut diamond hour markers and baguettes at six and nine, on the 1978 example Phillips sold from the Glamorous Day-Date sale, and the strongest result the reference has recorded. Between them is the diamond-set black dial on the circa-1979 example Sotheby's catalogued in Geneva in 2025.
[[File:Ref 18079 black dial.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=White-gold bark-finish Day-Date 18079 with a black diamond-set dial|Circa-1979 18079 with a black diamond-set dial, as catalogued by Sotheby's.]]


The pattern is the one that governs the yellow-gold [[Reference:18078|18078]] as well. A bark case is bought as a pairing, and the dial is what separates one example from the next. The deeper dial taxonomy for the President line sits on the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry.
The burgundy Stella example has round diamond markers and baguettes at six and nine. The Antiquorum example is a plain silver sunburst dial with a full set. These are documented examples rather than a complete menu of factory options.


==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==
==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==


The case is the 36mm white-gold Oyster shared across the 5-digit Day-Date, with a screw-down caseback, a Twinlock screw-down crown and a sapphire crystal with Cyclops. The defining feature is the bark bezel, a coarse vertical woodgrain worked into the white gold. Case flanks and lugs stay polished, so the texture reads as a deliberate band framing the dial rather than an all-over treatment, and the contrast between matt bark and polished flank is sharper in white gold than in yellow.
Phillips and Antiquorum describe 36 mm white-gold cases. The bezel carries the bark finish while the case flanks remain polished. Antiquorum describes the circa-1982 watch as water-resistant with a screwed caseback and gives a 36 mm diameter. The cited lot records do not establish a separate 18079-specific crown variant, so the crown is not treated here as a distinguishing feature.


Polishing is the enemy of a bark case, since the texture is cut into the gold rather than applied to it, so the crispness of the woodgrain is the first thing to read on any example.
The bark is a surface treatment cut into the gold. On a worn or refinished watch, the remaining texture and the transition to the polished flanks need to be assessed on that individual case. A catalogue description alone does not prove that every visible surface is original.


==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==
==Bracelet, clasp, and packaging==


The 18079 wears the white-gold President with bark-finished centre links and the concealed Crownclasp, so the texture runs unbroken from the bezel down the length of the bracelet. That continuity is most of the reference's look. A bark 18079 whose centre links have been replaced with plain polished ones during service is a diminished object, and the complete original combination is what the auction results reward. Antiquorum weighed one complete white-gold example at 146.2 grams.
Phillips describes a white-gold President bracelet with bark-finish centre links and a concealed deployant clasp. Antiquorum describes the same bark-centre-link arrangement and records an approximate weight of 146.2 grams for its complete example. The clasp and bracelet date the bracelet assembly; they do not date the watch head.


As with any President, a clasp date code dates the bracelet rather than the watch head, and the cross-family detail sits on [[Reference:Bracelets]].
The Antiquorum lot included fitted box reference 71.00.04, an instruction booklet, and a certificate of origin dated December 1988. Those accessories document what accompanied that lot. They do not prove that every 18079 was sold with the same packaging or that the paperwork dates the case.


==Special branches==
==Special branch: burgundy Stella==


===Bark with a Stella dial===
Phillips' 1978 example combines the white-gold bark case and bracelet with a burgundy lacquered Stella dial. It sold for CHF 56,250 in 2015. The catalogue calls the configuration rare, but that description is an auction-house assessment; the sale does not establish how many 18079 watches Rolex made.
[[File:Ref 18079 stella.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=White gold bark Rolex 18079 with burgundy Stella dial|The 1978 burgundy-Stella 18079: lacquered dial, round diamond markers with baguettes at six and nine, bark bezel and bark centre links.]]


The burgundy-Stella 18079 Phillips sold in Geneva in 2015 is the reference at full stretch: a white-gold bark case and bracelet, an enamel-lacquered burgundy dial, round diamond markers with baguettes at six and nine. It brought CHF 56,250 against a CHF 25,000–50,000 estimate, more than double what a plain bark example of the same period reaches, and it remains the benchmark for what the combination can do.
[[File:Ref 18079 stella.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=White-gold bark-finish Day-Date 18079 with burgundy Stella dial|Phillips' 1978 18079 with a burgundy lacquered Stella dial and diamond markers.]]
 
===Full sets and delivery dates===
[[File:Ref 18079 full set.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Day-Date 18079 with original box certificate and booklet|The circa-1982 bark 18079 with its original fitted box, certificate of origin and instruction booklet.]]
 
The circa-1982 Antiquorum example arrived with its original fitted box, reference 71.00.04, an instruction booklet and a certificate of origin dated December 1988 — six years after the case was made. Long gaps between manufacture and retail sale are not unusual on a slow-selling finish in a slow-selling metal, and the paperwork dates the sale rather than the watch.


