Reference:4499: Difference between revisions
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Images: add tropical (Bonhams lot 94) and Serpico y Laino retailer-signed dial photos to dial-map/special-branches; drop dealer name from prose per hard rule 5 |
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=== Tropical "crème brûlée" / brown-tropical === | === Tropical "crème brûlée" / brown-tropical === | ||
[[File:Ref 4499 tropical.webp|thumb|right|280px|Rolex 4499 Oyster Precision, tropicalised brown/silvered dial, case No.673843, c.1948. Bonhams, 2024]] | [[File:Ref 4499 tropical.webp|thumb|right|280px|Rolex 4499 Oyster Precision, tropicalised brown/silvered dial, case No.673843, c.1948. Bonhams, 2024|alt=Rolex 4499 Oyster Precision, tropicalised brown/silvered dial, case No.673843, c.1948. Bonhams, 2024]] | ||
A patina-aged sub-variant rather than a factory-original configuration. Bonhams 2024 lot 94 (case 673843, c.1948, tropicalised brown/silvered dial, realised GBP 1,536 with premium) and a specialist-dealer "crème brûlée" tropical example are the documented anchors. The tropical conversion produces an even chocolate-to-cream gradient on what was originally a silvered or eggshell ground — the same UV-exposure-and-chemical-aging mechanism documented across other 1940s and 1950s Rolex dials. Tropical 4499s carry premiums tied to even fade, dial-print preservation, and originality of the applied markers. | A patina-aged sub-variant rather than a factory-original configuration. Bonhams 2024 lot 94 (case 673843, c.1948, tropicalised brown/silvered dial, realised GBP 1,536 with premium) and a specialist-dealer "crème brûlée" tropical example are the documented anchors. The tropical conversion produces an even chocolate-to-cream gradient on what was originally a silvered or eggshell ground — the same UV-exposure-and-chemical-aging mechanism documented across other 1940s and 1950s Rolex dials. Tropical 4499s carry premiums tied to even fade, dial-print preservation, and originality of the applied markers. | ||
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=== Serpico y Laino retailer-signed (Caracas distribution) === | === Serpico y Laino retailer-signed (Caracas distribution) === | ||
[[File:Ref 4499 dial-variant-serpico-y-laino.webp|thumb|right|280px|Rolex 4499 Oyster Air-King, dial signed Serpico y Laino below the coronet, serial 420942, c.1946]] | [[File:Ref 4499 dial-variant-serpico-y-laino.webp|thumb|right|280px|Rolex 4499 Oyster Air-King, dial signed Serpico y Laino below the coronet, serial 420942, c.1946|alt=Rolex 4499 Oyster Air-King, dial signed Serpico y Laino below the coronet, serial 420942, c.1946]] | ||
A dealer listing catalogues a 1946 4499 (serial 420942) with the dial signed "SERPICO Y LAINO" below the Rolex coronet — Venezuelan retail-channel distribution from the Caracas retailer that supplied multiple Rolex references through the 1940s and 1950s (the 5500, 6565, and 1803 also carry Serpico y Laino dials in the dealer market). The Serpico y Laino 4499 is not a separate Rolex factory reference but a retailer-signature dial on a standard 4499 case-and-movement combination. The signature drives a substantial premium when papers and provenance hold. | A dealer listing catalogues a 1946 4499 (serial 420942) with the dial signed "SERPICO Y LAINO" below the Rolex coronet — Venezuelan retail-channel distribution from the Caracas retailer that supplied multiple Rolex references through the 1940s and 1950s (the 5500, 6565, and 1803 also carry Serpico y Laino dials in the dealer market). The Serpico y Laino 4499 is not a separate Rolex factory reference but a retailer-signature dial on a standard 4499 case-and-movement combination. The signature drives a substantial premium when papers and provenance hold. | ||