Reference:1831: Difference between revisions

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Day-Date › 1831

The 1831 is a platinum Day-Date with an angular case and integrated bracelet rather than the round President case used on most Day-Dates. Auction catalogues call the model “Emperor.” The case is solid platinum with a diamond-set bezel, and the cited records identify a numbered series made for the household of the Shah of Iran plus a later Omani Khanjar example. The exact total depends on whether that Omani watch is counted with the Iranian series.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	1831
family	Day-Date
nickname	the Emperor
production	special order, circa 1977; about eight numbered examples plus the Omani "Khanjar No. 9"
movement	automatic caliber 1556 (Sotheby's) / 1566 (most catalogues); no quickset; hacking-era
case	solid platinum, angular integrated-bracelet case (~40mm), shared with the 1530 / 1630 and the Oysterquartz — not the round President
crystal	acrylic
bezel	factory diamond-set
bracelet	integrated platinum, built into the case
dial	diamond-set markers; light-blue sunburst, Stella lacquer (burgundy and others), and the Omani Khanjar
crown	Twinlock screw-down
made for	the household of the Shah of Iran (the numbered series); the Sultanate of Oman (the Khanjar)
related	round platinum Day-Dates 1802 / 1803 / gem-set 1804; the integrated-case 1530 / 1630 and Oysterquartz 19018

Where it sits in the line

The 1831 differs from the usual Day-Date in its angular platinum case and integrated bracelet. The case is roughly 40mm, and the bracelet grows out of the case rather than attaching through removable President end links. The movement and day-date display remain part of the Day-Date family.

It sits apart from the other rare platinum Day-Dates. The platinum Arabic and Khanjar examples of the 1802, 1803 and gem-set 1804 keep the round President case; the 1831 alone moves to the integrated case. The case and bracelet difference, together with the numbered examples in the auction record, is why catalogues list it as a separate reference rather than as a routine dial or bezel variant. Some catalogues file it under "Oysterquartz" because of the case shape, though the movement inside is an automatic from the 1556 family.

Production outline

The 1831 was described in the cited catalogues as a special order rather than a regular catalogue model. The numbered series, generally cited as eight pieces, was built for the household of the Shah of Iran around 1977, each example carrying a different diamond-set dial. The watches are numbered between the lugs, and documented examples include No. 001, No. 004 and No. 5. A ninth platinum 1831, carrying the Omani Khanjar emblem rather than a plain or Stella dial, surfaced at Sotheby's in 2018; its case serial sits alongside the Iranian pieces, extending the known count to nine and crossing the series into Oman. The cited case serials run from about 5,055,000 to 5,087,000. That range is consistent with a small contemporary group, but it is not a Rolex production register. No standard catalogue presence exists for the reference, which is why so much of what is known comes from the auction record.

Movement notes

The caliber is recorded as the 1556 in the Sotheby's catalogue and as a purpose-built 1566 in most other catalogues and in the specialist literature, a 26-jewel, 19,800 vph movement from the same 1500 family as the 1803's. As with every 4-digit Day-Date it has no quickset, and it dates to the hacking era after 1972. The case is the unusual part; the movement is conventional Rolex mechanical for the period. The Reference:Movements page holds the caliber lineage, and the 1803 entry covers the 1555-to-1556 family in detail.

Dial map

Platinum Rolex 1831 with burgundy Stella dial — No. 5 of the series, a burgundy Stella lacquer dial on the integrated platinum bracelet — each numbered Emperor carries a different diamond-set dial.

