Rolex Day-Date (President)

Rolex Day-Date History and Evolution

The Day-Date is Rolex’s most prestigious dress watch, first introduced in 1956. As its name suggests, the Rolex Day-Date includes a pair of calendar windows on the dial to indicate the day of the week and the date of the month. This was the first wristwatch to include the day written out in full.

Rolex designed a new bracelet for the launch of the Day-Date watch called the President. The name of its iconic bracelet helps to explain why the Day-Date is often referred to as the Rolex President or Rolex Presidential watch. Another reason that the Day-Date is nicknamed the President is that the watch is often worn by some of the world’s most powerful people, including several American presidents.

More about nicknames: Your Go-to Guide to Rolex Nicknames

While the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date has remained largely the same in terms of design, one notable evolution that’s occurred throughout its history is the setting of the day and date window. The earliest Day-Date references were non-quickset, meaning that you have to continuously turn the hands past midnight and back before midnight to get to the right day and date in their respective windows. In 1977, Rolex released a new generation of President watches with the quickset date feature, which meant the date could be set independently from the hands (but not the day). Finally, in 1988 Rolex updated the Day-Date collection with quickset features for both calendars, which mean that both the date and the day could be adjusted independently.

• Non-Quickset Day-Date: Approximately 1956 to 1977
• Single Quickset Day-Date: Approximately 1977 to 1988
• Double Quickset Day-Date: From approximately 1988 onwards

Rolex Day-Date Design, Features, and Options

While the Day-Date is one of the brand’s most recognizable watches, the Rolex President collection also offers a vast assortment of configurations to suit a range of tastes.

Modern Day-Date Design Features:

• Case Sizes: 36mm, 40mm
• Materials: Yellow Gold, White Gold, Everorose Gold, Platinum,
• Bezels: Fluted, Smooth, Gem-Set
• Dials: Various colors, Various hour markers, With or without diamonds
• Calendars: Day window at 12 o’clock (available in multiple languages), Date window at 3 o’clock
• Crystal: Sapphire with Cyclops date magnification lens
• Bracelet: President
• Movement: Caliber 3255 automatic movement
• Water Resistance: 100 meters (330 feet)

Rolex Day-Date Materials, Colorways, and Sizes

Rolex Day-Date watches are exclusively made from precious metals such as gold or platinum. They are also often embellished with diamonds and other precious gems. Rolex has even made Tridor versions, which marry yellow, white, and rose gold on one Day-Date watch.

As expected, the watches are frequently paired with President bracelets but Rolex has also made Day-Date watches available with leather straps, Oyster bracelets, and Pearlmaster bracelets.

The Day-Date was initially only available with a 36mm case size for the first five decades of production. However, Rolex began offering larger Day-Date President watches starting in the 2000s including 39mm and 41mm cases. Today, Rolex offers the Day-Date with a 36mm or 40mm case.

Rolex has also offered many dial styles for the President watch over the years, including various materials, colors, and hour marker types. Some particularly collectible versions are vintage Day-Date watches with so-called “Stella” dials, characterized by colorful lacquer dials in shades such as yellow, turquoise, oxblood, and much more. In 2023, Rolex unveiled new stone dials and new off-catalog puzzle emoji dials to the Day-Date 36 line.

More about materials, bracelets, and dials:
Rolex Rose Gold: Every Everose Watch Produced by Rolex
A Complete Guide to Every Special Rolex Dial Ever Produced
How Many Links Does a Rolex Come With?
An Introduction to Common Materials Used in Watchmaking
A Primer on the Different Types of Watch Bands, Straps, and Bracelets

Rolex Day-Date Reference Numbers and Serial Numbers

Rolex has been making the Day-Date collection for almost seven decades, each generation offering a bevy of variants. Therefore, there are countless Day-Date references available in the market, some of which are outlined in the below tables.

On the other hand, for detailed information about Rolex Day-Date President serial numbers, don’t miss our Rolex Serial Numbers: The Ultimate Guide.

Current Day-Date References

Day-Date 36 Ref. 128xxx (2019 – Present)

Day-Date 40 Ref. 228xxx (2015 – Present)

Discontinued Day-Date References

Day-Date 36 Ref. 118xxx (2000-2019)

Day-Date II Ref. 2182xx and 2183xx (2008 – 2015)

Day-Date 40 vs. Day-Date II

When Rolex introduced the Day-Date II in 2008, it was the largest President watch the brand had ever made. However, the Day-Date II was a short-lived model and Rolex replaced it with the Day-Date 40 in 2015. These are the two biggest Day-Date President watches available, so how are they similar and how are they different? Let’s compare the Day-Date 40 vs. Day-Date II.

The most obvious difference between the Day-Date II and the Day-Date 40 is the size where the former is 41mm and the latter is 40mm. Furthermore, the Day-Date II has fatter lugs, a thicker profile, and a wider bezel, all of which combine to make the Day-Date II wear quite larger than the Day-Date 40 on the wrist.

