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Add Rolex Forums (Wayback) period source confirming summer 2007 launch
Full reference audit: production evidence, dial examples, movement and 2020 transition
 
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 177200 Oyster Perpetual 31}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 (177200)}}
{{#seo:
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 (177200) — 2007–2020, Cal 2231 | BezelBase
|title=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 (177200) — Calibre 2231 and Dials | Rolexopedia
|description=The 177200 was the Oyster Perpetual 31 from 2007 to 2020 — Cal 2231, white and blue azzurro dials documented. One of only two entry-tier OP sizes Rolex carried forward unbroken into 2020, replaced directly by the 277200 rather than discontinued outright.
|description=Reference guide to the Rolex 177200: 31 mm case, Calibre 2231, dated dial examples and the 2020 transition to reference 277200.
|keywords=Rolex, 177200, Oyster Perpetual 31, Oyster Perpetual, specifications, reference guide
|keywords=Rolex 177200, Oyster Perpetual 31, calibre 2231, azzurro dial, salmon dial, white Roman dial
|image=Ref 177200 hero.webp
|image=Ref 177200 hero.webp
|image_alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 177200 on Oyster bracelet
|image_alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 reference 177200 in steel on an Oyster bracelet
|type=Article
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|og_type=article
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}}
}}


<small>[[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual]] -&gt; '''177200'''</small>
<small>[[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual]] → '''177200'''</small>


The 177200 is the Oyster Perpetual 31: a 31mm steel Oyster on caliber 2231, in production from 2007 to 2020. It is routinely lumped together with the 176200 in casual references to "the 176200/177200" pair — the two share a launch year and a caliber family, but the 176200 is a 26mm watch and the 177200 is a 31mm watch, five millimetres and a full case-diameter step apart. Where Rolex dropped the 26mm size outright in 2020, the 31mm survived the transition, replaced directly by the 277200 rather than discontinued.
<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 177200 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 reference 177200 in steel on an Oyster bracelet|Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31, reference 177200]]
</div>


<span id="core-facts"></span>
The 177200 is a 31 mm steel Oyster Perpetual with no date and automatic Calibre 2231. A watch sold with its guarantee and receipt in 2007 confirms the reference was in use that year; Rolex still listed it in its August 2020 catalogue. In the September 2020 range, reference 277200 took over the 31 mm position with Calibre 2232. The catalogue records do not establish the last production or delivery date of the 177200.
 
[[File:Ref 177200 hero.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 177200 on Oyster bracelet|Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31, ref. 177200]]


== Core facts ==
== Core facts ==


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! detail !! value
! detail
! value
|-
|-
| reference
| reference || 177200
| 177200
|-
|-
| family
| family || Oyster Perpetual
| Oyster Perpetual
|-
|-
| common name
| catalogue name || Oyster Perpetual 31
| "Oyster Perpetual 31," "OP31"
|-
|-
| production
| documented span || 2007 example; listed by Rolex on 9 August 2020
| 2007–2020
|-
|-
| case
| case || 31 mm Oystersteel
| 31mm steel Oyster, monobloc middle case, domed bezel
|-
|-
| crystal
| bezel || domed
| scratch-resistant sapphire
|-
|-
| crown
| crystal || scratch-resistant sapphire
| Twinlock screw-down
|-
|-
| water resistance
| crown || screw-down Twinlock
| 100m / 330 feet
|-
|-
| movement
| water resistance || 100 m / 330 ft
| caliber 2231, self-winding, ~48h reserve, COSC certified
|-
|-
| dial (documented)
| movement || self-winding Calibre 2231; 31 jewels; chronometer-certified
| white, blue azzurro
|-
|-
| bracelet
| power reserve || 48 hours, per Heritage's 2026 catalogue for one example
| Oyster, flat three-piece links, Oysterclasp
|-
|-
| predecessor
| bracelet || Oyster, three-piece links, Oysterclasp
| earlier 31mm no-date Oyster Perpetual generations
|-
|-
| successor
| later 31 mm reference || 277200, introduced in the 2020 Oyster Perpetual refresh with Calibre 2232
| 277200, Oyster Perpetual 31 (2020) — direct same-size replacement
|}
|}