Each of the numbered 1831s carries a different diamond-set dial. Documented dials include a light-blue sunburst with round-brilliant and baguette diamond markers, a burgundy Stella lacquer with oversized diamond markers, and plain silvered grounds with diamond-set numerals. The markers sit closer to the centre of the dial than on a standard Day-Date, a layout cue of the platinum special orders. The Omani "Khanjar No. 9" carries a silvered sunburst dial with diamond markers and the red crossed-daggers emblem of the Sultanate at six o'clock. The cited examples show different dials; they document individual watches rather than a complete catalogue of factory options.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The case is the feature that most clearly separates the 1831 from the round-case Day-Date. It is solid platinum in the angular, integrated-bracelet idiom of the 1530 and 1630, sharp-faceted and brushed, around 40mm and substantially heavier than a President, with one documented example weighing about 290 grams all in. The bezel is factory diamond-set, round brilliants with baguettes at six and nine on the documented examples, and the crystal is acrylic over a Twinlock screw-down crown. The bracelet is integrated, built into the case rather than fitted with end-links.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

The 1831's platinum bracelet is integral to the case, in the King Midas and Oysterquartz idiom, and cannot take a removable President. The integrated construction changes the fit and service considerations compared with a round-case Day-Date. Where the original bracelet survives it is part of the watch's value; the Omani "Khanjar No. 9" had its platinum bracelet removed and sold separately before the watch came to auction, and it appears on a strap. The cross-family bracelet detail sits on Reference:Bracelets.

Special branches

The Shah of Iran series

Each watch in the Shah series is numbered between the lugs, and that number rather than the reference is how the market identifies an individual Emperor: No. 001 with its light-blue sunburst, No. 004 in silvered, No. 5 in burgundy Stella lacquer. The same numbered examples reappear in later catalogues with matching case and movement numbers, allowing the cited auction history to be compared watch by watch.

Khanjar No. 9

A ninth platinum 1831 surfaced at Sotheby's in Geneva in 2018, carrying the red Omani Khanjar emblem. Sotheby's presented it as extending the believed run of eight to nine, the only example made for the Sultanate of Oman, with a serial number sitting alongside the Iranian pieces. Per the consigning owner, and not independently confirmed by the house, the watch may have been gifted by Sultan Qaboos to the first premier of Djibouti at that country's independence in 1977. The reported gift history remains a consignor-supplied claim and is not independently confirmed in the catalogue.

Auction record

The auction record is concentrated in a small number of identified watches. The results below are lot-specific and use the currencies reported by each house. Christie's sold No. 004 in Geneva in 2011 for CHF 147,000. Antiquorum sold the burgundy Stella No. 5 in 2013 for CHF 206,500, and Phillips sold the same watch again in 2015 for CHF 305,000, the highest documented result for the reference. The light-blue No. 001 has come to sale three times, identified across all three by its case number 5,055,759 and movement number DD336356. Antiquorum sold it in Geneva in 2014 for CHF 165,750, Phillips in Hong Kong in 2016 for HK$1,750,000, and Phillips in Geneva again in 2021 for CHF 289,800. The Omani "Khanjar No. 9" sold at Sotheby's in 2018 with the result not publicly disclosed. The results are not a time-series valuation: the watches differ in dial, condition, provenance and completeness, and the records do not establish a current price range.

date	house	example	dial	result
2011	Christie's Geneva, lot 126	No. 004	silvered, diamond-set	CHF 147,000
2013	Antiquorum Geneva, lot 530	No. 5	burgundy Stella	CHF 206,500
2014	Antiquorum Geneva, lot 189	No. 001	light blue	CHF 165,750
2015	Phillips Geneva, Glamorous Day-Date, lot 51	No. 5	burgundy Stella	CHF 305,000
2016	Phillips Hong Kong, Rolex Milestones, lot 820	No. 001	light blue	HK$1,750,000
2018	Sotheby's Geneva, lot 243	Khanjar No. 9	silvered, Omani Khanjar	not disclosed
2021	Phillips Geneva XIII, lot 77	No. 001	light blue	CHF 289,800

Related references

Day-Date 1803, fluted President (1960–1977)
Day-Date 1804, gem-set President
Day-Date 1806, Florentine finish
Day-Date 1807, bark finish
Day-Date 1811, Morellis finish
Day-Date 6510, 1956–1957

