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Create researched Day-Date 18108 article

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Day-Date 18108 — Diamond-set bark bezel}}
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Day-Date 18108 — Diamond-set bark bezel | Rolexopedia
|description=Auction-documented Day-Date 18108: 18k yellow gold, caliber 3055, bark-finish diamond bezel, and recorded dial variants.
|keywords=Rolex 18108, Rolex Day-Date 18108, 3055, bark bezel, Stella dial, onyx dial
|image=Ref_18108_hero.webp
|image_alt=Yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date 18108 with blue dial, diamond-set bark bezel and bark-finish President bracelet
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}

<small>[[Reference:day-date|Day-Date]] → '''18108'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref_18108_hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date 18108 with blue dial, diamond-set bark bezel and bark-finish President bracelet|Ref. 18108, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2021, lot 2135.]]
</div>

The 18108 is an 18k yellow-gold Day-Date documented with a diamond-set bark bezel and bark-finish President bracelet. Auction records show blue and oxblood lacquer, onyx, and wood dials. Known catalogue dates place individual examples around 1985–86; the reference’s factory start and end dates remain undetermined.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! Detail
! What the records show
|-
| Family
| Day-Date, five-digit generation
|-
| Dated examples
| Auction catalogues date examples to circa 1985 and 1986; no firm start or end date established
|-
| Case
| 18k yellow gold; 36 mm in most catalogues, 35.5 mm in one
|-
| Bezel
| Bark finish with 12 diamonds documented on an onyx-dial example
|-
| Movement
| Caliber 3055 automatic; 27 jewels in several catalogues
|-
| Dial
| Blue and oxblood lacquer described as “Stella” by auction houses; also onyx and wood examples
|-
| Bracelet
| President, with bark-finish centre links documented; bracelet details vary by lot
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

The 18108 belongs to the single-quickset 3055 generation. Auction catalogues document the bark bezel with diamonds on the examples described here; they do not establish the full range of factory configurations.

==Production outline==

The dated auction examples fall in the mid-1980s. Christie's dates a wood-dial example to circa 1986 and two onyx examples to circa 1985. Sotheby's also dates its turquoise/blue-dial example to circa 1986. These are dates for individual watches, not production limits for the reference.

==Movement notes==

Christie's and Sotheby's identify the automatic movement as caliber 3055; catalogues that give a jewel count report 27. The 3055 corrects the date from the crown. To change the weekday, the hands must pass through midnight. The [[Reference:Movements|movement guide]] covers the 3055 and the later double-quickset 3155.

==Dial map==

The auction record shows several distinct dial configurations, but it does not establish a complete factory menu.

* Christie's describes black onyx dials with diamond hour markers. One separately catalogued onyx dial is explicitly identified as a service dial, so it does not establish original delivery.
* Christie's calls an oxblood lacquer dial “Stella.” Sotheby's uses the same term for one watch, described as turquoise in 2018 and blue in 2021. These are catalogue descriptions, not a separate reference designation.
* A wood dial appears on a circa-1986 example. The catalogues reviewed do not specify the wood species.

[[File:Ref_18108_dial.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Three-quarter view of the blue-dial 18108 with bark-finish bezel and bracelet|The same blue-dial example, shown at an angle; Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2021, lot 2135.]]

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

The catalogues describe an 18k yellow-gold case, a screw-down crown and caseback, and a 36 mm diameter. One Christie's listing measures its example at 35.5 mm. Sotheby's calls the 18038 an early sapphire-crystal Day-Date; the 18108 lot descriptions here omit the crystal material on the individual watches.

The documented 18108 examples pair a bark-textured bezel with diamonds. Christie's specifies 12 stones on one onyx-dial watch; other catalogue records describe a diamond-set bark bezel without giving a count. The lots support these individual configurations, while the setting on every 18108 remains unverified.