<span id="where-it-sits-in-the-line"></span>
== Where it sits in the line ==
== Where it sits in the line ==


The 177200 belongs to the same 2007 refresh as the 176200, 116000 and Air-King 114200, sharing caliber 2231 with the 176200 and the general design language of the whole generation: engraved rehaut, COSC certification, domed bezel, Oyster bracelet. Its own archived Rolex catalogue page lists the "OYSTER PERPETUAL 31" as a distinct model from the "OYSTER PERPETUAL 26" — Rolex's own site copy treated the two as separate watches, not dial variants of one reference.
The 177200 is the 31 mm model; the similar 176200 is 26 mm. Both use Calibre 2231, but they are different references and case sizes. The 36 mm 116000 belongs to the same broad period. The Air-King 114200 was also in the catalogue, but it is a separate line.


Unlike the 26mm and 39mm sizes, which Rolex retired outright in the 2020 relaunch, the 31mm size survived — the 177200 handed off directly to the 277200, keeping the same case diameter through the transition to caliber 2232 and the wider Stella-inspired dial range. That makes the 177200 one of only two pre-2020 entry-tier Oyster Perpetual sizes (with the 36mm 116000) to have a like-for-like successor rather than a discontinuation or a size change.
Rolex kept a 31 mm Oyster Perpetual in the range in 2020, changing from the 177200 to the 277200. The new model retained the nominal case diameter but moved to Calibre 2232. That is a same-size successor in the catalogue, not an unchanged continuation of the earlier watch.


<span id="production-outline"></span>
== Production outline ==
== Production outline ==


The 177200 entered the catalogue in 2007 alongside the 176200, 116000 and Air-King 114200, running through to 2020 on caliber 2231 with no documented reference-number change across the run. Rolex's archived catalogue shows it current as late as an archived 2019 snapshot, before the September 2020 relaunch replaced it with the 277200.
A Cheffins lot for a 177200 included a guarantee dated 1 November 2007 and a purchase receipt dated 29 September 2007. Rolex's catalogue still listed the reference on 9 August 2020. A snapshot from 3 September shows the refreshed Oyster Perpetual range. Those records establish an early dated example and bracket the catalogue change; they do not give factory production boundaries.
 
The available material does not show a reference-number change during the run. Serial numbers can help date a specific watch, but they do not provide a precise production year on their own. See [[Reference:Serial-numbers]] for the system's limits.


<span id="movement-notes"></span>
== Movement notes ==
== Movement notes ==


Caliber 2231 is shared with the 176200, the smaller-diameter movement family Rolex used on its 26mm and 31mm Oyster Perpetual sizes rather than the caliber 3130/3132 fitted to the 34mm, 36mm and 39mm references of the same generation. Self-winding via the Perpetual rotor, roughly 48 hours of power reserve, COSC chronometer certification standard across the run.
Calibre 2231 is an automatic chronometer movement used in both the 177200 and the smaller 26 mm 176200. Heritage records 31 jewels and a 48-hour power reserve on its 2026 example. Those specifications describe that catalogued watch; Rolex did not publish a reference-specific year-by-year movement schedule in the material consulted here.
 
The 2020 successor, 277200, uses Calibre 2232. Its technical specifications belong to the later reference and should not be read back onto the 177200.


<span id="dial-map"></span>
== Dial map ==
== Dial map ==


Two configurations are documented: a white dial and a "blue azzurro" dial, both with applied stick hour markers and baton hands. As with the 176200, the documented range likely undercounts the full palette offered across a 13-year run; only these two are independently confirmed here.
The cited records document several dial layouts: a silver Explorer-style dial with baton markers and Arabic numerals on an example delivered in 2007, a white dial with blue Roman numerals, a blue azzurro dial with Roman numerals, and a salmon dial in a later auction catalogue. These are catalogued examples, not a complete dial list or a chronology for each color.


