View source for Reference:18338

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Day-Date 18338}}
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Day-Date 18338 — Yellow Gold, Caliber 3155
|description=The yellow-gold 18338 pairs diamond-set lugs with caliber 3155. Dated records show stone, coral, mother-of-pearl and other dial variants.
|keywords=Rolex 18338, Day-Date, President, caliber 3155, yellow gold, diamond-set lugs, fossil dial
|image=Ref 18338 hero.webp
|image_alt=Yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date 18338 with fossil dial and diamond-set lugs
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|published_time=2026-10-28T22:30:51Z
|modified_time=2026-10-28T22:45:18Z
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
|titlemode=replace
}}

<small>[[Reference:day-date|Day-Date]] → '''18338'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 18338 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Angled view of yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date 18338 with fossil dial, fluted bezel and diamond-set lugs|Phillips lot 934, case S494422.]]
</div>

The 18338 is an 18K yellow-gold Day-Date with diamond-set lugs.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! Detail
! Record
|-
| Family
| Day-Date
|-
| Case
| 18k yellow gold; catalogued diameters range from 35.5 to 36 mm
|-
| Bezel and lugs
| Diamond-set lugs; catalogues describe both fluted and milled bezels
|-
| Movement
| Automatic caliber 3155; 31 jewels in auction records
|-
| Bracelet
| Yellow-gold President bracelet
|}

==Production outline==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Reported date
! Watch or document
|-
| Circa 1991
| WatchTime Australia listing
|-
| 1992 / circa 1992
| Bucherer CPO listing and Cambi lot 84
|-
| Circa 1994
| Phillips cases S494422 and S935324. S494422 has a Bucherer guarantee stamped August 1994.
|-
| Circa 1995
| Christie's cases W008743, W020209 and W030480. The W008743 guarantee is stamped August 1995.
|-
| 1997
| Phillips case W032751
|-
| Circa 1999
| Phillips case W023987; certificate dated June 1999
|-
| Circa 2000
| Sotheby's case A626057
|}

==Movement notes==

Phillips and Christie's list caliber 3155 with 31 jewels. Cambi's 2023 listing gives caliber 3135. Rolex dates caliber 3155 to 1988 and describes independent correction of the day and date.

==Dial map==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Dial
! Published example
|-
| Bloodstone
| Phillips case S935324. The image shows a green stone dial with copper-colored flecks.
|-
| Fossil hard stone
| Phillips case S494422 and Christie's case W020209. Phillips uses “Jurassic” as a dial name.
|-
| Coral
| Christie's case W008743 has a coral dial.
|-
| Grey-centred diamond-set dial with Arabic numerals
| Christie's case W030480. The catalogue also describes diamond-set lugs and a milled bezel.
|-
| Champagne with diamond and emerald markers
| Phillips case W032751. Phillips prints the dial name as “Snowfakes in Spring.”
|-
| Champagne diamond dial
| WatchTime Australia's listing describes a champagne diamond dial.
|-
| Mother-of-pearl with sapphire markers
| Phillips case W023987.
|-
| Blue
| Bucherer lists a blue index dial on an 18338.
|-
| Lapis lazuli with diamond markers
| Christie's 2026 report describes the lapis dial as a later addition.
|}

[[File:Ref 18338 dial.webp|thumb|right|250px|Front view of the fossil dial, fluted bezel and diamond-set lugs on Phillips lot 934.]]

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

Phillips and Sotheby's give a 36 mm diameter; Christie's lists W030480 at 35.5 mm. Phillips describes fluted bezels. Christie's describes milled bezels on W030480 and W020209. Its report on W008222 says the fitted bezel may be a replacement and the original was fluted.

Christie's lists a screw-down crown and caseback on W030480. Bucherer identifies a sapphire crystal on its CPO example. Phillips reports an inside-caseback stamp of 18200 on S494422; Christie's reports the same stamp on W020209. Both catalogues identify the watches as ref. 18338.

==Bracelet details==

Phillips records a yellow-gold President bracelet with 55B end links and a clasp stamped 8385 on S494422. Christie's lists the same bracelet type and numbers for W020209.

