View source for Reference:218239

{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Day-Date II 218239 — White Gold 41mm President, 2008–2015 &#124; BezelBase
|description=The 218239 is the white gold Day-Date II, 2008-2015, caliber 3156 — a 41mm solid-gold President that reads as steel. Fluted bezel, white gold President bracelet, chocolate and white Roman plus factory diamond and blue wave dials.
|keywords=Rolex 218239, Day-Date II white gold, 41mm Day-Date, caliber 3156, chocolate Roman dial, blue wave dial, President bracelet, 218238, 218235, 218349
|image=Ref 218239 hero.webp
|image_alt=Rolex Day-Date II 218239 — 41mm 18k white gold with the chocolate Roman dial, fluted bezel and white gold President bracelet.
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|published_time=2026-08-10T00:22:31Z
|modified_time=2026-08-10T00:26:49Z
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 218239 Day-Date II}}

<small>[[Reference:day-date|Day-Date]] -> '''218239'''</small>

The 218239 is the white-gold Day-Date II, made from 2008 to 2015 on the caliber 3156, with a fluted white-gold bezel and a solid white-gold President bracelet. It is the quietest reference in a generation that was not built to be quiet. White gold reads as steel at arm's length, so a 41mm President in this metal weighs like precious metal and looks like nothing in particular, which is the point of a white-gold Rolex and the reason the reference has always sold in smaller numbers than its yellow-gold and Everose siblings.

[[File:Ref 218239 hero.webp|thumb|right|340px|alt=Rolex Day-Date II 218239 — 41mm 18k white gold with the chocolate Roman dial, fluted bezel and white gold President bracelet.|Rolex Day-Date II 218239 in white gold with the chocolate Roman dial (218239-0040). Produced 2008 to 2015 on the caliber 3156.]]

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! detail
! value
|-
| reference
| 218239
|-
| family
| Day-Date (Day-Date II, 41mm)
|-
| production
| 2008 to 2015
|-
| movement
| caliber 3156, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, ~48h power reserve, double quickset, COSC chronometer
|-
| case
| 41mm 18k white gold Oyster
|-
| crystal
| sapphire with Cyclops
|-
| bezel
| fluted white gold
|-
| crown
| Twinlock screw-down
|-
| bracelet
| white gold President, three semi-circular links, concealed Crownclasp
|-
| water resistance
| 100m
|-
| dial
| chocolate Roman, white Roman, factory silver diamond and black diamond, and a blue wave layout
|-
| siblings
| 218238 (yellow gold), 218235 (Everose), 218206 (platinum), 218348 / 218349 (factory diamond bezel)
|-
| diamond-bezel counterpart
| 218349, the white-gold factory diamond-bezel reference
|-
| successor
| 228239 (Day-Date 40, caliber 3255, from 2015)
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

The 218239 is the white-gold member of the Day-Date II, the 2008 generation that pushed the President to 41mm. Its siblings are the yellow-gold [[Reference:218238|218238]], the Everose [[Reference:218235|218235]] and the platinum [[Reference:218206|218206]], and it shares the fluted bezel, the caliber and the bracelet architecture with the two gold references. White gold and platinum are the two discreet metals in the generation, and they take opposite approaches: the platinum announces itself through the smooth bezel and the ice-blue dial that Rolex reserves for the metal, while the white gold hides inside the same fluted-bezel silhouette the yellow gold wears.

The reference to keep separate from it is the 218349, the white-gold Day-Date II with a factory diamond bezel. That is a different reference number, not a 218239 with stones added. Listings citing a 218339 are typing errors for one or the other; no such reference exists in the Day-Date II range.

==Production outline==

The Day-Date II launched at Baselworld 2008 alongside the Datejust II and ran seven years, the shortest life of any modern Day-Date, ending in 2015 when the Day-Date 40 replaced it at 40mm. The 218239 spans that whole window. Rolex switched to scrambled serial numbers across the catalogue in 2010, so the bulk of documented white-gold examples carry random serials; one dated 2014 example is representative of the later production.