Sotheby's 2018 catalogue titles a turquoise-dial watch “18108A” and reports a caseback numbered 18000. Its 2021 listing calls the watch 18108 and repeats case number 9'342'167, identifying the same case in both sales. The 2021 listing does not give a movement number. The catalogues leave the “18108A” title and 18000 caseback unexplained. Christie's records another 18108 with 18200 stamped inside the caseback, also without explaining the marking. These are lot-specific discrepancies; the available records do not describe a reference-wide caseback convention.

==Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging==

The catalogued watches have 18k yellow-gold President bracelets, several with bark-finish centre links. Christie's records one bracelet with clasp stamp 8723 and end links 55; those marks describe that bracelet, not the watch head. A wood-dial example has a concealed deployant clasp. Sotheby's gives an approximately 185 mm length for its blue-dial example. These are lot-specific details; the sources do not tie any bracelet to original delivery or define one specification for every 18108.

[[File:Ref_18108_caseback.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Back view of a yellow-gold Day-Date 18108 and its opened President bracelet|Case and bracelet back of the same Sotheby's example. The image does not show a movement.]]

==Auction records==

The table covers six watches. Sotheby's listed the same case in 2018 and 2021, identified by case number 9'342'167. The 2018 listing gives movement number 1'438'362; the 2021 listing gives none.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date assigned by the catalogue
! House and lot
! Recorded configuration
|-
| circa 1985
| Christie's, lot 5841689
| 18k yellow gold, diamond-set bezel, champagne dial with ruby numerals
|-
| circa 1985
| Christie's online, lot 67
| Black onyx dial and diamond markers; the dial is described as a service dial
|-
| circa 1985
| Christie's, lot 6042612
| Onyx dial, bark President bracelet; clasp stamped 8723 and end links 55
|-
| circa 1986
| Christie's, lot 2363
| Wood dial and bark-finish President bracelet; 36 mm case, caliber 3055
|-
| circa 1986
| Sotheby's, lot 204 (2018); later listed as lot 2135 (2021)
| Same case number, 9'342'167; turquoise in 2018 and blue in 2021, both called “Stella”; 2018 record gives movement 1'438'362, 2021 record omits it
|-
| Date not stated
| Christie's, lot 6533554
| Case 8'961'548; oxblood lacquer dial described as “Stella”; bark-finish bezel and bracelet
|}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
Ref 18108 hero.webp|Blue-dial 18108, front view. Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2021, lot 2135.
Ref 18108 dial.webp|The same watch at an angle, showing the case and bracelet finish.
Ref 18108 caseback.webp|Case and bracelet back of the same watch; movement not shown.
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5841689 Christie's, "Christie's — Rolex Day-Date ref. 18108, lot 5841689", Christie's]
* [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/watches-online-dubai-edit/rolex-gold-oyster-perpetual-day-date-diamond-bezel-onyx-dial-ref-18108-67/115982 Christie's, "Christie's Online — Rolex Day-Date ref. 18108, lot 67", Christie's]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6042612 Christie's, "Christie's — Rolex Day-Date ref. 18108, lot 6042612", Christie's]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6202878 Christie's, "Christie's — Rolex Day-Date ref. 18108, lot 2363", Christie's]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/important-watches-n09952/lot.204.html Sotheby's, "Sotheby's — Rolex Day-Date ref. 18108A, lot 204", Sotheby's, 2018-12-05]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/important-watches/rolex-day-date-stella-reference-18108-a-yellow Sotheby's, "Sotheby's — Rolex Day-Date ref. 18108, lot 2135", Sotheby's, 2021-04-23]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6533554 Christie's, "Christie's — Rolex Day-Date ref. 18108, oxblood Stella dial, lot 6533554", Christie's]
* [https://www.vrfm.io/Scans/CALIBER-5035-5055-TECHNICAL-INFORMATION.pdf "Rolex Technical Information, calibers 5035 and 5055", Rolex]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/fine-watches-8/day-date-reference-18038-montre-bracelet-en-or Sotheby's, "Sotheby's Fine Watches 2023, lot 418 — Rolex Day-Date ref. 18038", Sotheby's]

[[Category:Day-Date]]

Reference:18108 - Revision history

Admin: Create researched Day-Date 18108 article