Reference:218238

A checked version of this page, approved on 28 May 2026, was based on this revision.

Day-Date -> 218238

The 218238 is the Day-Date II, produced for seven years from 2008 through 2015 on the cal 3156. The movement is the cal 3155 scaled up with a 2.5mm wider main plate to fit the 41mm Oyster case that the reference introduced. That 5mm jump from 36mm to 41mm is the single largest dimensional change in the Day-Date line since the 6510 launched in 1956. Same fluted bezel on yellow gold, same hidden Crownclasp on a President bracelet scaled to 41mm. The Day-Date II is also the shortest-run Day-Date reference in the modern era and the only 41mm Day-Date Rolex has ever produced. By Baselworld 2015 the Day-Date 40 (228xxx) had taken its slot at 40mm, splitting the difference between the 36mm classic and the 41mm Day-Date II.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	218238
family	Day-Date
production	2008 to 2015, seven years
run length	shortest-run modern Day-Date
movement	caliber 3156, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, ~48h power reserve, double quickset, COSC chronometer
case	41mm 18k yellow gold Oyster — only 41mm Day-Date Rolex has ever made
crystal	sapphire
bezel	fluted on yellow gold; smooth domed on platinum 218206; factory diamond on 218348 / 218349
crown	Twinlock screw-down
bracelet	41mm Super President with concealed Crownclasp
sister refs	218239 white gold / 218235 Everose / 218206 platinum / 218348 + 218349 factory diamond bezel
dial codes documented	17 across the family (WatchBase)
predecessor	118238
successor	228238 Day-Date 40 (Baselworld 2015)
launch retail (yellow gold base)	USD 27,650 (2008)

Where it sits in the line

The 218238 is the 41mm experiment in the Day-Date line. Rolex pushed it out at Basel 2008 as the late-2000s response to the broader luxury-watch shift toward larger dress watches; Patek, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron had already pushed dress watches past the 38mm ceiling that had defined the category through the 1990s. The Day-Date II launched alongside the Datejust II as a coordinated 41mm-plus pairing. The Datejust II ran longer. The Day-Date II discontinued after seven years and Rolex split the difference with the 40mm Day-Date 40 (228xxx) from 2015.

Every Day-Date before and after the 218238 sits at either 36mm (1803 through 118238, then 128238 from 2019) or 40mm (228 series from 2015). The 5mm case jump and the seven-year run combine to make the 218238 the most divisive Day-Date in the modern catalogue. Early-launch press read the proportions as overstated, with aBlogtoWatch calling the case "chunky" and the bezel "conspicuously wider than before"; the post-discontinuation collector market has read the same proportions as distinctive and the 218238 as a future-classic candidate.

The movement is the cal 3156, the cal 3155 architecture scaled up. WatchBase lists a 28.50mm base plate; Watch-Wiki cites a 2.5mm wider main plate than the 3155, giving a 30.97mm overall dimension. That dimension is the architectural reason the movement exists. The 3156 was also the first Day-Date caliber to ship with both the Parachrom Blu hairspring (rolled out across Rolex from approximately 2005 but only universal on Day-Date from the 218238) and the Paraflex anti-shock system. The successor cal 3255 on the Day-Date 40 jumps the power reserve to approximately 70 hours across 14 patents.

Sub-reference table

The 218 generation splits across four metals plus two factory-diamond-bezel siblings:

ref	material	bezel	bracelet	dial focus
218238	18k yellow gold	fluted	Super President	champagne / white / black Roman; champagne with diamond markers
218239	18k white gold	fluted	Super President	chocolate Roman; white Roman; silver diamond
218235	18k Everose	fluted	Super President	chocolate Roman; ivory Roman; black Roman; pink diamond
218206	950 platinum	smooth domed (platinum signature)	Super President	ice blue Roman / ice blue Arabic / ice blue diamond Roman; silver diamond; black Arabic; black diamond; white Roman
218348	18k yellow gold	factory diamond	Super President	champagne diamond; baguette diamond; black Arabic wave dial
218349	18k white gold	factory diamond	Super President	silver diamond/sapphire; black diamond; black Arabic concentric circle diamond

Seventeen distinct dial codes are documented across the family in the WatchBase reference database, the most exhaustive specific-dial roster published for the 218 generation.

