It?has been exactly 60 years since?the introduction of the first Rolex Day-Date, reference 6511. This is being celebrated by a dedicated Rolex Day-Date 40 exhibition at one of the largest retailers in The Netherlands, Schaap en Citroen. Even better, their boutique in The Hague was chosen for this exhibition. A home game for us, for a change.
Rolex Day-Date?PresidentIn the last 60 years, a lot has changed about the Day-Date, but a lot has also remained familiar. Todays Rolex Day-Date 40 (introduced in 2015) is clearly a descendant of the very first Day-Date from 1956. A child can see that. It is the?watch that was worn by presidents. After?U.S. President, Lyndon Johnson was elected (and wearing a Day-Date), Rolex even came up with this advertisement:
Weve covered the Rolex Day-Date and new Rolex Day-Date 40 more than once during our 12 years of writing about watches. The Day-Date is an icon and the Holy Grail for many, even those who arent as deep into watches as us. It just shows how powerful a brand can be and that people want to have this watch without further reasons other than that its the Rolex President.Rolex Day-Date 40 ExhibitionWe reported about the new Rolex Day-Date 40 collection in this article. We called it The Return of a Classic, as the Rolex Day-Date II was discontinued for obvious reasons and Rolex went back to the drawing board to come up with something that was more true to the original 36mm Day-Date design. It was a clear success as the new 40mm version of the Day-Date received a lot of accolades from watch journalists as well as from consumers and collectors from the very moment it was unveiled.The 60th anniversary is the reason for Rolex and Schaap en Citroen to put the spotlight on this iconic watch (only available in precious metals) once more with a dedicated Rolex Day-Date 40 exhibition in The Hague.
Day-Date Wall of FameA large Rolex Day-Date wall has been placed inside the boutique in The Hague with a lot of details and explanation around this icon. It includes a few things about its history, using old advertisements for example. Two interactive screens could be used to check out all details about the Day-Date collection, from dial configurations to close-up shots of the caliber 3255 movement.
