72 Rolex An iconic, historically important and charming, Oyster Perpetual, automatic wristwatch in yellow gold, with bracelet, from the Andy Warhol collection, reference 4021.

Estimate: € 20.000 –⁠ 40.000

• Model Oyster Perpetual
• Year Circa 1957
• Reference 4021
• Case Material 18K yellow gold
• Case Number 318'867
• Bracelet Material Gold plated bracelet, approximate length 210mm
• Movement Automatic, jewelled
• Dimension 34mm Diameter
• Signed Case, dial and movement
• Accessories Accompanied by Sotheby's catalogues of the auction "The Andy Warhol Collection" dated 27 April 1988.

Few artists understood the power of an object quite like Andy Warhol. He collected not merely paintings and photographs, but symbols: icons of design that reflected the spirit of their time. According to scholarship surrounding Warhol’s personal effects, the watch was discovered among his belongings after his passing in 1987. Housed in a yellow gold Oyster case and fitted with a silvered dial featuring Arabic numerals and a subsidiary seconds, it speaks the language of mid-century elegance rather than Studio 54 exuberance.
Warhol was known to wear a Cartier Tank and other refined timepieces, yet this Rolex reveals another facet of his taste: one that appreciated the democratic strength of industrial design. The Oyster case, waterproof and robust, was Rolex’s great 20th-century innovation. Introduced in 1926, it became a symbol of modernity and reliability. What transforms this Rolex from an elegant vintage wristwatch into a cultural artifact is its provenance. Warhol did not merely own objects, he curated his life. That this watch accompanied him, perhaps in moments of creation, acquisition, or contemplation, imbues it with narrative weight. In the world of collecting, provenance is poetry. When art and horology converge authentically, the result transcends category. Today, such a watch occupies a rarefied space. It appeals not only to Rolex connoisseurs but mainly to collectors of modern art, design, and cultural history. It stands at the intersection of two worlds: the relentless innovation of Swiss watchmaking and the radical imagination of American Pop Art.