Reference:218206 - Revision history

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2026-09-05T01:21:01Z

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	<small>[[Reference:day-date\|Day-Date]] -> '''218206'''</small>		<small>[[Reference:day-date\|Day-Date]] › '''218206'''</small>

	The 218206 is the platinum Day-Date II, the 41mm President made from 2008 to 2015 and the watch most collectors picture as the "President's President." Platinum is the metal Rolex reserves its ice-blue dial for, and the 218206 wears it, with a smooth platinum bezel and the platinum President bracelet on the larger 41mm case and the caliber 3156. It is the Day-Date II in its most coveted form, even though the 41mm size that defines the generation proved divisive enough that Rolex stepped back to 40mm in 2015.		The 218206 is the platinum Day-Date II, the 41mm President made from 2008 to 2015 and the watch most collectors picture as the "President's President." Platinum is the metal Rolex reserves its ice-blue dial for, and the 218206 wears it, with a smooth platinum bezel and the platinum President bracelet on the larger 41mm case and the caliber 3156. It is the Day-Date II in its most coveted form, even though the 41mm size that defines the generation proved divisive enough that Rolex stepped back to 40mm in 2015.
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	==Core facts==		==Core facts==

	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable rp-facts"
	\|-		\|-
	! detail		! detail

Admin: Cleanup: remove stale Category:Working Draft — page is fully published, category has no functional gate in code

2026-08-09T23:55:21Z

Cleanup: remove stale Category:Working Draft — page is fully published, category has no functional gate in code

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	[[Category:Day-Date]]		[[Category:Day-Date]]
	~~[[Category:Working Draft]]~~

Admin: Text audit: voice, clarity, source links

2026-08-09T21:12:25Z

Text audit: voice, clarity, source links

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:12, 9 August 2026
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	<small>[[Reference:day-date\|Day-Date]] → '''218206'''</small>		<small>[[Reference:day-date\|Day-Date]] -> '''218206'''</small>

	The 218206 is the platinum Day-Date II, the 41mm President made from 2008 to 2015 and the watch most collectors picture as the "President's President." Platinum is the metal Rolex reserves its ice-blue dial for, and the 218206 wears it~~: a glacier-blue dial~~, a smooth platinum bezel and the platinum President bracelet, on the larger 41mm case and the caliber 3156. It is the Day-Date II in its most coveted form, even though the 41mm size that defines the generation proved divisive enough that Rolex stepped back to 40mm in 2015.		The 218206 is the platinum Day-Date II, the 41mm President made from 2008 to 2015 and the watch most collectors picture as the "President's President." Platinum is the metal Rolex reserves its ice-blue dial for, and the 218206 wears it, with a smooth platinum bezel and the platinum President bracelet on the larger 41mm case and the caliber 3156. It is the Day-Date II in its most coveted form, even though the 41mm size that defines the generation proved divisive enough that Rolex stepped back to 40mm in 2015.

	[[File:Ref 218206 hero.webp\|thumb\|right\|260px\|alt=Platinum Rolex Day-Date II 218206 ice-blue dial\|Rolex Day-Date II 218206 in platinum — the ice-blue dial Rolex reserves for platinum, on the 41mm case and platinum President bracelet.]]		[[File:Ref 218206 hero.webp\|thumb\|right\|260px\|alt=Platinum Rolex Day-Date II 218206 ice-blue dial\|Rolex Day-Date II 218206 in platinum — the ice-blue dial Rolex reserves for platinum, on the 41mm case and platinum President bracelet.]]
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	==Where it sits in the line==		==Where it sits in the line==