<span id="case-bezel-crystal-and-crown-notes"></span>
== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==
== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==


31mm monobloc-middle Oyster case in Oystersteel, domed smooth bezel, sapphire crystal without a Cyclops lens, Twinlock screw-down crown, 100m water resistance.
Rolex's archived model specification describes a 31 mm Oystersteel case, domed bezel, sapphire crystal, screw-down Twinlock crown and 100 m water resistance. There is no date display or Cyclops lens. Some auction catalogues use different case descriptions, so the manufacturer's specification is the better reference for construction details.


<span id="bracelets-and-clasps"></span>
== Bracelet and clasp ==
== Bracelets, end links, and clasps ==


Oyster bracelet, flat three-piece links, folding Oysterclasp — consistent with the rest of the 2007-generation entry-tier line.
The watch was paired with a steel Oyster bracelet and Oysterclasp. Rolex describes the Oyster bracelet's broad, flat three-piece links as a design used across the collection. The cited examples do not establish a universal clasp code, Easylink fitment or bracelet changeover date for the 177200. Bracelet and clasp codes date those components, not the watch head; see [[Reference:Bracelets]].


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


* [[Reference:176200|Oyster Perpetual 26 (176200)]] — same generation, same caliber family, one size down
* [[Reference:176200|Oyster Perpetual 26 (176200)]] — smaller case, same Calibre 2231
* [[Reference:116000|Oyster Perpetual 36 (116000)]]
* [[Reference:116000|Oyster Perpetual 36 (116000)]]
* [[Reference:114200|Air-King 114200]] — same 2007 launch year
* [[Reference:114200|Air-King 114200]] — separate line from the same period
* [[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual family index]]


See also the [[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
See also the [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]] and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial-number guide]].
 
== Auction record ==
 
These catalogue records document individual examples; they do not establish dial option dates or market values.
 
{| class="wikitable"
! auction !! lot !! catalogue description
|-
| Cheffins || 274 || Silver Explorer-style dial; guarantee dated 1 November 2007 and receipt dated 29 September 2007
|-
| Heritage Auctions || 13042 || White dial with blue Roman numerals; Calibre 2231, 31 jewels and 48-hour reserve; sold 16 February 2026
|-
| Gazette Drouot || 157 || Salmon dial; 31 mm case
|}


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131210191936/http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=24967 "new mid-size oyster perpetual 177200", Rolex Forums thread, Oct 2007 — period confirmation of the summer 2007 launch]
== Sources ==
== Sources ==


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181111064658/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m177200-0016.html Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31, ref. 177200 — official specifications, archived] (rolex.com via Wayback Machine, 2019)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181111064658/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m177200-0016.html Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31, reference 177200 — archived Rolex specification, 2018]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181111072551/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m177200-0015.html Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31, ref. 177200, blue azzurro dial — official specifications, archived] (rolex.com via Wayback Machine, 2019)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181111072551/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m177200-0015.html Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31, blue azzurro dial — archived Rolex specification, 2018]
* [https://www.watchguys.com/pages/rolex-oyster-perpetual-guide Robertino Altieri, "Rolex Oyster Perpetual Buyer's Guide: History & Prices", WatchGuys]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200809001853/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual.html Rolex Oyster Perpetual catalogue, 9 August 2020]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200903185812/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual.html Rolex Oyster Perpetual catalogue, 3 September 2020]
* [https://fineart.cheffins.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-274---rolex---a-steel-oyster-perpetual-31-wristwatch/?au=2035&ef=&et=&g=1&ic=False&lot=281157&pn=23&pp=12&sd=0&so=0&st=&sto=0 Cheffins, lot 274 — 177200 with 2007 guarantee and receipt]
* [https://jewelry.ha.com/itm/timepieces/wristwatch/rolex-oyster-perpetual-31-stainless-steel-ref-177200/a/21185-13042.s Heritage Auctions, lot 13042, 16 February 2026]
* [https://www.gazette-drouot.com/telechargement/catalogue?venteId=178245 Gazette Drouot, lot 157 — 177200 salmon dial]
* [https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m277200-0017 Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31, reference 277200 — current later-generation specification]


[[Category:Oyster Perpetual]]
[[Category:Oyster Perpetual]]

Latest revision as of 09:19, 25 September 2026


Oyster Perpetual → 177200

Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 reference 177200 in steel on an Oyster bracelet
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31, reference 177200

The 177200 is a 31 mm steel Oyster Perpetual with no date and automatic Calibre 2231. A watch sold with its guarantee and receipt in 2007 confirms the reference was in use that year; Rolex still listed it in its August 2020 catalogue. In the September 2020 range, reference 277200 took over the 31 mm position with Calibre 2232. The catalogue records do not establish the last production or delivery date of the 177200.