There is no 218389 Tridor in the catalogue. Rolex discontinued the Tridor (tri-tone gold President) around 2000 with the 18239B closeout; no Tridor 218xxx appears in WatchBase, dealer archives, or the auction record. The modern-reference numbering scheme (last digit indicating metal: 8 yellow, 9 white, 5 Everose, 6 platinum) doesn't support a 218389 slot either. There is also no 218339 white-gold-diamond reference. The diamond-bezel white-gold 218xxx is the 218349; dealer listings citing "218339" are typos for 218239 or 218349.

Movement notes

The cal 3156 carries 31 jewels, runs at 28,800 vph (4 Hz), holds approximately 48 hours of power reserve, and is COSC chronometer certified to the pre-2015 ±4 / +6 seconds per day standard. Double quickset advances day and date independently via the crown, the seconds hack, and the balance is the standard Glucydur with Microstella weight screws. The base plate measures 28.50mm with the 30.97mm overall main-plate dimension that Watch-Wiki notes runs 2.5mm wider than the cal 3155.

Two firsts for the Day-Date line landed on the 3156: the Parachrom Blu hairspring, which arrived across the Rolex catalogue from approximately 2005 but only became universal on Day-Date with this caliber, and the Paraflex anti-shock system. The 3156 retired in 2015/2016 with the Day-Date II discontinuation. The Day-Date 40 successor stepped to the cal 3255 with 14 patents, 70-hour power reserve, Chronergy escapement, and Superlative Chronometer ±2-seconds-per-day certification. The cal 3156 sits as the bridge between the 3155 architecture of the 118238 era and the cal 3255 modern era.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Case

218238 case detail — the 41mm Oyster profile and President bracelet attachment. The 5mm jump from the 36mm 1803/18038/118238 lineage was the single largest dimensional change in the Day-Date line since the 1956 launch.

41mm Oyster, 21mm lug width, 49mm lug-to-lug. Thickness reports range 11.9mm to 13mm depending on whether the measurement is at the midcase or over the caseback boss. Water resistance is 100m. Total weight on the 18k yellow gold 218238 head plus full President bracelet runs approximately 220g. The platinum 218206 weighs materially more; the platinum head and bracelet drive the total roughly 30 percent above the gold variants.

The 218238 case wears thicker than the 36mm 118238 sibling, and the contemporaneous press read the proportions as substantial. The aBlogtoWatch launch coverage put it cleanly: "At 41mm wide it wears large given the wide lug structures and relatively wide bracelets… the under-part of the case is quite flat, and the case is relatively long, and it isn't less comfortable than the 36mm wide version, but it simply doesn't wear as snugly on the wrist." The Day-Date 40 successor at 228xxx corrected the chunkiness with slimmer lugs and a thinner bezel, pulling the visual language back toward the 36mm classic.

Coronet engraving sits at the 6 o'clock rehaut alongside the scrambled serial on post-2010 examples. Older late-G-serial examples carry the rehaut "ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX" laser engraving introduced in 2005. The 218238 production straddles the 2010 random-serial transition: late-G-serial examples (the watch launched in 2008, deep in the G-serial era) and random-serial post-2010 examples both surface in the secondary market.

Bezel

The 218 generation runs four factory bezel configurations. The fluted bezel sits on yellow gold (218238), white gold (218239), and Everose (218235) and continues the default Day-Date format since the 1803 era. The smooth domed bezel is reserved for the platinum 218206; it is Rolex's traditional platinum format and a strong identifier from across the room, and the 218206 is the only 218 production-volume reference to wear it. Factory diamond bezels appear on 218348 (yellow gold) and 218349 (white gold), set with round-brilliant diamonds in the bezel ring. The Datejust II's fluted-with-aftermarket-diamond range does not apply here; aftermarket gem-setting on a 218238 is identifiable through stone-cut and prong-style inconsistencies against the factory work.

Crystal

Sapphire continues from the 118238 generation. The 218238 wears a flat sapphire crystal. The Cyclops sits over the date window at 3 on the gold variants and is omitted on the platinum 218206 in keeping with the platinum convention.

Crown

Twinlock screw-down. The 218238 keeps the older Twinlock architecture; the Triplock crown does not arrive on a 41mm dress reference until later in the modern catalogue.

Bracelet

41mm Super President. Rolex scaled the three-piece President geometry up to match the 41mm head, with five-link semi-circular construction in solid 18k gold, brushed center, and polished bevels on later production. Some sources call the configuration the "Super President" to distinguish it from the 36mm President of the 118238 generation, but the official Rolex documentation uses just "President" with 41mm fitment specification.