	The 218206 is the platinum member of the Day-Date II, the generation that scaled the President to 41mm from 2008 to 2015. It ~~is the only Day-Date II to wear the ice-blue dial, because Rolex reserves that colour for platinum across the whole catalogue. It sits~~ in a platinum lineage of its own: the 5-digit [[Reference:18208\|18208]]-era ~~platinum 18206 and~~ the ~~6-digit~~ 118206~~, both 36mm, then the~~ 41mm ~~218206~~, ~~then~~ the 40mm 228206 that ~~followed~~ it. The yellow-gold Day-Date II is the [[Reference:218238\|218238]], with white gold the 218239, Everose the 218235, and factory diamond bezels on the gold 218348 and 218349. ~~The~~ smooth bezel is correct ~~for the era:~~ Rolex did not ~~offer~~ a fluted bezel on a platinum Day-Date until 2023~~, so a fluted 218206 does not exist~~.		The 218206 is the platinum member of the Day-Date II, the generation that scaled the President to 41mm from 2008 to 2015. It stands in a platinum lineage of its own, running from the 36mm 18206 of the 5-digit [[Reference:18208\|18208]] era through the 36mm 118206 to this 41mm reference, and on to the 40mm 228206 that replaced it. The yellow-gold Day-Date II is the [[Reference:218238\|218238]], with white gold the 218239, Everose the 218235, and factory diamond bezels on the gold 218348 and 218349. Only a smooth bezel is correct here, since Rolex did not put a fluted bezel on a platinum Day-Date until 2023.

	==Production outline==		==Production outline==

	The 218206 ran for the Day-Date II's full 2008–2015 life. The 41mm case was the point of the generation and also its problem~~: it~~ gave the President more wrist presence than it had ever had, ~~but it strayed from~~ the 36mm formula that defined the line, and the Day-Date II ~~had~~ the shortest run of any modern Day-Date before ~~Rolex replaced it with~~ the 40mm Day-Date 40 in 2015. Within the platinum reference, the ice-blue dial arrived partway through the run, by most accounts around 2013. Rolex has never documented the change. No production figure has surfaced; the platinum DD-II is a low-volume reference within an already short-lived generation.		The 218206 ran for the Day-Date II's full 2008–2015 life. The 41mm case was the point of the generation and also its problem. It gave the President more wrist presence than it had ever had, at the cost of the 36mm formula that defined the line, and the Day-Date II ended up with the shortest run of any modern Day-Date before the 40mm Day-Date 40 replaced it in 2015. Within the platinum reference, the ice-blue dial arrived partway through the run, by most accounts around 2013. Rolex has never documented the change. No production figure has surfaced; the platinum DD-II is a low-volume reference within an already short-lived generation.

	==Movement notes==		==Movement notes==

	The 218206 runs the caliber 3156, the 41mm derivative of the caliber 3155: 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, a roughly 48-hour reserve, double quickset for day and date, and COSC certification, with the Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock protection of the period. It is the same movement as the gold [[Reference:218238\|218238]]; the ~~platinum~~ case and ~~ice-blue~~ dial ~~are what set the 218206 apart, not the calibre~~. The [[Reference:Movements]] page holds the caliber lineage, and the [[Reference:218238\|218238]] entry covers the 3156 in detail.		The 218206 runs the caliber 3156, the 41mm derivative of the caliber 3155: 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, a roughly 48-hour reserve, double quickset for day and date, and COSC certification, with the Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock protection of the period. It is the same movement as the gold [[Reference:218238\|218238]], so what separates the two is the case metal and the dial. The [[Reference:Movements]] page holds the caliber lineage, and the [[Reference:218238\|218238]] entry covers the 3156 in detail.

	==Dial map==		==Dial map==
	[[File:Ref 218206 roman.webp\|thumb\|right\|250px\|alt=Platinum Rolex 218206 ice-blue concentric Roman dial\|The ice-blue concentric-guilloché Roman dial, the most recognised of the platinum 218206 layouts.]]		[[File:Ref 218206 roman.webp\|thumb\|right\|250px\|alt=Platinum Rolex 218206 ice-blue concentric Roman dial\|The ice-blue concentric-guilloché Roman dial, the most recognised of the platinum 218206 layouts.]]

