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Rolex Cellini 4017 YG "King Midas" with Paper

SKU: ROLEX289
Sale price$10,409.00 USD

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-Specifications

Brand
Rolex
Model
Cellini "King Midas"
Reference
4017-5
Year
circa 1973
Movement
Manual Wind Cal.1600
Case
27.5x28.5mm
Material
18K Yellow Gold
Bracelet
Black Leather Strap
Includes
Rolex Signed Gold Plated Buckle
Box/Papers
Guarantee Paper (Stamped 1978)
No Box
Notes
The watch has been completely serviced by our watchmaker recently
The case has been lightly polished in the service
Warranty
1-year Mechanical Warranty by us
Shipping
Global Shipping via DHL Express with full insurance

*Model wrist size is 16.5cm circumference


-Description

The King Midas is the only model created for Rolex by watch designer Gerald Genta, the creator of numerous masterpieces.

He is a designer behind some of the highly distinctive watches: Omega Constellation, Patek Philippe Nautilus, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, IWC Ingenieur, and Bulgari Bulgari.

The King Midas model was created in the 1960s, and in a 2009 interview with Very Important Watch, Genta himself said, "Personally, I have only designed one Rolex, which still exists today and forms part of the Cellini collection." It became known to the world that it was his design.

As Genta himself said, King Midas became a part of the Cellini collection in the 1970s, and subsequent watches have the Cellini inscription on the dial.

The watch is named after King Midas, a king in Greek mythology who turned everything he touched into gold, and who is also the protagonist of "The King with the Donkey Ears," known in Japan as one of Aesop's Fables.

The original King Midas is an integrated bracelet and, as the name suggests, uses large amounts of gold. It was once worn by Elvis Presley and made headlines in 2022 when Rihanna wore a customized King Midas.

The reference 4017 we are introducing this time is a leather belt type from the Cellini line manufactured in the 1970s. This model made headlines when Canadian singer The Weeknd wore it in a promotional photo for his album "After Hours."

The case is made of 18K yellow gold and has a very distinctive symmetrical design. Like Genta's famous design, it was inspired by a real place: the Parthenon in Athens. The entire surface has a horizontal hairline finish.

If you place the watch with the 3 o'clock side facing down, you can clearly see the symmetrical case shape that mimics the sloping roof of the Parthenon. Another major feature is that the crown is located on the roof, on the left side of the watch.

The dial is a very rare shiny dial. The color looks lighter or darker depending on the viewing angle, so it's difficult to tell what color it is in text, but it's a shade close to brown.

There is no index on the dial. And the design is very simple with only ROLEX GENEVE, Cellini, and Swiss written on it. The crown logo is applied and has a strong presence.

The simple bar hand remains in good condition. The key point is that the length of the hands is quite short, so that the hour hand does not overlap the crown logo.

The installed movement is hand-wound Cal.1600. This is an extremely reliable movement that has been used in Rolex manual wind models for about 30 years, including the minor change models 1601/1602.

It comes with Rolex gold plated buckle and original guarantee paper.

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