Another significant difference between the Rolex Day-Date II and Day-Date 40 is the movements. Day-Date II runs on Caliber 3156 with about 48 hours of power reserve while Day-Date 40 is powered by the new-generation Caliber 3255 with about 70 hours of power reserve.

In terms of materials, bracelets, dials, and bezels, the Day-Date II and Day-Date 40 offer very similar options. Both models, like all Rolex Presidential watches, are available in 18k gold or 950 platinum, and depending on the specific model, can come equipped with a fluted, smooth, or diamond-set bezel. Of course, they’re both paired with President bracelets, and dial colors and styles are plentiful.

Neo-Vintage Day-Date References

Day-Date 36 Ref. 182xx and 183xx (1988 – 2000)

Vintage Day-Date References

Day-Date 36 Ref. 180xx (1977 – 1988)

Day-Date 36 Ref. 180x (1959-1978)

1957-1959: Day-Date 66xx Series (Improved Caliber 1055)

• Ref. 6611
• Ref. 6612
• Ref. 6613

1956-1957: Day-Date 65xx Series (Caliber 1055)

• Ref. 6510
• Ref. 6511

Other Rolex Day-Date References

Two lesser-known Rolex Day-Date watches are the Masterpiece and Oysterquartz, both discontinued but still available for sale in the secondary market. The Day-Date Masterpiece debuted in the early 2000s as a 39mm Day-Date watch fitted with a Pearlmaster bracelet. On the other hand, Rolex introduced the Oysterquartz Day-Date in 1977, powered by an in-house quartz movement.

Learn more: Rolex Quartz Watches: The Complete Guide

Oysterquartz Day-Date (1977 – 2002)

Day-Date Masterpiece (2000-2014)

Grey Market Rolex President Watches

Historically, Day-Date watches were less expensive to buy from the secondary market. However, thanks to the booming demand for essentially all Rolex watches in recent years, it’s not uncommon to now find current-production Rolex President watches selling on the grey market for prices that are higher than retail. Yet, there are still some good deals to be had, especially with older pre-owned Rolex Day-Date Presidential watches including vintage and neo-vintage models.

Rolex President Price Guides:
How Much Does a Rolex Day-Date Cost? The Ultimate Rolex Day Date Price Guide
Breaking Down Rolex Prices: Retail vs. Actual Market for Top Models
Rolex Watch Prices: Historical and Current From Actual Sales Numbers

When buying Rolex President watches, Grey market dealers offer a few advantages including access to models without dealing with the dreaded Rolex waitlist, a larger variety of watches including rare, discontinued, and vintage pieces, and more often than not, friendlier service.

Commonly Asked Questions

How Much is a Rolex Day-Date Watch?

A new Rolex Day-Date watch starts at $35,000 for a 36mm version and $38,500 for a 40mm version, both in yellow gold with fluted bezels. However, prices go up from there when considering other materials, bezels, and of course, the addition of precious gems. If you’re looking for cheaper Rolex Presidential watches, you can find some older versions for as low as $10,000.

For a comprehensive breakdown of Rolex Day-Date and Rolex President prices, don’t miss our detailed guide: How Much Does a Rolex Day-Date Cost? The Ultimate Rolex Day Date Price Guide

Does Rolex Make a Stainless Steel Day-Date Watch?

No, Rolex does not make stainless steel Day-Date watches. Rolex Presidential watches are exclusively made in 18k gold or platinum. There were, however, Rolex did make some steel Oysterquartz Day-Date prototype watches that never made it to production. It’s estimated that there are about 10 of these prototype steel Day-Date watches in existence.

How Much Gold in Rolex Day-Date Watches?

Rolex uses 18k gold to craft its watches, which translates to 75% pure gold (pure gold is 24k), and the remaining 25% is composed of other metals to achieve a particular color or luster. For instance, Rolex’s proprietary Everose gold includes copper and platinum to achieve its long-lasting rosy hue. Rolex owns its own foundry, where it creates formulas for yellow, white, and Everose gold.

While the movement and dial plate are not made from gold, almost every other component on a gold Rolex President watch is. Namely, a gold Day-Date watch will have a solid gold case, bezel, caseback, and bracelet. The hour markers and hands are also fashioned from gold.

So how much does a Rolex Day-Date weigh?

A Rolex Day-Date 40 watch in full gold with a President bracelet with complete links weighs around 220 grams (or around 7.76 ounces). A Rolex Day-Date 36 (six-digit reference) with a President bracelet with complete links weighs around 180 grams (or around 6.35 ounces). Platinum is heavier than gold so a platinum Rolex Day-Date 40 weighs around 270 grams (or around 9.52 ounces). A platinum Rolex Day-Date 36 weighs around 225 grams (or around 9.74 ounces).