Core facts

detail value
reference 177200
family Oyster Perpetual
catalogue name Oyster Perpetual 31
documented span 2007 example; listed by Rolex on 9 August 2020
case 31 mm Oystersteel
bezel domed
crystal scratch-resistant sapphire
crown screw-down Twinlock
water resistance 100 m / 330 ft
movement self-winding Calibre 2231; 31 jewels; chronometer-certified
power reserve 48 hours, per Heritage's 2026 catalogue for one example
bracelet Oyster, three-piece links, Oysterclasp
later 31 mm reference 277200, introduced in the 2020 Oyster Perpetual refresh with Calibre 2232

Where it sits in the line

The 177200 is the 31 mm model; the similar 176200 is 26 mm. Both use Calibre 2231, but they are different references and case sizes. The 36 mm 116000 belongs to the same broad period. The Air-King 114200 was also in the catalogue, but it is a separate line.

Rolex kept a 31 mm Oyster Perpetual in the range in 2020, changing from the 177200 to the 277200. The new model retained the nominal case diameter but moved to Calibre 2232. That is a same-size successor in the catalogue, not an unchanged continuation of the earlier watch.

Production outline

A Cheffins lot for a 177200 included a guarantee dated 1 November 2007 and a purchase receipt dated 29 September 2007. Rolex's catalogue still listed the reference on 9 August 2020. A snapshot from 3 September shows the refreshed Oyster Perpetual range. Those records establish an early dated example and bracket the catalogue change; they do not give factory production boundaries.

The available material does not show a reference-number change during the run. Serial numbers can help date a specific watch, but they do not provide a precise production year on their own. See Reference:Serial-numbers for the system's limits.

Movement notes

Calibre 2231 is an automatic chronometer movement used in both the 177200 and the smaller 26 mm 176200. Heritage records 31 jewels and a 48-hour power reserve on its 2026 example. Those specifications describe that catalogued watch; Rolex did not publish a reference-specific year-by-year movement schedule in the material consulted here.

The 2020 successor, 277200, uses Calibre 2232. Its technical specifications belong to the later reference and should not be read back onto the 177200.

Dial map

The cited records document several dial layouts: a silver Explorer-style dial with baton markers and Arabic numerals on an example delivered in 2007, a white dial with blue Roman numerals, a blue azzurro dial with Roman numerals, and a salmon dial in a later auction catalogue. These are catalogued examples, not a complete dial list or a chronology for each color.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Rolex's archived model specification describes a 31 mm Oystersteel case, domed bezel, sapphire crystal, screw-down Twinlock crown and 100 m water resistance. There is no date display or Cyclops lens. Some auction catalogues use different case descriptions, so the manufacturer's specification is the better reference for construction details.

Bracelet and clasp

The watch was paired with a steel Oyster bracelet and Oysterclasp. Rolex describes the Oyster bracelet's broad, flat three-piece links as a design used across the collection. The cited examples do not establish a universal clasp code, Easylink fitment or bracelet changeover date for the 177200. Bracelet and clasp codes date those components, not the watch head; see Reference:Bracelets.

Related references

See also the movement reference and serial-number guide.

Auction record

These catalogue records document individual examples; they do not establish dial option dates or market values.

auction lot catalogue description
Cheffins 274 Silver Explorer-style dial; guarantee dated 1 November 2007 and receipt dated 29 September 2007
Heritage Auctions 13042 White dial with blue Roman numerals; Calibre 2231, 31 jewels and 48-hour reserve; sold 16 February 2026
Gazette Drouot 157 Salmon dial; 31 mm case

Sources