The 16520 S/S ‘Janusz Kurbiel Bianco 4-Liner Oyster Perpetual Calendar’ aka ‘The Polar Bear’

ROLEX. A RARE AND HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT STAINLESS STEEL AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH WITH BRACELET, ORIGINAL GUARANTEE AND BOX

SIGNED ROLEX, OYSTER PERPETUAL, SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER, COSMOGRAPH, DAYTONA, REF. 16520, CASE NO. L346324, MANUFACTURED IN 1989

Cal. 4030 automatic movement, 31 jewels, white dial, applied luminous baton numerals, luminous hands, three subsidiary dials for constant seconds, 30 minutes and 12 hours registers on black chapter rings, tonneau-shaped water-resistant-type case, blank bezel calibrated for 400 units, screw back engraved The Rolex Awards For Enterprise, Janusz Kurbiel, 1993, screw down crown, two round screw down chronograph buttons in the band, stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, case, dial and movement signed.

With punched Rolex Guarantee stamped by a French retailer, dated May 1993 and with the client name Janusz Kurbiel in blue ink, product information and Rolex green fitted presentation box.

In the 1980s, the average developing time for a project as radically innovative as the new automatic Daytona is not inferior to four years. When Rolex eventually introduces its new timepiece at the Basel Fair, they immediately understand that it has been time well spent. The signals are undeniable, this will become the chronograph symbol of modern horology. Its launch in the spring of 1988 is the beginning of not one, but two new and unusual commercial phenomena. On the one hand, the unexpected surge in demand is only minimally covered by the production, with resulting endless waiting lists and an actual commercial value immediately well above the retail price. On the other hand, this situation prompts the beginning of earlier manually wound models collecting and sets in motion an escalation never matched not only in the field of horology, but in any other field as well.

The new automatic movement attracts a new kind of clientele, less fond of technical sophistications, and more interested in the aesthetic and “cultural” importance of the watch. The automatic feature of the new Daytona reaffirms it sporty character and its position as the ideal timepiece to be placed on the wrist of both the common man, and of the more adventurous person.

The present Ref. 16520, dedicated in 1993 to arctic explorer Janusz Kurbiel, belongs to the first production with an L3 serial number. It features the new and rare bezel graduated up to 400 UPH, with the intermediate indication 225 instead of the common 240. Another peculiarity is the absence of the “Officially Certified” designation, which will make its comeback in more common later versions, thus making this a four-liner. It is offered complete with its original box and papers.

Courtesy of Christie's

50 EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLES OF THE WORLD’S MOST CELEBRATED CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH AUCTION

GENEVA – 10 NOVEMBER 2013

LOT 38
ESTIMATE PRICE: SFr.15,000-30,000
PRICE REALIZED: SFr.56,250

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