The hidden Crownclasp continues the 118238's concealed-folding convention. The Rolex coronet appears on the closed clasp cover and no visible mechanism shows on the closed bracelet. End-link and link parts are interchangeable across 218238 / 218348 and the 228238 successor per Rolex parts catalogue listings; the President link geometry stayed constant across the late-218 and early-228 production cycle even as the case diameter shifted from 41mm to 40mm.

Dial variants

Champagne Roman is the production-volume dial on the 218238 yellow gold, the default configuration in the secondary market and the dial collectors picture when they hear the reference. White Roman and black Roman round out the standard yellow gold trio.

Chocolate dial with Roman markers is the signature dial for the Everose 218235 (-0035) and white gold 218239 (-0040), a 218xxx-era introduction that became a Day-Date marker. Chocolate paired with diamond markers on Everose pushes well past the base price.

The platinum 218206 carries the ice blue dial, which is platinum-exclusive across the entire Rolex catalogue. The signature is not a 218xxx invention but it was cemented on this reference. Ice blue appears in three forms on the 218206: Roman (-0043), Arabic (-0010), and diamond Roman (-0052). The concentric-circle reading on the periphery, with darker-blue Roman numerals and matched hands, is the most-photographed configuration. Platinum also offered black Arabic (-0003), black diamond (-0020), silver diamond (-0009), and white Roman (-0053).

A meteorite dial has been listed on dealer pages tagging "218239 meteorite," but no factory-catalogued example has surfaced in the auction record or the WatchBase index. Documented examples place meteorite on the 228239-0055 Day-Date 40 baguette configuration rather than the 218xxx generation. Treat the 218 meteorite claim as unverified pending a primary Rolex catalogue confirmation.

Factory pavé in the 218 line surfaces on 218206-0052 (platinum diamond Roman) and 218235-0008 (Everose pink diamond). The factory-set ruby-and-diamond baguette champagne dial 218238 is one of the rarest configurations and trades in the high USD 50,000 range against USD 30,000–39,000 for the standard yellow gold 218238. Factory diamond hour markers appear on both the 218348 (yellow gold) and 218349 (white gold) alongside their diamond bezels. Production volume on the diamond-bezel siblings is small relative to the standard fluted-bezel references, and surfaced examples trade above USD 80,000.

Auction record

The standout 218 generation auction lot is the Day-Date II Royal Khanjar reference 218206, a platinum diamond-set example with Arabic day-and-date discs commissioned for the Sultan of Oman around 2012 and engraved on the caseback with the Royal Khanjar crest. Sotheby's catalogued the lot in their 2025 Origins sale and again in Important Watches Part I (GE2504). Bonhams has separately catalogued and sold a production-spec 218206 platinum c. 2010. Phillips coverage of the reference is thinner; Day-Date II auction interest concentrates on the special-order and commissioned platinum examples rather than gold production lots, which trade primarily on the secondary market.

Market bands across 2025–2026 cluster by metal. The yellow gold 218238 trades from approximately USD 27,000 to 55,000 depending on dial and provenance, with an average asking price near USD 38,000. The Everose 218235 runs USD 37,000 to 46,000 and above, with chocolate dials commanding a premium over ivory and black. The platinum 218206 sits between USD 50,000 and 90,000, the ice blue dial pulling the top of the band. The factory diamond-bezel 218348 and 218349 routinely cross USD 80,000.

The 218 generation has appreciated steadily post-discontinuation. The Day-Date 40 successor (228238) has appreciated roughly 30 percent over the last five years on aggregated market data, and the 218238 has tracked that arc on the discontinued-supply premium. The 218238 reads less as a value reference now than as a future-classic candidate with the discontinued-only-41mm-Day-Date framing carrying the case.

Production timeline

The 218238 launched at Baselworld 2008 alongside the Datejust II at a USD 27,650 MSRP for the base yellow gold and USD 30,150 with the 8 round + 2 baguette diamond dial. Rolex rolled out the random scrambled serial system catalogue-wide in 2010, and the 218238 production straddles the rollover. Late G-serial examples and random-serial post-2010 examples both surface in the secondary market through approximately 2012. Around 2012 Rolex executed the Sultan of Oman Royal Khanjar 218206 platinum commission, the caseback engraved with the Royal Khanjar crest. Baselworld 2015 brought the discontinuation: the Day-Date 40 (228xxx) launched at 40mm, replaced the Day-Date II 41mm outright, and continued the 36mm 118238 line until that line's own discontinuation in 2019.

Sources