Sources

The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
Sotheby's, "Rolex Ref. 1831 Day-Date "Khanjar No. 9", platinum and diamond-set, made for the Sultanate of Oman — Sotheby's Important Watches, Geneva, lot 243", Sotheby's, 2018
Phillips, "Rolex Ref. 1831 Day-Date "Emperor" No. 1, platinum with light-blue diamond dial — Phillips Rolex Milestones, Hong Kong, lot 820", Phillips, 2016
Phillips, "Rolex Ref. 1831 Day-Date "Emperor" No. 5, platinum with burgundy Stella dial — Phillips Glamorous Day-Date, Geneva, lot 51", Phillips, 2015
Phillips, "Rolex Ref. 1831 Day-Date "Emperor" No. 001, platinum with light-blue diamond dial — Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XIII, lot 77", Phillips, 2021
Antiquorum, "Rolex Ref. 1831 Day-Date "Emperor" No. 5, platinum with burgundy Stella dial — Antiquorum Geneva, lot 530", Antiquorum, 2013
Antiquorum, "Rolex Ref. 1831/1850 Day-Date "Emperor" No. 001, platinum with light-blue diamond dial — Antiquorum Geneva, lot 189", Antiquorum, 2014
Christie's, "Rolex Ref. 1831 Day-Date "Emperor" No. 004, platinum with silvered diamond dial — Christie's Important Watches, Geneva, lot 126", Christie's, 2011
Le Monde Edmond editorial, "Rolex 1831: The King of Day-Dates", Le Monde Edmond
Stefano Mazzariol, "Rolex Ref. 1831 — the Emperor", Mazzariol
Adel Al-Rahmani with Eric Ku, "A Brief History of the Arabic Day-Date (with the Day-Date 40 Arabic special edition hands-on)", SJX Watches, 2016-09
Italian Watch Spotter editorial, "The History of the Rolex Day-Date", Italian Watch Spotter

