Rolex Datejust 31 Yellow Gold — White Roman Dial, President Bracelet | Ref. 178248

Certain watch configurations achieve an almost universal appeal through the purity of their conception — the yellow gold Datejust 31 with white dial and Roman numerals is one such piece. Reference 178248 distils the Datejust's 80-year design language to its most classical form: an 18-karat yellow gold Oyster case of 31 mm diameter wearing a domed bezel, above which a white lacquer dial presents Roman numeral hour markers with maximal legibility. The gold Dauphine hands sweep across this canvas with the quiet authority of a timepiece that requires no gemological adornment to command respect.

The Roman numeral configuration occupies a special place in the Datejust typology — it is the dial variant most clearly descended from the pocket watches and early wristwatches of the inter-war period, lending 178248 a historical gravity that index- and Arabic-numeral dials do not quite replicate. Rolex's production of Roman numeral dials involves the individual application of each gilt letter, their alignment and height verified under magnification to tolerances measured in hundredths of a millimetre.

Calibre 2235 — the movement that powered this reference at the time of its production — provides a bidirectional self-winding architecture with 48 hours of power reserve. The President bracelet in 18-karat yellow gold, with its semi-circular three-piece links and concealed Crownclasp, was created by Rolex in 1956 exclusively for Day-Date and subsequently extended to select Datejust references. Its presence here elevates 178248 from dressy Datejust to presidential-grade statement, waterproof to 100 metres.