No production figure has been published for the 218239, and the reference is thinner on the ground than the others. Searches of the dealer market return a handful of white-gold Day-Date IIs against many yellow-gold and Everose examples, which is consistent with how white-gold Day-Dates have always sold, though it is market evidence rather than a factory number and should be treated as such.

==Movement notes==

The caliber 3156 was built for the Day-Date II and used in no other model. It takes the caliber 3155 architecture and widens the main plate by roughly 2.5mm to suit the 41mm case, keeping 31 jewels, a 28,800 vph beat, about 48 hours of reserve, double quickset for day and date, and COSC certification. The balance is Glucydur with Microstella screws, the hairspring is the blue Parachrom, and Paraflex shock protection is fitted. The 3156 was introduced with the generation in 2008 and retired in 2015 and 2016, when the Day-Date 40 moved to the caliber 3255. There is no white-gold-specific movement; the 218239 runs what the [[Reference:218238|218238]] runs, and the [[Reference:Movements]] page holds the caliber lineage.

==Dial map==
[[File:Ref 218239 blue wave.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Day-Date II 218239 — white gold with the blue wave-pattern Arabic dial, shown with box and papers.|Blue wave-pattern Arabic dial on a dated 2014 white-gold example. The wave texture reached the plain fluted-bezel 218239, not only the diamond-bezel 218349.]]


The documented white-gold dials divide into plain-marker layouts and factory diamond ones, with a wave-pattern dial sitting slightly apart.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! dial
! markers
! code where documented
! notes
|-
| chocolate
| Roman
| 218239-0040
| the brown dial that defines the generation, here against white metal
|-
| white
| Roman
| 218239-0041
| the most restrained configuration in the whole Day-Date II range
|-
| silver
| diamond
| 218239-0006
| factory diamond hour markers
|-
| black
| diamond
| not in the published roster
| factory diamond markers on black, documented on the market
|-
| blue wave
| Arabic
| not in the published roster
| wave-pattern ground, documented on a dated 2014 example with box and papers
|}

Chocolate on white gold is the pairing worth seeking out. The dial arrived as a Day-Date II signature and is usually associated with Everose, where warm-on-warm is the obvious combination; against white gold the brown has to carry the whole watch, and it does. The white Roman dial at the other end is the most self-effacing Day-Date Rolex made in this period, a 41mm solid-gold President that could be read as a steel watch from across a table.

The blue wave dial deserves a note. Wave-pattern grounds appear across the Day-Date II range, including on the diamond-bezel references, and a dated 2014 white-gold example documents the texture on the plain fluted-bezel 218239 as well. It does not appear in the published dial-code roster, which lists seventeen codes across the generation and three for the 218239. Between the black diamond dial and the blue wave, at least two factory white-gold layouts sit outside that roster, so the codes are a starting point rather than a full accounting.

Aftermarket work is common on this reference and needs separating from factory configuration. White-gold 218239 cases turn up with diamond-paved Roman dials, custom-set diamond bezels, baguette dials and fully diamond-set President bracelets, none of it Rolex work. A factory diamond dial such as the silver or black layouts is a catalogue variant with a code behind it; an aftermarket paved dial is later jewellery. Stone cut, prong style and the regularity of the setting are what separate them, and the difference shows up in price on resale.

==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==

The case is 41mm in 18k white gold, with a sapphire crystal, a Cyclops over the date and a Twinlock screw-down crown, rated to 100m. Published thickness figures for the Day-Date II run between about 11.9mm and 13mm depending on whether the measurement is taken at the midcase or over the caseback. The bezel is fluted, the same format the yellow-gold and Everose references wear, and on white gold the fluting is the main thing that tells the watch apart from a large Datejust at a glance.

