Reference:1806: Difference between revisions

|title=Rolex 1806 Day-Date — Florentine-Finish President | Rolexopedia

The 1806 is the Florentine-finish Day-Date, the most heavily decorated of the 4-digit Presidents. Where the bark [[Reference:1807|1807]] and the Morellis 1811 carry their texture on the bezel and bracelet center links, the 1806 takes the Florentine finish across the bezel, the case and the lugs in a fine hand-engraved cross-hatch. Most examples wear it on the rare "brick" bracelet, a flat brick-link special order that was the most expensive bracelet Rolex offered at the time. It shares the 36mm gold case, caliber 1555/1556 movement and dial catalogue with the fluted [[Reference:1803|1803]]; the Florentine is what sets it apart.

| 36mm 18k gold President, Florentine-finished case, bezel and lugs — yellow, white, pink/rose gold

All three decorated 4-digit Presidents replace the 1803's fluting with a worked gold surface, and the 1806 goes furthest of the three. Beyond the bezel, the cross-hatch reaches the case flanks and the lugs, and on brick-bracelet examples the bracelet as well. The finish is a fine geometric hand-engraving borrowed from Italian goldsmithing, thin lines cut at intersecting angles, and it reads nothing like the coarse vertical grain of the bark [[Reference:1807|1807]] or the watered moiré of the Morellis 1811.

The Florentine 1806 ran alongside the plain 1803 through the late 1960s and 1970s, in small numbers. No Rolex production figure has surfaced. Hand-finishing and the optional brick bracelet put it at the top of the gold-Day-Date price list, and like the other decorated references it sold slowly when new. Documented examples cluster in the mid- to late 1960s on the caliber 1555 and run into the 1970s on the caliber 1556.

The 1806 uses the standard 4-digit Day-Date movement: caliber 1555 from the start, replaced by caliber 1556 around 1965, which raised the rate to 19,800 vph through a gear-train change while carrying over the 1555's free-sprung Microstella balance. Hacking seconds were added to the 1556 mid-production in 1972, and no 4-digit Day-Date has quickset. The [[Reference:Movements]] page holds the caliber lineage; the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry covers the 1555-to-1556 transition.

The 1806 drew on the standard 4-digit Day-Date dials and, as a catalogue sibling of the 1803, on the same special dials. Green Stella lacquer over Florentine gold is among the documented combinations. Dial choice is shared inventory across the group rather than an 1806 trait, and the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry carries the variant taxonomy.

The characteristic 1806 bracelet is the "brick," a flat brick-link bracelet finished to match the Florentine case. It was a special-order option, the most expensive bracelet Rolex listed at the time, and it is rare. A Florentine 1806 on its original brick bracelet is the complete expression of the reference. Some 1806s also turn up on the President. As ever, a clasp date code dates the bracelet, which may be older or newer than the head, and the [[Reference:Bracelets]] page holds the cross-family detail.

The decorated 4-digit group is the Florentine 1806, the bark [[Reference:1807|1807]] and the Morellis 1811. The three textures are easy to confuse, so attribution rests on the reference number engraved between the lugs rather than on the finish. A full-Florentine 1806 still wearing its brick bracelet is the rarest configuration in the group.

The Florentine 1806 reaches the major houses occasionally; Antiquorum has catalogued a yellow-gold example with Florentine lugs and a brick bracelet. Most trade through specialist dealers, where full-Florentine examples on the brick bracelet command the strongest prices and green Stella over Florentine gold sits at the top. The bracelet carries much of that value, since service replacement to plain President links is common and breaks the set.

* [[Reference:1803|Day-Date 1803]] — Fluted President (1960–1977)

* [[Reference:6510|Day-Date 6510]] — 1956–1957

* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra

* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1806-1803-oyster-perpetual-day-date-superlative-chronometer-officially-certified-lot-353-162 Antiquorum, "Rolex Ref. 1806 Day-Date, Florentine-finish lugs and bracelet, 18k yellow gold — Antiquorum lot 353", Antiquorum]

* [https://www.fratellowatches.com/rolex-day-date-historical-overview-of-rolexs-flagship/ Fratello editorial, "Rolex Day-Date — Historical Overview Of Rolex's Flagship", Fratello Watches]

* [https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=679606 Rolex Forums community, "Rolex Forums — 1803 Presidential Unusual Finishes", Rolex Forums]