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+|modified_time=2026-08-04T00:11:01Z
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-<small>[[Reference:day-date|Day-Date]] → '''1831'''</small>
+<small>[[Reference:day-date|Day-Date]] › '''1831'''</small>
-The 1831 is the platinum "Emperor", the rarest and most exotic of the vintage Day-Dates. It abandons the round President case for an angular, integrated-bracelet platinum case, the one Rolex used on the 1530 and 1630 and carried into the Oysterquartz, and renders it in solid platinum with a diamond bezel. It was never a catalogue reference in the ordinary sense. Around eight were built as a special order for the household of the Shah of Iran, each with a different diamond-set dial, and a ninth, carrying the Omani Khanjar, surfaced later. It is the Day-Date at its most imperial, and the hardest of all of them to find.
+<div class="rp-lead">
+[[File:Ref 1831 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Day-Date 1831 "Emperor" No. 001 in platinum — the integrated case and diamond bezel that set the reference apart from the round President.|Rolex Day-Date 1831 "Emperor" No. 001 in platinum — the integrated case and diamond bezel that set the reference apart from the round President.]]
+</div>
+The 1831 is a platinum Day-Date with an angular case and integrated bracelet rather than the round President case used on most Day-Dates. Auction catalogues call the model “Emperor.” The case is solid platinum with a diamond-set bezel, and the cited records identify a numbered series made for the household of the Shah of Iran plus a later Omani Khanjar example. The exact total depends on whether that Omani watch is counted with the Iranian series.
-[[File:Ref 1831 hero.webp|thumb|right|260px|alt=Platinum Rolex Day-Date 1831 Emperor light blue dial|Rolex Day-Date 1831 "Emperor" No. 001 in platinum — the integrated case and diamond bezel that set the reference apart from the round President.]]
 ==Core facts==
-{| class="wikitable"
+{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
 |-
 ! detail
@@ Line 68: / Line 71: @@
 ==Where it sits in the line==
-The 1831 is barely a Day-Date in the usual sense. Where the 1803 and its siblings are round 36mm Presidents, the 1831 takes the angular, integrated-bracelet case of the 1530 and 1630, the same architecture Rolex would carry into the Oysterquartz, and builds it in solid platinum with a factory diamond bezel. The case is the point: it is not a President, and it does not wear like one. The watch reads as a piece of platinum sculpture with a Day-Date dial set into it.
+The 1831 differs from the usual Day-Date in its angular platinum case and integrated bracelet. The case is roughly 40mm, and the bracelet grows out of the case rather than attaching through removable President end links. The movement and day-date display remain part of the Day-Date family.
-It sits apart from the other rare platinum Day-Dates. The platinum Arabic and Khanjar examples of the 1802, 1803 and gem-set 1804 keep the round President case; the 1831 alone moves to the integrated case. That, plus its tiny numbered production, is why specialists treat it as a reference of its own rather than a variant. Some catalogues file it under "Oysterquartz" because of the case shape, but the 1831 is mechanical, not quartz: it runs an automatic 1556-family movement.
+It sits apart from the other rare platinum Day-Dates. The platinum Arabic and Khanjar examples of the 1802, 1803 and gem-set 1804 keep the round President case; the 1831 alone moves to the integrated case. The case and bracelet difference, together with the numbered examples in the auction record, is why catalogues list it as a separate reference rather than as a routine dial or bezel variant. Some catalogues file it under "Oysterquartz" because of the case shape, though the movement inside is an automatic from the 1556 family.
 ==Production outline==
-The 1831 was built to order in tiny numbers, never a catalogue model. The numbered series, generally cited as eight pieces, was built for the household of the Shah of Iran around 1977, each example carrying a different diamond-set dial. The watches are numbered between the lugs, and documented examples include No. 001, No. 004 and No. 5. A ninth platinum 1831, carrying the Omani Khanjar emblem rather than a plain or Stella dial, surfaced at Sotheby's in 2018; its case serial sits alongside the Iranian pieces, extending the known count to nine and crossing the series into Oman. Documented case serials cluster tightly, from around 5,055,000 to 5,087,000, consistent with a single small production run. No standard catalogue presence exists for the reference, which is why so much of what is known comes from the auction record.
+The 1831 was described in the cited catalogues as a special order rather than a regular catalogue model. The numbered series, generally cited as eight pieces, was built for the household of the Shah of Iran around 1977, each example carrying a different diamond-set dial. The watches are numbered between the lugs, and documented examples include No. 001, No. 004 and No. 5. A ninth platinum 1831, carrying the Omani Khanjar emblem rather than a plain or Stella dial, surfaced at Sotheby's in 2018; its case serial sits alongside the Iranian pieces, extending the known count to nine and crossing the series into Oman. The cited case serials run from about 5,055,000 to 5,087,000. That range is consistent with a small contemporary group, but it is not a Rolex production register. No standard catalogue presence exists for the reference, which is why so much of what is known comes from the auction record.