The 41mm case is the generation's defining choice and its most argued-over one. Contemporaneous coverage read the proportions as substantial, with wide lugs and a long profile, and Rolex answered the criticism by moving to 40mm in 2015. On white gold the effect is different from the gold references: without the visual warmth of yellow or Everose, the size registers as heft rather than flash, which suits some wrists and defeats others. The weight is not subtle either way, as solid white gold is denser than yellow.

==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==

The 218239 wears the white-gold President, three semi-circular links scaled to the 41mm head, closed by the concealed Crownclasp that leaves only the coronet visible. As on any President, a clasp date code dates the bracelet rather than the head, and service over a decade or more can put a later bracelet on an earlier case. The cross-family detail sits on [[Reference:Bracelets]].

==Special branches==

===The discreet President===

White gold is the metal a Day-Date buyer chooses to avoid being read as a Day-Date buyer, and the 218239 is the most complete expression of that in the generation. The case, bezel and bracelet are solid 18k, the movement is chronometer-certified, and the whole thing passes for steel at conversational distance. The white Roman dial takes the idea furthest. Against the platinum [[Reference:218206|218206]], which uses the smooth bezel and the ice-blue dial as a signal to anyone who knows what those mean, the white gold gives away nothing at all.

===Factory diamond versus aftermarket stones===
[[File:Ref 218239 black diamond.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Day-Date II 218239 — white gold with a factory black diamond dial.|Factory black diamond dial, a layout absent from the published dial-code roster.]]

[[File:Ref 218239 silver diamond.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Day-Date II 218239 — white gold with the factory silver diamond dial.|Factory silver diamond dial, catalogued as 218239-0006.]]


Two distinct things get called a diamond 218239. The factory versions are the silver and black diamond dials, standard fluted bezel, catalogue configurations. Everything else is added later: paved dials, set bezels, diamond bracelets. The gap shows in the asking prices, where aftermarket-set white-gold examples are offered well above plain factory ones, but that spread is the value of the stones and the setting work, not of the reference, and it narrows sharply on resale. For anyone wanting factory stones on a white-gold Day-Date II at 41mm, the reference to look for is the 218349 with its factory diamond bezel.

==Market and auction record==

The Day-Date II's auction record belongs almost entirely to the platinum [[Reference:218206|218206]], where a documented Bonhams London result of £32,000 in June 2025 and the commissioned examples carry the generation's saleroom history. No 218239 lot surfaced in the research for this entry, but the major houses expose upcoming sales rather than full archives to search, so the absence is a gap in the record rather than evidence the reference has never been catalogued. The 218239 changes hands on the secondary market, which says more about how modern gold Day-Dates are traded than about the watch.

On the secondary market in 2026, factory-dial 218239s on the standard fluted bezel are asked between roughly USD 29,800 and 39,500. That spread is wide for a reference with so few dial options, and it tracks the seller rather than the watch: the same white Roman configuration sits near the bottom of the band at one dealer and the factory diamond dials near the top at another. Dated examples with box and papers sit around USD 38,000. Aftermarket diamond-set examples are asked at USD 54,000 to 55,000, a figure that reflects the stones rather than the reference. The white gold sits below the Everose [[Reference:218235|218235]] and close to the yellow-gold [[Reference:218238|218238]] in the generation, which makes it, for anyone who actually wants the metal, the value entry into a 41mm President.


== Related references ==

* [[Reference:218235|Day-Date 218235]] — 2008–2015 — Everose Day-Date II
* [[Reference:218238|Day-Date 218238]] — 2008–2015 — yellow gold Day-Date II
* [[Reference:218206|Day-Date 218206]] — 2008–2015 — platinum Day-Date II
* [[Reference:118238|Day-Date 118238]] — 2000–2019
* [[Reference:118235|Day-Date 118235]] — 2005–2019
* [[Reference:118208|Day-Date 118208]] — 2000–2019

See also the [[Reference:day-date|Day-Date family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].

