1973 Rolex Day-Date 18K YG (Ref. 1803) Sequoia Wood Dial W/ Box & Papers

The Rolex Day-Date is one of the most iconic and beautiful watches in the Rolex catalog. The Rolex Day-Date earned the nickname "President" after it was rumored that President Dwight Eisenhower wore one, but Eisenhower actually wore a Rolex 18K yellow gold Oyster-Perpetual Datejust, which Rolex gifted to him in 1953. However, the nickname "President" is quite fitting for the Day-Date, as Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Ford, Reagan, Nixon, and Roosevelt all wore the Rolex Day-Date. Apart from its executive affiliation, the Day-Date is a symbol of status and luxury, only produced in highly refined precious metals, including 18K yellow, white, and rose gold, and also platinum, featuring both the day and date complications within the movement. 

On an extremely limited basis, Rolex manufactured timepieces featuring exotic materials. Such as dials made from various minerals, woods, and stones, including black onyx, wood, lapis lazuli, birch, malachite, fossil, coral, aventurine, and ferrite, among others… These exotic variants are always strikingly vivid with a minimalist design, and each exotic variant was produced in very limited numbers. With rarity varying between materials, the rarer the material was, the fewer Rolex produced.

The “Sequoia” dial represents the earliest iteration of Rolex’s wood dials for the Day-Date. These first-generation examples possess a distinctly raw, prototype-like character, defined by the absence of the lacquer finish later applied to Birch and Burlwood dials. Without this refined topcoat, the natural grain and organic texture of the wood remain fully visible, lending the dial an almost “living-edge” appearance, particularly around the day and date apertures.

Unusually, these dials were also fitted with luminous plots—something never again seen on later exotic wood or stone variants—adding another layer of intrigue and charm to their already unique aesthetic. Each Sequoia dial is inherently one-of-a-kind, its individuality amplified by the natural variation of the wood and the experimental spirit of its creation. This rare dial type stands as a testament to a fascinating period in Rolex’s history when the brand dared to push design boundaries, even offering such experimental watches for public sale, albeit in extremely limited numbers.