==Auction record==
==Auction record==


The 18079 appears rarely enough that three lots carry the record, and they separate cleanly by dial. The burgundy Stella took CHF 56,250 at Phillips in 2015. A plain silver sunburst with box and papers took EUR 28,600 at Antiquorum in Monaco in 2022. Sotheby's offered a diamond-set black dial in Geneva in November 2025 at CHF 12,000–18,000, with no result published. That spread puts a standard white-gold bark example at roughly the level of a comparable yellow-gold [[Reference:18078|18078]], with the premium arriving only when the texture is paired with a lacquer or gem-set dial. The taste remains period-specific and divisive, which is part of why the ceiling sits where it does.
The following entries are individual sale records. The currencies, estimates, and configurations differ, so they are not a market range.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! date
! date
! house
! house and lot
! configuration
! configuration
! result
! result
Line 126: Line 134:
| May 2015
| May 2015
| Phillips Geneva, Glamorous Day-Date, lot 56
| Phillips Geneva, Glamorous Day-Date, lot 56
| burgundy Stella dial with diamond markers, 1978, case 5,257,008
| Burgundy Stella dial with diamond markers, 1978, case 5,257,008
| CHF 56,250
| CHF 56,250
|-
|-
| Jul 2022
| Jul 2022
| Antiquorum Monaco, lot 324
| Antiquorum Monaco, lot 324
| silver sunburst dial, c.1982, case 7,294,504, box and papers
| Silver sunburst dial, circa 1982, case 7,294,504, box and papers
| EUR 28,600
| EUR 28,600
|-
|-
| Nov 2025
| Nov 2025
| Sotheby's Geneva, Important Watches Part I, lot 119
| Sotheby's Geneva, Important Watches Part I, lot 119
| black diamond-set dial, c.1979, case 6,043,469
| Black diamond-set dial, circa 1979, case 6,043,469
| est. CHF 12,000–18,000, result not published
| Estimate CHF 12,000–18,000; result not shown on the accessible listing
|}
|}


== Related references ==
==Related references==
 
* [[Reference:18078|Day-Date 18078]], yellow-gold bark
* [[Reference:18039|Day-Date 18039]], white-gold fluted bezel
* [[Reference:18049|Day-Date 18049]], white-gold diamond bezel
* [[Reference:1807|Day-Date 1807]], earlier bark-finish Day-Date
* [[Reference:18038|Day-Date 18038]], caliber-3055 Day-Date
* [[Reference:18248|Day-Date 18248]], later yellow-gold bark reference with caliber 3155
 
See also the [[Reference:day-date|Day-Date family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet and clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial-number guide]].


* [[Reference:18078|Day-Date 18078]] — Yellow-gold bark (1977–1988)
==Gallery==
* [[Reference:18039|Day-Date 18039]] — White-gold fluted President (1977–1988)
* [[Reference:18049|Day-Date 18049]] — White-gold diamond bezel (1977–1988)
* [[Reference:1807|Day-Date 1807]] — Bark 4-digit President
* [[Reference:18038|Day-Date 18038]] — Cal 3055 President (1977–1988)
* [[Reference:18048|Day-Date 18048]] — 1977–1988
* [[Reference:18248|Day-Date 18248]] — 1988–2000


See also the [[Reference:day-date|Day-Date family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 18079 stella.webp|1978 white-gold 18079 with burgundy Stella dial and bark-finish bezel and bracelet
File:Ref 18079 hero.webp|Circa-1982 white-gold 18079 with silver sunburst dial, bark bracelet, and fitted accessories
File:Ref 18079 black dial.webp|Circa-1979 white-gold 18079 with black diamond-set dial
File:Ref 18079 full set.webp|Antiquorum's circa-1982 18079 with fitted box, certificate, and booklet
</gallery>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==

Latest revision as of 03:03, 27 September 2026

Day-Date → 18079

White-gold Day-Date 18079 with a burgundy Stella dial and bark-finish bezel and bracelet
1978 white-gold 18079 with burgundy Stella dial, diamond markers, and bark-finish bezel and bracelet.

The 18079 is the white-gold bark-finish Day-Date in the five-digit caliber-3055 generation. Rolex used the French term écorce for this worked surface. The bezel and the President bracelet's centre links carry the texture; the case flanks remain polished. Auction catalogues place the documented examples between circa 1978 and circa 1982, with the broader 3055 generation generally dated 1977–1988. These records do not establish the 18079's exact production limits.