 ==Movement notes==
-The 1831 runs a mechanical automatic movement, not the quartz its case shape suggests. The caliber is recorded as the 1556 in the Sotheby's catalogue and as a purpose-built 1566 in most other catalogues and in the specialist literature, a 26-jewel, 19,800 vph movement from the same 1500 family as the 1803's. As with every 4-digit Day-Date it has no quickset, and it dates to the hacking era after 1972. The case is the unusual part; the movement is conventional Rolex mechanical for the period. The [[Reference:Movements]] page holds the caliber lineage, and the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry covers the 1555-to-1556 family in detail.
+The caliber is recorded as the 1556 in the Sotheby's catalogue and as a purpose-built 1566 in most other catalogues and in the specialist literature, a 26-jewel, 19,800 vph movement from the same 1500 family as the 1803's. As with every 4-digit Day-Date it has no quickset, and it dates to the hacking era after 1972. The case is the unusual part; the movement is conventional Rolex mechanical for the period. The [[Reference:Movements]] page holds the caliber lineage, and the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry covers the 1555-to-1556 family in detail.
 ==Dial map==
 [[File:Ref 1831 stella.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Platinum Rolex 1831 with burgundy Stella dial|No. 5 of the series, a burgundy Stella lacquer dial on the integrated platinum bracelet — each numbered Emperor carries a different diamond-set dial.]]
+Each of the numbered 1831s carries a different diamond-set dial. Documented dials include a light-blue sunburst with round-brilliant and baguette diamond markers, a burgundy Stella lacquer with oversized diamond markers, and plain silvered grounds with diamond-set numerals. The markers sit closer to the centre of the dial than on a standard Day-Date, a layout cue of the platinum special orders. The Omani "Khanjar No. 9" carries a silvered sunburst dial with diamond markers and the red crossed-daggers emblem of the Sultanate at six o'clock. The cited examples show different dials; they document individual watches rather than a complete catalogue of factory options.
-Each of the numbered 1831s carries a different diamond-set dial, which is part of the appeal of the series. Documented dials include a light-blue sunburst with round-brilliant and baguette diamond markers, a burgundy Stella lacquer with oversized diamond markers, and plain silvered grounds with diamond-set numerals. The markers sit closer to the centre of the dial than on a standard Day-Date, a layout cue of the platinum special orders. The Omani "Khanjar No. 9" carries a silvered sunburst dial with diamond markers and the red crossed-daggers emblem of the Sultanate at six o'clock. Because the run is so small and each dial is distinct, the dial is effectively the identity of each individual watch rather than a catalogue option.
 ==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==
-The case is the 1831's whole reason for being. It is solid platinum in the angular, integrated-bracelet idiom of the 1530 and 1630, sharp-faceted and brushed, around 40mm and substantially heavier than a President, with one documented example weighing about 290 grams all in. The bezel is factory diamond-set, round brilliants with baguettes at six and nine on the documented examples, and the crystal is acrylic over a Twinlock screw-down crown. The bracelet is integrated, built into the case rather than fitted with end-links, so the watch cannot take a standard President. Some catalogues describe the case as the "Oysterquartz" case because Rolex used the same architecture for the quartz line; on the 1831 it houses a mechanical movement.
+The case is the feature that most clearly separates the 1831 from the round-case Day-Date. It is solid platinum in the angular, integrated-bracelet idiom of the 1530 and 1630, sharp-faceted and brushed, around 40mm and substantially heavier than a President, with one documented example weighing about 290 grams all in. The bezel is factory diamond-set, round brilliants with baguettes at six and nine on the documented examples, and the crystal is acrylic over a Twinlock screw-down crown. The bracelet is integrated, built into the case rather than fitted with end-links.
 ==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==
-The 1831's platinum bracelet is integral to the case, in the King Midas and Oysterquartz idiom, and cannot take a removable President. That integration is much of why the watch wears so differently from a round Day-Date. Where the original bracelet survives it is part of the watch's value; the Omani "Khanjar No. 9" had its platinum bracelet removed and sold before sale, and it appears on a strap. The cross-family bracelet detail sits on [[Reference:Bracelets]].
