Rolex Day-Date

Popularly known as the “President’s Watch,**” the Day-Date has been esteemed as a watch of nobility, prestige, and distinction since its debut in 1956. Making the watch even more deserving of its nickname is the President’s bracelet, which Rolex designed specifically for the 1956 launch of the Day-Date. This model has been worn by more presidents and prominent leaders and figures than any other watch. The Day-Date was also the first wristwatch to display the date and day of the week fully spelled out in a window on the dial. It is available in case diameters of 36 mm and 40 mm known as the Day-Date 36 and Day-Date 40, respectively. The Day-Date 40 is a new-generation model that is driven by another one Rolex’s new-generation developments, Calibre 3255 movement. In line with its reputation as a timepiece of status and exclusivity, the Day-Date is made only of precious metals: 18 carat gold or platinum.

Key Features

• President Bracelet – Making its debut with the Day-Date in 1956, the President bracelet is consists of a series of polished semicircular three-piece links that provide comfort and sophisticated style. For added resilience and durability, this bracelet is now reinforced with hard but pliable* ceramic inserts inside the links. A hidden attachment underneath the bezel attaches the bracelet to the case in a way that creates a look of seamless integration between the two parts. Also concealed for a smooth look is a Crownclasp on the bracelet that opens with a hinged crown. **EVEN THOUGH DATE-DATE WATCHES ARE COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS “THE PRESIDENT’S WATCH,” IN THE PROFESSIONAL WATCH WORLD, ONLY DATE-DATES WITH THE PRESIDENT BRACELET ARE SPECIFIED AS “PRESIDENTS” FOR SHORT.
• Oyster Bracelet – The Oyster bracelet is Rolex’s classic bracelet made of a series of smooth, flat three-piece links. The bracelet shows off a combination of polished and satin finishes and includes a hidden folding Crownclasp. Adorning Rolex watches since the 1930s, the Oyster bracelet is popular for its comfort and subtle elegance, and it remains the most prominent* bracelet of Rolex’s Oyster Collection.
• Leather Straps & Gold Folding Clasp – The Day-Date includes models that are available with comfortable, long-lasting alligator leather straps fitted with 18 carat gold adjustable Crownclasp buckles. This buckle is a folding clasp that allows for easy length adjustment.
• Calibre 3155 & 3255 Movements – The Day-Date 36 possesses a Calibre 3155 movement, and the Day-Date 40 is fitted with a Calibre 3255 movement.
• Calibre 3155 is a self-winding mechanical movement with a disc mechanism for its day and date calendar display functions. Housed in this movement is the Rolex-exclusive blue Parachrom hairspring, a balance spring that works with the oscillator to maintain the precise time-keeping functions of the watch. This Parachrom hairspring is a patented paramagnetic alloy comprised of niobium, zirconium, and oxygen; it is resistant to magnetic fields and temperature variations, maintaining precision levels up to ten times those of regular hairsprings when impacted by shock.
• Calibre 3255 is Rolex’s revolutionary new-generation movement that features new leading standards of precision and performance. Protected with 14 patents, this movement includes a range of new advanced mechanical components and systems that give the watch outstanding reliability, efficiency, and durability. Among the notable features of Calibre 3255 is the Chronergy escapement, which controls the motion of the hands on the dial via controlled wheel rotations. The Chronergy escapement is also a new Rolex innovation made of nickel of phosphorus that is resistant to magnetic fields*. The new escapement also possesses new structural design features that make it lighter and 15 percent more efficient than standard escapements, which contributes to the increase in the movement’s power reserve capacity. Like that of Calibre 3155, the oscillator in the 3255 movement is fitted with the resilient Parachrom hairspring. In addition to the magnetic resistance provided by the Parachrom hairspring, the oscillator gains more protection from magnetic interference thanks to an attached balance staff with an exclusive geometrical structure that provides shielding protection.* For shock resistance, the oscillator is also fitted on Paraflex shock absorbers and secured in place by a traversing bridge.

  Another major advancement with Calibre 3255 is the design overhaul of the barrel. The barrel houses the mainspring, which is the spring that provides energy that drives the movement. To accommodate a mainspring with higher capacity without enlarging the barrel which would consume more space, designers reduced the barrel’s wall thickness by half, which ultimately increased the movement’s autonomy by over 10 percent.

  An optimized gear-train in the 3255 movement has also provided watches with this Calibre more efficiency, smoother performance, and greater reliability. As a series of cogwheels that transfers energy from the barrel to the escapement, the gear train is what translates* the pulsing beats of the oscillator into motion of the seconds, minutes, and hours hands on the dial. To ensure the reliable performance of the gear-train, Rolex now lubricates its parts with in-house exclusive high-performance lubricants that have longer useful lives and greater long-term stability. These key features along with other high-performance components in the movement give Calibre 3255 a 50% greater power reserve of 70 hours and a grade of precision that is twice that of an official chronometer.

• Bespoke Day Display – The Day-Date made history as the first water-resistant, self-winding chronometer wristwatch to feature a modern calendar with a fully-spelled out, instantaneous day display on the dial, in addition to the date display. The day display can present days of the week in a variety of languages.
• Emblematic Dials on Day-Date 40 – As a new-generation update, the Day-Date 40 takes the Day-Date model to an upgraded level of style with new extravagant dials. These dials feature elaborate designs crafted with high-technology tools, such as laser-etched motifs on sunray-finished dials, as well as faceted* and deconstructed* Roman numeral hour markers with individually hand-positioned elements*. These uniquely-designed dials are exclusive to the Day-Date 40.

Design / Color Features

Bracelets

• Oyster – Day-Date 36 Oyster bracelets come in a 20 mm width with 8 removable extension links and Crownslasp closures in Everose Gold, White Gold, and Yellow gold.
• President Day-Date 36 – President bracelets on the Day-Date 36 are 20 mm in width with 7 removable extension links and folding Crownclasp closures.
• President Day-Date 40 – President bracelets on the Day-Date 40 are 21 mm in width with 9 removable extension links and folding Crownclasp closures.
• President Karat – President Karat bracelets are President bracelets embellished with diamond-encrusted links that run down the center of the bracelet. These bracelets are 20 mm in width with 6 removable extension links and Crownclasp closures on the Day-Date 36 model.

Straps

Alligator Leather straps with 18 carat folding Crownclasp buckles. These straps are available in a variety of colors including black, blue, bordeaux (purple wine), cognac (medium brown), green, and tobacco (dark brown)

Bezels

Day-Date bezels can be fluted, smooth, or gem-set with precious stones

Dials

Pink Gold Hour Markers
Dials set with diamonds = price supplement

	8 Diamonds and 2 Rubies	Arab	Carousel 217 Deg	Diamonds	Stick	Roman
Black
Black M.O.P.
Chocolate
Ferrite
Meteorite
Pink
Pink Jubilee
Pink M.O.P.
Rhodium
White
White M.O.P. with Oxford Motif

Day-Date 36 – White Gold Hour Markers
M.O.P. dials, stone dials, and dials set with diamonds or emeralds = price supplement.

	8 Diamonds and 2 Emeralds	Blue Enamel Arab	Carousel 217 Deg	Diamonds	Stick	Roman
Black
Black M.O.P.
Blue
Cherry
Diamond Pave
Ice Blue
Ice Blue Jubilee
Lapis Lazuli
Meteorite
Platinum MOP with Oxford Motif
Rhodium
Silver
Silver Jubilee
White
White M.O.P.

Yellow Gold Hour Markers
M.O.P. dials and dials set with diamonds = price supplement