1. Sotheby's
Important Watches and Wristwatches
Geneva | 14 Nov 2006, 10:00 AM | GE0605
LOT 206
ROLEX
A VERY RARE GOLD AUTOMATIC CENTRE SECONDS WRISTWATCH WITH CLOISONNÉ
ENAMEL DIAL
OYSTER, NO.44.106, REF.3372, CIRCA 1947
14k, nickel lever movement, 17 jewels, Rolex Superbalance, adjusted to 7 positions,
cloisonné enamel dial depicting a stylised dragon against a cream background, Oyster
case with screw-down crown and case back, bezel calibrated at the hours, case, dial and

2. movement signed.
diameter 32mm
ESTIMATE 100,000-150,000 CHF
Lot Sold: 116,400 CHF
CATALOGUE NOTE
The present watch came originally from the Benoît collection and can be considered one of the first enamel Dragon
watches produced by Rolex. The watch remained with the Benoîts until twelve years ago when a collector and friend
of the family purchased it.
Fritz Benoît was a good friend and associate of Hans Wilsdorf. As a notary, he deposited most of Wilsdorf’s patents
from the late 20's to early 50's. In a letter dated 1937, Hans Wilsdorf offered the young Alex Benoît, son of Fritz, the
position of Rolex representative for Central and South America, including Cuba and all the Caribbean Islands; this
was in the name of the friendship Wilsdorf had for his father.
In 1938, Alex Benoît undertook a month long course at Rolex in Geneva where he took courses in horology and
marketing. Upon completion, he began his first "agent’s" trip to South America, starting in Mexico, his home town, with
up to 300 hundered Rolex watches in his travelling case. His son, also called Alex, took over the business from his
father and remained the importer for most of these countries until just a few years ago.
Used throughout the jewellery and timepiece market from the 1930's to the 1950's, cloisonné enamel was often
employed to depict images on watch dials. The process involves the laying of a pattern of thin gold filaments onto the
dial. Crushed colour enamel is then added into the sections where appropriate and fired at a temperature of 1,800°F
until fused. During the 1940s and 1950s, Rolex employed the craftsmanship of Charles Poluzzi and his studio to
design and manufacture cloisonné dials for a series of wristwatches. In addition to Rolex, Charles Poluzzi supplied
cloisonné dials for wristwatches to Omega, Universal Genève, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe. Given the
quality of the workmanship and the creativity of the designs, it is not surprising that at the time these wristwatches
were made, they were amongst the most expensive introduced by Rolex. As a result, the dials caused Rolex to
reserve their use only on gold Perpetual watches. For other examples of Rolex cloisonné dials, see: Sotheby's
Geneva, A Collection of 69 Exceptional 20th Century Watches, May 13, 2003, lot 69, and Sotheby's New York,
Important Watches, Wristwatches and Clocks, June 20, 2000, lot 272. It should be noted that the former example
featured a map of India and achieved a World Record price for any Rolex watch with cloisonné dial. For further
information on cloisonné dials see Dowling & Hess, The Best of Time, Rolex Wristwatches, p.195.
It is important to note that this dial was made for Rolex by the Stern dial factory and their numbering and trademark
star symbol can be seen on the back of the dial. Our research with the Stern factory confirms that this dial is
contemporary in date to the watch.