			Ice-blue, the glacier-blue tone Rolex applies only to platinum, is the 218206's signature and the reason the reference is collected. It comes in a concentric-guilloché Roman layout, an Arabic-numeral layout, and diamond-set versions. Rhodium and grey, black with Arabic numerals, black diamond and white Roman were all catalogued as well, but the ice-blue is the one that reads as platinum on sight, and the platinum-and-ice-blue pairing is what earns the watch its "President's President" tag. The deep dial taxonomy that spans the President line sits on the [[Reference:1803\|1803]] entry.
	Ice-blue, the glacier-blue tone Rolex applies only to platinum, is the 218206's signature and the reason the reference is collected. It ~~appears~~ in ~~several layouts: the~~ concentric-guilloché Roman ~~dial~~, ~~the~~ Arabic-numeral ~~dial~~, and diamond-set versions. ~~The reference was also offered in rhodium~~ and grey, black with Arabic numerals, black diamond and white Roman, but the ice-blue is the one that reads as platinum on sight~~. Because ice~~-~~blue is platinum~~-~~exclusive, an~~ ice-blue ~~dial~~ is ~~itself a marker of~~ the ~~metal~~. The deep dial taxonomy that spans the President line sits on the [[Reference:1803\|1803]] entry~~; on the 218206 the ice-blue dial is the whole point~~.

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

	The case is 41mm in 950 platinum, with a sapphire crystal and a Twinlock screw-down crown. The bezel is the smooth, gently domed platinum bezel; the fluting that the gold and Everose Day-Date II references carried was not offered on the platinum in this generation, and the platinum fluted bezel did not arrive until 2023. The 41mm proportions give the 218206 markedly more wrist presence than a 36mm President~~, the defining trait of the Day-Date II and the one collectors are most divided on~~.		The case is 41mm in 950 platinum, with a sapphire crystal and a Twinlock screw-down crown. The bezel is the smooth, gently domed platinum bezel; the fluting that the gold and Everose Day-Date II references carried was not offered on the platinum in this generation, and the platinum fluted bezel did not arrive until 2023. The 41mm proportions give the 218206 markedly more wrist presence than a 36mm President.

	==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==		==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==
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	==Special branches==		==Special branches==

	~~===Ice-blue, the platinum signature===~~

	Ice-blue is the colour Rolex gives only to platinum, and the 218206 is the only Day-Date II that wears it. That exclusivity is the reference's identity: the dial announces the metal, and the platinum-plus-ice-blue combination is what earns the watch the "President's President" tag. The concentric-guilloché Roman dial is the most recognised of the ice-blue layouts.

	===The Royal Khanjar===		===The Royal Khanjar===
	[[File:Ref 218206 khanjar.webp\|thumb\|right\|250px\|alt=Platinum Rolex Day-Date II 218206 Royal Khanjar with ice-blue diamond-set dial\|The diamond-set "Royal Khanjar" 218206, an Oman royal commission carrying the Khanjar engraved on the caseback — the modern end of the Gulf-commission tradition.]]		[[File:Ref 218206 khanjar.webp\|thumb\|right\|250px\|alt=Platinum Rolex Day-Date II 218206 Royal Khanjar with ice-blue diamond-set dial\|The diamond-set "Royal Khanjar" 218206, an Oman royal commission carrying the Khanjar engraved on the caseback — the modern end of the Gulf-commission tradition.]]


