ROLEX | CELLINI KING MIDAS, REF.4342, A RARE YELLOW GOLD BRACELET WATCH, CIRCA 1975

Footnotes

In the shadowed vaults of horological legend, the Rolex Cellini King Midas reference 4342 gleams as a Gérald Genta masterpiece, a hexagonal talisman forged in the fires of Greek myth, where King Midas's left-handed touch turned all to gold. Debuting in the late 1970s as part of Rolex's Cellini series, this reference emerged as a continuation from the audaciously limited King Midas family, with fewer than a thousand siblings across the lineage, rendering the 4342 a phantom for all but the most relentless collectors. Its scarcity isn't mere happenstance; Rolex crafted these as elite enigmas, far from the brand's mass-market ethos, commanding auction results that eclipse HK$100,000 with ease.

Clad in solid 18k yellow gold, the 29mm hexagonal case, with an ultra slim profile at under 5mm thick, evokes the Parthenon's stoic columns, the integrated flat-link bracelet flows seamlessly, a cascade of polished links that hugs the wrist beautifully. Beneath a sapphire crystal, a petite square dial unfurls in brushed elegance: baton markers, feuille hands, and the "Cellini" signature, clearly placing this reference as a part of that collection, while still paying homage to earlier King Midas examples. At its core pulses the manual-wind Caliber 651, Rolex's in-house heartbeat of unerring precision—hours and minutes alone, in homage to timeless simplicity. Strapped to history's elite, from Bond villains to rock icons, the reference 4342 isn't just rare; it's a golden decree, and a time capsule to an era when Gérald Genta's bold creations were the most innovative horological works of the time.