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Lot Essay
One of the great joys of working with Christie’s Watch Department is to open one’s email each day with the opportunity to see interesting, fresh-to-market, and important horological discoveries, such as was the case with the present Rolex reference 6036.
Consigned by the descendant of the original owner, this reference 6036 features a number of previously unseen dial traits for a Rolex complete calendar chronograph, including the small seconds, minutes, and hour registers shared by examples of the Rolex reference 6234, inset circular gold hour markers, and a central red telemeter track. The back of the dial properly shows the Stern Frères dial serial number and star symbol. The telemeter track was printed off-center, presumably to accommodate for the month and day apertures on the top half of the dial.
The watch was originally owned by Leonard Shapiro, a noted and respected New York jeweler specializing in making jewelry out of gold and platinum. In particular, he was acclaimed for his use of the lost wax casting process to make jewelry. According to the consignor, Mr. Shapiro made a brooch and matching ring for Pope Paul VI in the late 1960s and a necklace for Francis Joseph Cardinal Spellman, the Archbishop of New York from 1939 to 1967. Mr. Shapiro wore this watch throughout his life prior to his passing, and has the associated signs of service and repair.
Unfortunately, further details and documents do not survive with the watch, and one can only speculate that the watch may have been specially produced by Rolex for Mr. Shapiro, perhaps with the gold markers representing Mr. Shapiro’s excellent approach to gold casting.
For collectors of complicated Rolex watches, it is an interesting discovery and perhaps a unique opportunity to find a reference 6036 with this amazing configuration.
Consigned by the descendant of the original owner, this reference 6036 features a number of previously unseen dial traits for a Rolex complete calendar chronograph, including the small seconds, minutes, and hour registers shared by examples of the Rolex reference 6234, inset circular gold hour markers, and a central red telemeter track. The back of the dial properly shows the Stern Frères dial serial number and star symbol. The telemeter track was printed off-center, presumably to accommodate for the month and day apertures on the top half of the dial.
The watch was originally owned by Leonard Shapiro, a noted and respected New York jeweler specializing in making jewelry out of gold and platinum. In particular, he was acclaimed for his use of the lost wax casting process to make jewelry. According to the consignor, Mr. Shapiro made a brooch and matching ring for Pope Paul VI in the late 1960s and a necklace for Francis Joseph Cardinal Spellman, the Archbishop of New York from 1939 to 1967. Mr. Shapiro wore this watch throughout his life prior to his passing, and has the associated signs of service and repair.
Unfortunately, further details and documents do not survive with the watch, and one can only speculate that the watch may have been specially produced by Rolex for Mr. Shapiro, perhaps with the gold markers representing Mr. Shapiro’s excellent approach to gold casting.
For collectors of complicated Rolex watches, it is an interesting discovery and perhaps a unique opportunity to find a reference 6036 with this amazing configuration.