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1989 Rolex Lady Datejust 69088 - 18K Yellow Gold Missoni Sapphire Diamond Dial

Details
The Dial Collectors Chase
Rolex built the reference 69088 as a showcase for its gem setting department, but the dial is what puts this particular watch in another category. Collectors call it a Missoni, borrowing the name of the fashion house because of the way the pattern repeats and moves across the surface. It is a hand finished dial that behaves differently in every light, catching it and throwing it back rather than sitting flat. They surface rarely, which is why the name has become shorthand among the people who follow gem set Datejusts closely.
Layer On Layer On Layer
The construction of this dial rewards close attention. The Missoni surface sits at the center, ringed by a string of sapphires and diamonds, and that ring is framed again by a factory bezel set with baguette sapphires and brilliant diamonds. Three separate treatments, each with its own rhythm, stacked inside the footprint of a Lady Datejust. All of it sits on solid 18K yellow gold, case and President bracelet together, so the watch reads as one piece of jewelry rather than a Datejust with stones added to it.
Preserved Where It Counts
Condition is very good overall. The solid gold case is unpolished and its lines remain well defined. The Missoni dial and the sapphire crystal are both perfect, which is the part that matters most on a watch built around a dial this complex. The 18K yellow gold President bracelet is in good condition. As with every watch we offer, this piece has been verified as mechanically sound and is ready to wear.
The Top Of The Lady Datejust Ladder
A gold Lady Datejust with a diamond dial is a known quantity. This is several steps past that. It is the specification a collector arrives at after handling the ordinary versions and starting to ask what Rolex was capable of when the brief was left open. It reads as jewelry from any distance and as a serious Rolex up close, and it comes from a window the brand has never reopened.
Key Specs
Reference: 69088
Model: Lady Datejust
Year: 1989
Movement: Automatic
Case Size: 26mm
Bezel: Factory 18K Yellow Gold with Baguette Sapphires & Diamonds
Bracelet: 18K Yellow Gold President
Bracelet Length: 6.3in
Dial: Factory "Missoni" with Sapphires & Diamonds
Metal: 18K Yellow Gold
Weight: 74.5g
SKU: 1438