Rolex Day-Date 'Bark' Ref. 18078 'Champagne' Dial 1981

The Rolex Day-Date Ref. 18078 in 18k yellow gold with bark finish — known within the Rolex catalogue as the Écorce texture — is one of the more distinctive and characterful configurations the reference was offered in during its long production run. Where the standard polished or fluted yellow gold Day-Date reads as formal and resolved, the bark finish introduces an organic, almost sculptural quality across the case and bracelet: a hand-hammered texture that evokes the surface of tree bark and catches light in an entirely different manner to polished gold. On a President bracelet in 18k yellow gold, the effect across the wrist is arresting in a way that the standard configuration simply does not produce.