	A platinum, diamond-set 218206 with an ice-blue dial, delivered to the Diwan of the Royal Court in Oman around 2012, sits at the top of the reference. Sotheby's catalogued it with the royal Khanjar emblem engraved on the caseback, placing the 218206 at the modern end of the Gulf-commission tradition that runs back through the platinum [[Reference:1831\|1831]] and the 6612B "Lone Star."		A platinum, diamond-set 218206 with an ice-blue dial, delivered to the Diwan of the Royal Court in Oman around 2012, sits at the top of the reference. Sotheby's catalogued it with the royal Khanjar emblem engraved on the caseback, placing the 218206 at the modern end of the Gulf-commission tradition that runs back through the platinum [[Reference:1831\|1831]] and the 6612B "Lone Star."
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	==Auction record==		==Auction record==

	The 218206 trades as a platinum modern classic, and the special commissions sit above the standard ice-blue examples. Sotheby's catalogued the diamond-set Royal Khanjar 218206 in 2025 with the result not publicly disclosed. Antiquorum sold a standard platinum ice-blue example in Geneva in 2025 for CHF 45,000, and Bonhams an ice-blue Arabic example in London the same year for £32,000. ~~The~~ standard platinum ice-blue 218206 sits ~~roughly~~ in the high-forties to mid-sixties of thousands of dollars ~~on the secondary market,~~ clearly above the gold 218238 on metal value and the ice-blue cachet, and generally below the 40mm ~~Day-Date 40~~ platinum 228206 that followed it, the size the market preferred. The 41mm ~~proportions are~~ the reference's main drag on price; the ~~genuine~~ premium concentrates on the commissioned and diamond-set examples ~~rather than standard production~~.		The 218206 trades as a platinum modern classic, and the special commissions sit above the standard ice-blue examples. Sotheby's catalogued the diamond-set Royal Khanjar 218206 in 2025 with the result not publicly disclosed. Antiquorum sold a standard platinum ice-blue example in Geneva in 2025 for CHF 45,000, and Bonhams an ice-blue Arabic example in London the same year for £32,000. On the secondary market a standard platinum ice-blue 218206 sits in the high forties to mid sixties of thousands of dollars. That is clearly above the gold 218238, on metal value and on the ice-blue cachet, and generally below the 40mm platinum 228206 that followed it in the size the market preferred. The 41mm case is the reference's main drag on price, and the real premium concentrates on the commissioned and diamond-set examples.

	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"
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	\| Sotheby's		\| Sotheby's
	\| platinum "Royal Khanjar", diamond-set, ice-blue, Oman, c.2012		\| platinum "Royal Khanjar", diamond-set, ice-blue, Oman, c.2012
	\| published ~~lot reference~~		\| result not published
	\|-		\|-
	\| 2025		\| 2025
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	\| £32,000		\| £32,000
	\|}		\|}


	== Related references ==		== Related references ==

Admin: Style: canonical '== Sources ==' heading spacing per AGENTS.md

2026-08-08T21:31:31Z

Style: canonical '== Sources ==' heading spacing per AGENTS.md

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	See also the [[Reference:day-date\|Day-Date family index]], [[Reference:Movements\|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets\|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers\|serial numbers by year]].		See also the [[Reference:day-date\|Day-Date family index]], [[Reference:Movements\|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets\|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers\|serial numbers by year]].

	==Sources==		== Sources ==

	* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra		* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra

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Admin: Correct Royal Khanjar placement: Sotheby's records the emblem engraved on the caseback, delivered to the Diwan of the Royal Court (prose + image alt/caption); rewrite ice-blue dating without primary/secondary-source jargon

2026-08-03T14:33:35Z

Correct Royal Khanjar placement: Sotheby's records the emblem engraved on the caseback, delivered to the Diwan of the Royal Court (prose + image alt/caption); rewrite ice-blue dating without primary/secondary-source jargon

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	==Production outline==		==Production outline==

