Rolex Day-Date 36 Yellow Gold — Black Index Dial | Ref. 118238

Reference 118238 represents the Day-Date 36 in its most classically authoritative form: solid 18-carat yellow gold throughout, from the polished Oyster case to the fluted bezel and the President bracelet with its characteristic three-piece semi-circular links. For generations, this configuration has been the defining image of the Day-Date—unambiguous in its luxury, restrained in its design, and utterly self-assured in its presence on the wrist. The fluted bezel, engine-turned from yellow gold, adds a fine reeded texture that plays differently in light and shade.

The black dial is a study in legibility and contrast: applied gold-toned baton hour markers stand crisp against the deep, lustrous ground, with a slim date window at three o'clock framed by the Cyclops lens. At twelve o'clock, the full day of the week is displayed in the Day-Date's characteristic aperture, the feature that has given the model its name and set it apart from every other dress watch in the Rolex catalogue since 1956. This combination of deep dial and yellow gold indices produces a dial that reads with exceptional clarity in any light.

The movement within is Calibre 3155, the generation of Day-Date manufacture calibre that preceded the current 3255, featuring an instantaneous date change mechanism, Glucydur balance wheel, and Breguet overcoil hairspring. Operating as a Superlative Chronometer, it is rated to ±2 seconds per day. The President bracelet is secured by the concealed Crownclasp, and the Oyster case provides waterproofing to 100 metres—an enduring standard of reliability beneath the Day-Date's dressy exterior.