+The 1831's platinum bracelet is integral to the case, in the King Midas and Oysterquartz idiom, and cannot take a removable President. The integrated construction changes the fit and service considerations compared with a round-case Day-Date. Where the original bracelet survives it is part of the watch's value; the Omani "Khanjar No. 9" had its platinum bracelet removed and sold separately before the watch came to auction, and it appears on a strap. The cross-family bracelet detail sits on [[Reference:Bracelets]].
 ==Special branches==
@@ Line 98: / Line 100: @@
 ===The Shah of Iran series===
-The core of the reference is a numbered set, generally cited as eight platinum examples, built for the household of the Shah of Iran around 1977. Each carries a different diamond-set dial, from the light-blue sunburst to the burgundy and other Stella lacquers, and each is numbered between the lugs. The watches recirculate through the major auction houses, where the same numbered examples reappear across sales, consistent with so small a production.
+Each watch in the Shah series is numbered between the lugs, and that number rather than the reference is how the market identifies an individual Emperor: No. 001 with its light-blue sunburst, No. 004 in silvered, No. 5 in burgundy Stella lacquer. The same numbered examples reappear in later catalogues with matching case and movement numbers, allowing the cited auction history to be compared watch by watch.
 ===Khanjar No. 9===
 [[File:Ref 1831 khanjar.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Platinum Rolex 1831 Khanjar No. 9 Omani dial|The Omani "Khanjar No. 9", the ninth platinum Emperor — a silvered dial with the red crossed-daggers emblem of the Sultanate, on a strap after its platinum bracelet was removed.]]
+A ninth platinum 1831 surfaced at Sotheby's in Geneva in 2018, carrying the red Omani Khanjar emblem. Sotheby's presented it as extending the believed run of eight to nine, the only example made for the Sultanate of Oman, with a serial number sitting alongside the Iranian pieces. Per the consigning owner, and not independently confirmed by the house, the watch may have been gifted by Sultan Qaboos to the first premier of Djibouti at that country's independence in 1977. The reported gift history remains a consignor-supplied claim and is not independently confirmed in the catalogue.
-A ninth platinum 1831 surfaced at Sotheby's in Geneva in 2018, carrying the red Omani Khanjar emblem. Sotheby's presented it as extending the believed run of eight to nine, the only example made for the Sultanate of Oman, with a serial number sitting alongside the Iranian pieces. Per the consigning owner, and not independently confirmed by the house, the watch may have been gifted by Sultan Qaboos to the first premier of Djibouti at that country's independence in 1977. It is the single most storied 1831.
 ==Auction record==
-The 1831 trades as a blue-chip rarity despite its tiny production, and the same handful of watches recirculate through the major houses. Christie's sold No. 004 in Geneva in 2011 for CHF 147,000. Antiquorum sold the burgundy Stella No. 5 in 2013 for CHF 206,500, and Phillips sold the same watch again in 2015 for CHF 305,000, the highest documented result for the reference. The light-blue No. 001 has come to sale three times, identified across all three by its case number 5,055,759 and movement number DD336356. Antiquorum sold it in Geneva in 2014 for CHF 165,750, Phillips in Hong Kong in 2016 for HK$1,750,000, and Phillips in Geneva again in 2021 for CHF 289,800. The Omani "Khanjar No. 9" sold at Sotheby's in 2018 with the result not publicly disclosed. The trajectory across the 2010s is steadily upward, and an original, unpolished platinum case with its integrated bracelet is the value driver.
+The auction record is concentrated in a small number of identified watches. The results below are lot-specific and use the currencies reported by each house. Christie's sold No. 004 in Geneva in 2011 for CHF 147,000. Antiquorum sold the burgundy Stella No. 5 in 2013 for CHF 206,500, and Phillips sold the same watch again in 2015 for CHF 305,000, the highest documented result for the reference. The light-blue No. 001 has come to sale three times, identified across all three by its case number 5,055,759 and movement number DD336356. Antiquorum sold it in Geneva in 2014 for CHF 165,750, Phillips in Hong Kong in 2016 for HK$1,750,000, and Phillips in Geneva again in 2021 for CHF 289,800. The Omani "Khanjar No. 9" sold at Sotheby's in 2018 with the result not publicly disclosed. The results are not a time-series valuation: the watches differ in dial, condition, provenance and completeness, and the records do not establish a current price range.
 {| class="wikitable"
@@ Line 160: / Line 161: @@
 | CHF 289,800
 |}
 == Related references ==
-* [[Reference:1803|Day-Date 1803]] — Fluted President (1960–1977)
+* [[Reference:1803|Day-Date 1803]], fluted President (1960–1977)
-* [[Reference:1804|Day-Date 1804]]
+* [[Reference:1804|Day-Date 1804]], gem-set President
-* [[Reference:1806|Day-Date 1806]]
+* [[Reference:1806|Day-Date 1806]], Florentine finish
-* [[Reference:1807|Day-Date 1807]]
+* [[Reference:1807|Day-Date 1807]], bark finish
-* [[Reference:1811|Day-Date 1811]]
+* [[Reference:1811|Day-Date 1811]], Morellis finish
-* [[Reference:6510|Day-Date 6510]] — 1956–1957
+* [[Reference:6510|Day-Date 6510]], 1956–1957
 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
@@ Line 189: / Line 189: @@
 [[Category:Day-Date]]
-[[Category:Working Draft]]