== Sources ==

* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
* [https://mondanibooks.com/rolex-day-date-history/ ''Rolex Day-Date Volume (Mondani Editore)'' — Mondani Family, Guido Mondani Editore]
* [https://www.puccipapaleo.com/bookstore/day-date/ ''Day-Date — The Presidential Rolex'' — Pucci Papaleo Editore, Spin Edizioni, 2015-05]
* [https://monochrome-watches.com/history-rolex-day-date-1956-present-president-watch-in-depth-review/ Monochrome editorial, "In-Depth: The History of the Rolex Day-Date, The Presidential Watch", Monochrome Watches]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/ Sotheby's editorial, "The Rolex Day-Date: A Complete Collector's Guide", Sotheby's]
* [https://italianwatchspotter.com/the-history-of-the-rolex-day-date/?lang=en Italian Watch Spotter editorial, "The History of the Rolex Day-Date", Italian Watch Spotter]
* [https://www.ablogtowatch.com/rolex-datejust-ii-watch-review/ aBlogtoWatch editorial, "Rolex Datejust II + Day-Date II Review", aBlogtoWatch]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2025/origins/day-date-ii-royal-khanjar-reference-218206-a Sotheby's Watches Department, "Sotheby's Origins 2025 — Day-Date II Royal Khanjar 218206 Sultan of Oman commission", Sotheby's, 2025]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30667/lot/8/rolex-a-fine-platinum-automatic-calendar-bracelet-watch-day-date-ii-ref-218206-circa-2010/ Bonhams Watches Department, "Bonhams 218206 Platinum c.2010 production-spec", Bonhams]
* [https://watchbase.com/rolex/caliber/3156 Watchbase editorial, "Rolex Caliber 3156 — Watchbase Reference Entry", Watchbase]
* [https://www.watch-wiki.net/doku.php?id=rolex_3156 Watch-Wiki contributors, "Rolex 3156 — Watch-Wiki", Watch-Wiki]
* [https://millenarywatches.com/rolex-caliber-3156/ Millenary Watches editorial, "Rolex Caliber 3156 — Millenary Watches", Millenary Watches]
* [https://watchbase.com/rolex/day-date-ii Watchbase editorial, "Rolex Day-Date II — Watchbase Reference List", Watchbase]
* [https://beckertime.com/blog/rolex-decades-the-90s-day-date-versus-the-2000s-day-date/ Beckertime editorial, "Rolex Decades: The 90s Day-Date vs the 2000s Day-Date", Beckertime]
* [https://www.everestbands.com/blogs/bezel-barrel/guide-to-rolex-sizes-case-and-lug-dimensions-by-reference Everest Bands editorial, "Guide to Rolex Sizes — Case and Lug Dimensions by Reference", Everest Bands]
* [https://omijewelry.com/products/rolex-day-date-ii-41mm-218239-black-diamond-dial-fluted-bezel-18k-white-gold-president-bracelet-ir2k OMI Jewelry editorial, "Rolex Day-Date II 218239 white gold — dealer dial roster (factory vs aftermarket)", OMI Jewelry]
* [https://huntingtonwatch.com/products/2014-mint-rolex-218239-day-date-ii-blue-wave-president-white-gold-41mm-watch-box Huntington Watch editorial, "2014 Rolex 218239 Day-Date II Blue Wave President White Gold 41mm", Huntington Watch]
* [https://www.prestigetime.com/Rolex-Day-Date-II-41mm-Everose-Gold-218235-Black-Roman-President.html Prestige Time editorial, "Rolex Day-Date II 41mm Everose Gold 218235 Black Roman President — full specification", Prestige Time]
* [https://www.europeanwatch.com/watch/rolex-218235-218235-day-date-ii-18k-everose-pink-roman-dial-69053 European Watch Company editorial, "Rolex 218235 Day-Date II 18K Everose Pink Roman Dial", European Watch Company]

* [https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-day-date-ii-ref-218239-18k-white-gold.html Bob's Watches editorial, "Rolex Day-Date II Ref 218239 18k White Gold", Bob's Watches]

[[Category:Day-Date]]
[[Category:References]]