Core facts

detail value
reference 18079
family Day-Date
production Individual auction examples dated circa 1978–1982; broader five-digit caliber-3055 generation generally dated 1977–1988
movement caliber 3055; 27 jewels and 28,800 vph on documented examples; date quickset, day advances with the hands
case 18k white gold, 36 mm on the cited auction examples
crystal sapphire with Cyclops, as described in the family records
bezel white-gold bark (écorce) finish
bracelet white-gold President with bark-finished centre links on documented examples
documented dials silver sunburst, burgundy lacquered Stella with diamonds, and black diamond-set
siblings 18078 (yellow-gold bark), 18039 (white-gold fluted), 18049 (white-gold diamond bezel)
successor 18248, the yellow-gold bark reference in the caliber-3155 generation

Where it sits in the line

The 18079 is the white-gold member of the five-digit bark pair. Phillips' catalogue essay identifies the final 9 as the 18k white-gold designation, making 18078 the yellow-gold counterpart. The fluted white-gold 18039 and diamond-bezel white-gold 18049 share the same broad generation and caliber family.

The bark treatment follows the four-digit 1807. The 18079's documented identity rests on the combination of white gold, bark bezel, and bark President centre links. Other dial treatments are documented on individual watches, but the reviewed catalogues do not establish a complete factory dial list.

Production outline

The 18079 sits in the five-digit Day-Date generation associated with caliber 3055 and sapphire crystals. Phillips dates one example to 1978, Sotheby's dates another circa 1979, and Antiquorum dates a full-set example circa 1982. Those are lot-level dates. No source reviewed here gives a factory production total or a definitive first and last year for the reference.

The circa-1982 Antiquorum watch has case number 7,294,504 and a certificate of origin dated December 1988. The certificate records a later delivery or sale date than the catalogue's case date; it should not be used to date the case's manufacture.

Movement notes

The documented watches use caliber 3055. Antiquorum specifies 27 jewels, and the five-digit Day-Date movement record gives 28,800 vph with a date-only quickset. The day changes as the hands pass midnight. Caliber 3155 brought independent day correction to the later generation. The movement page records the wider lineage and its source limits.

Dial map

The reviewed auction records show three configurations:

catalogue date dial record
circa 1978 Burgundy lacquered Stella dial with round diamond markers and baguettes at six and nine Phillips, 2015, lot 56
circa 1979 Black diamond-set dial Sotheby's, 2025, lot 119
circa 1982 Silver sunburst dial Antiquorum, 2022, lot 324
White-gold bark-finish Day-Date 18079 with a black diamond-set dial
Circa-1979 18079 with a black diamond-set dial, as catalogued by Sotheby's.

The burgundy Stella example has round diamond markers and baguettes at six and nine. The Antiquorum example is a plain silver sunburst dial with a full set. These are documented examples rather than a complete menu of factory options.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Phillips and Antiquorum describe 36 mm white-gold cases. The bezel carries the bark finish while the case flanks remain polished. Antiquorum describes the circa-1982 watch as water-resistant with a screwed caseback and gives a 36 mm diameter. The cited lot records do not establish a separate 18079-specific crown variant, so the crown is not treated here as a distinguishing feature.

The bark is a surface treatment cut into the gold. On a worn or refinished watch, the remaining texture and the transition to the polished flanks need to be assessed on that individual case. A catalogue description alone does not prove that every visible surface is original.

Bracelet, clasp, and packaging

Phillips describes a white-gold President bracelet with bark-finish centre links and a concealed deployant clasp. Antiquorum describes the same bark-centre-link arrangement and records an approximate weight of 146.2 grams for its complete example. The clasp and bracelet date the bracelet assembly; they do not date the watch head.

The Antiquorum lot included fitted box reference 71.00.04, an instruction booklet, and a certificate of origin dated December 1988. Those accessories document what accompanied that lot. They do not prove that every 18079 was sold with the same packaging or that the paperwork dates the case.

Special branch: burgundy Stella

Phillips' 1978 example combines the white-gold bark case and bracelet with a burgundy lacquered Stella dial. It sold for CHF 56,250 in 2015. The catalogue calls the configuration rare, but that description is an auction-house assessment; the sale does not establish how many 18079 watches Rolex made.

White-gold bark-finish Day-Date 18079 with burgundy Stella dial
Phillips' 1978 18079 with a burgundy lacquered Stella dial and diamond markers.

Auction record

The following entries are individual sale records. The currencies, estimates, and configurations differ, so they are not a market range.

date house and lot configuration result
May 2015 Phillips Geneva, Glamorous Day-Date, lot 56 Burgundy Stella dial with diamond markers, 1978, case 5,257,008 CHF 56,250
Jul 2022 Antiquorum Monaco, lot 324 Silver sunburst dial, circa 1982, case 7,294,504, box and papers EUR 28,600
Nov 2025 Sotheby's Geneva, Important Watches Part I, lot 119 Black diamond-set dial, circa 1979, case 6,043,469 Estimate CHF 12,000–18,000; result not shown on the accessible listing

Related references

See also the Day-Date family index, movement reference, bracelet and clasp guide, and serial-number guide.

Gallery

Sources