==Auction results==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sale
! Catalogued example
! Reported result
|-
| Christie's, Important Watches, lot 341, 2014
| Case W030480, grey-centred diamond-set dial
| USD 21,250
|-
| Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction: Nine, lot 934, 26 November 2019
| Case S494422, fossil dial
| HK$175,000
|-
| Phillips, Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII, lot 177, 9 May 2026
| Case S935324, bloodstone dial
| CHF 76,200
|}

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 18338 hero.webp|alt=Angled view of yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date 18338 with fossil dial and diamond-set lugs, Phillips lot 934|Phillips lot 934, case S494422
File:Ref 18338 dial.webp|alt=Front view of the fossil dial, fluted bezel and diamond-set lugs on Phillips lot 934|Fossil dial and fluted bezel
File:Ref 18338 guarantee.webp|alt=18338 with Bucherer guarantee and presentation box, Phillips lot 934|The watch, guarantee and box
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/131706 "Hong Kong Watch Auction: Nine, lot 934 — ref. 18338, case S494422 (2019)", Phillips, 2019-11-26]
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/229935 "Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII, lot 177 — ref. 18338, case S935324", Phillips, 2026-05-09]
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/HK080115/96 "Hong Kong Watch Auction: ONE, lot 96 — ref. 18338, case W023987", Phillips]
* [https://content.phillips.com/catalogs/CH080115_catalog.pdf "Glamorous Day-Date, lot 34 — ref. 18338, case W032751", Phillips]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6194133 "Dubai Important Watches, lot 149 — ref. 18338, case W008743", Christie’s, 2019-03-22]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6079819 "Important Watches, lot 2738 — ref. 18338, case W020209", Christie’s]
* [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/passion-time-important-private-collection-watches-timepieces-online/rolex-yellow-gold-diamond-sapphire-set-day-date-mother-of-pearl-dial-2216/201079 "Passion for Time, lot 2216 — ref. 18338, serial W008222", Christie’s, 2023-11-21]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2025/important-watches-i/day-date-reference-18338-a-yellow-gold-and-diamond "Important Watches I, lot 2121 — ref. 18338, case A626057", Sotheby’s, 2025-04-24]
* [https://www.bucherer.com/ch/en/rolex-certified-pre-owned/watches/day-date/1519-779-0.html "Rolex Certified Pre-Owned listing — ref. 18338, dated 1992", Bucherer]
* [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/watches-online-geneva-edit/rolex-yellow-gold-diamond-set-day-date-lapis-lazuli-dial-ref-18338-631/328866 "Watches Online: The Geneva Edit — ref. 18338, serial W022882", Christie’s]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5864974 "Important Watches, lot 341 — ref. 18338, case W030480", Christie's, 2014-12-09]
* [https://www.phillips.com/auction/HK080319 "Hong Kong Watch Auction: Nine — sale date and lot 934 result", Phillips, 2019-11-26]
* [https://dist.phillips.com/content/web/auction-results/auctionResultsFile_CH080226.pdf "Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII — official results, lot 177", Phillips, 2026-05-09]
* [https://www.rolex.com/en-us/watches/day-date/those-who-shape-the-world "Day-Date history: caliber 3155", Rolex]
* [https://www.cambiaste.com/uk/auction-0878/rolex-rare-and-precious-daydate-ref-18338-in-18k-yellow-gold-set-with--298189 "Cambi Watches auction 878, lot 84 — ref. 18338, case N.353.xxx", Cambi Casa d’Aste, 2023-12-05]
* [https://www.vrfm.io/Scans/CALIBER-3135-3155-3175-3185-TECHNICAL-INFORMATION.pdf "Technical Information: calibres 3135, 3155, 3175 and 3185", Montres Rolex SA, 2004-12]
* [https://www.fratellowatches.com/rolex-day-date-historical-overview-of-rolexs-flagship/ Robert-Jan Broer, "Rolex Day-Date — Historical Overview Of Rolex's Flagship", Fratello, 2019-11-08]
* [https://www.watchtime.com.au/product/rolex-president-day-date-18338-diamond-dial-diamond-lugs-c-1991/ "Rolex President Day-Date 18338, circa 1991", WatchTime Australia]

[[Category:Day-Date]]