	The 218206 ran for the Day-Date II's full 2008–2015 life. The 41mm case was the point of the generation and also its problem: it gave the President more wrist presence than it had ever had, but it strayed from the 36mm formula that defined the line, and the Day-Date II had the shortest run of any modern Day-Date before Rolex replaced it with the 40mm Day-Date 40 in 2015. Within the platinum reference, the ice-blue dial ~~is widely said to have~~ arrived partway through the run, around 2013~~, though that timing is repeated in secondary sources rather than confirmed in a primary one~~. No production figure has surfaced; the platinum DD-II is a low-volume reference within an already short-lived generation.		The 218206 ran for the Day-Date II's full 2008–2015 life. The 41mm case was the point of the generation and also its problem: it gave the President more wrist presence than it had ever had, but it strayed from the 36mm formula that defined the line, and the Day-Date II had the shortest run of any modern Day-Date before Rolex replaced it with the 40mm Day-Date 40 in 2015. Within the platinum reference, the ice-blue dial arrived partway through the run, by most accounts around 2013. Rolex has never documented the change. No production figure has surfaced; the platinum DD-II is a low-volume reference within an already short-lived generation.

	==Movement notes==		==Movement notes==
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	===The Royal Khanjar===		===The Royal Khanjar===
	[[File:Ref 218206 khanjar.webp\|thumb\|right\|250px\|alt=Platinum Rolex 218206 Royal Khanjar ~~Oman~~ dial\|The diamond-set "Royal Khanjar" 218206 ~~with~~ the ~~crest of~~ the ~~Sultanate of Oman~~ — the modern end of the Gulf-commission tradition.]]		[[File:Ref 218206 khanjar.webp\|thumb\|right\|250px\|alt=Platinum Rolex Day-Date II 218206 Royal Khanjar with ice-blue diamond-set dial\|The diamond-set "Royal Khanjar" 218206, an Oman royal commission carrying the Khanjar engraved on the caseback — the modern end of the Gulf-commission tradition.]]


	A platinum, diamond-set 218206 with an ice-blue dial ~~and~~ the ~~crest~~ of the ~~Sultanate of~~ Oman~~, made for the royal household~~ around 2012, sits at the top of the reference. ~~Catalogued by~~ Sotheby's, it ~~carries~~ the Khanjar emblem the ~~way the earlier platinum Arabic Presidents did~~, placing the 218206 at the modern end of the Gulf-commission tradition that runs back through the platinum [[Reference:1831\|1831]] and the 6612B "Lone Star."		A platinum, diamond-set 218206 with an ice-blue dial, delivered to the Diwan of the Royal Court in Oman around 2012, sits at the top of the reference. Sotheby's catalogued it with the royal Khanjar emblem engraved on the caseback, placing the 218206 at the modern end of the Gulf-commission tradition that runs back through the platinum [[Reference:1831\|1831]] and the 6612B "Lone Star."

	==Auction record==		==Auction record==

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2026-07-18T12:52:29Z

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 | £32,000
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 ==Sources==

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	\|title=Rolex Day-Date II 218206 — The Platinum Ice-Blue "President's President"		\|title=Rolex Day-Date II 218206 — The Platinum Ice-Blue "President's President"
	\|~~titlemode~~=~~replace~~		\|description=The Rolex 218206 is the platinum 41mm Day-Date II (caliber 3156, 2008-2015) with the platinum-only ice-blue dial — the "President's President." Smooth bezel only; lineage 18206/118206 to the Day-Date 40 228206.
	\|keywords=Rolex 218206, Day-Date II 218206, platinum Day-Date, ice-blue dial, glacier blue, caliber 3156, President's President, Royal Khanjar		\|keywords=Rolex 218206, Day-Date II 218206, platinum Day-Date, ice-blue dial, glacier blue, caliber 3156, President's President, Royal Khanjar
	\|description=The Rolex 218206 is the platinum 41mm Day-Date II (caliber 3156, 2008-2015) with the platinum-only ice-blue dial — the "President's President." Smooth bezel only; lineage 18206/118206 to the Day-Date 40 228206.
	\|image=Ref 218206 hero.webp		\|image=Ref 218206 hero.webp
			\|image_alt=Platinum Rolex Day-Date II 218206 ice-blue dial
			\|type=Article
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	<small>[[Reference:day-date\|Day-Date]] → '''218206'''</small>		<small>[[Reference:day-date\|Day-Date]] → '''218206'''</small>