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[[File:Ref 118139 cherry.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Day-Date 36 118139|Rolex Day-Date 36 118139]]
[[File:Ref 118139 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Day-Date 36 118139 in white gold on an alligator strap|Rolex Day-Date 36 118139 in white gold on an alligator strap]]
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The 118139 is the white-gold strap Day-Date 36. It uses the same 36mm 18k white gold case and fluted bezel as the President-bracelet [[Reference:118239|118239]], and hangs it on an alligator strap closed by a folding gold clasp. Rolex added the strap-mounted Day-Dates to the line at Baselworld 2013 alongside the yellow-gold [[Reference:118138|118138]] and the Everose 118135. Where the yellow-gold version took the warm colours, the white-gold one took the cold ones: blue, cherry, rhodium, and a lapis lazuli stone dial. Caliber 3155, made to about 2019.
The 118139 is the white-gold strap Day-Date 36. It uses the same 36mm 18k white gold case and fluted bezel as the President-bracelet [[Reference:118239|118239]], and hangs it on an alligator strap closed by a folding gold clasp. Rolex added the strap-mounted Day-Dates to the line at Baselworld 2013 alongside the yellow-gold [[Reference:118138|118138]] and the Everose 118135. The cited catalogue variants are blue, cherry, rhodium, and lapis lazuli, with a white carousel dial also listed in the archived model pages. Caliber 3155; archived catalogues place the strap reference in the 2013–2019 catalogue period.




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==Where it sits in the line==
==Where it sits in the line==


The 118139 is what happens when the white-gold Day-Date loses its bracelet. Everything from the lugs inward is the [[Reference:118239|118239]]: the same 36mm white-gold Oyster case, the same fluted bezel, the same caliber 3155. The strap is the whole difference, and it is a bigger one than it sounds — and a one-way one. Rolex built the strap-reference lugs so that no bracelet can be fitted to them; owners who have tried report the swap is physically impossible. The reverse works, a leather strap will go onto a President-bracelet case, though it leaves a visible gap at the lug where the end link was designed to sit. A gold President bracelet accounts for much of what a Day-Date weighs and much of what it costs, so taking it off produces a lighter, cheaper, less ceremonial watch out of unchanged parts.
The 118139 is the leather-strap member of the 6-digit white-gold Day-Date 36 family. Rolex's catalogue places it alongside the bracelet-mounted [[Reference:118239|118239]] and gives both the 36 mm white-gold Oyster case and caliber 3155. The strap, clasp, lug treatment, and original-delivery configuration must still be checked on the individual watch; a bracelet code or case similarity does not prove that the components were delivered together.


White gold sharpens that further. A yellow-gold Day-Date on leather still reads as a gold watch; a white-gold one on a dark alligator strap mostly reads as a dress watch that happens to be precious metal. That understatement is the reason to want one, and it is the same instinct that produced the smooth-bezel [[Reference:118209|118209]] on the bracelet side of the catalogue.
The white-gold case and dark strap give the 118139 a different visual combination from the yellow-gold and Everose strap references. The smooth-bezel [[Reference:118209|118209]] is a related bracelet reference, not a substitute for the 118139's fluted-bezel case.


==Production outline==
==Production outline==
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Rolex introduced the strap Day-Date 36 at Baselworld 2013, well into the run of the 118xxx case generation that began in 2000. The 118139 belongs to that 2013 group rather than to the start of the generation, so it is a watch of the 2010s. It ran to about 2019, when the caliber-3255 references took over the Day-Date 36.
Rolex introduced the strap Day-Date 36 at Baselworld 2013, well into the run of the 118xxx case generation that began in 2000. The 118139 belongs to that 2013 group rather than to the start of the generation, so it is a watch of the 2010s. It ran to about 2019, when the caliber-3255 references took over the Day-Date 36.


Nothing plain replaced it. When a strap Day-Date 36 returned at Watches and Wonders in 2021 it came only in fully gem-set form, so the 118139 and its two siblings remain the only Day-Date 36 references offered on leather with an ordinary bezel and an ordinary dial. Rolex has published no production figure.
When the Day-Date 36 returned to the strap format in the 2021 catalogue, the cited references were gem-set models. The archived catalogue record does not establish a direct plain-dial successor for the 118139. Rolex has published no production figure.


==Movement notes==
==Movement notes==
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Five dials are documented in Rolex's own catalogue for the 118139, and they are the clearest evidence of what the white-gold strap version was meant to be.
Five dials are documented in Rolex's own catalogue for the 118139, and they are the clearest evidence of what the white-gold strap version was meant to be.


The blue sunburst is the signature, sold on a matching blue alligator strap, and it is the configuration most people picture. The cherry, a saturated red-purple, came on a bordeaux strap and is the boldest of the set. Rhodium is the conservative choice, a plain grey-silver that leans hardest into the dress-watch reading. The white carousel adds a textured, spun pattern. The outlier is lapis lazuli, a genuine hardstone dial, and the only one of the five where the dial rather than the strap is the reason to buy the watch.
The archived model pages list a blue sunburst dial with a matching blue alligator strap, a cherry dial with a bordeaux strap, a rhodium dial, a white carousel dial, and a lapis lazuli stone dial. The dial and strap should be recorded separately because straps are replaceable components.


Beyond the catalogued five, white Roman-numeral examples on brown alligator turn up on the market, so the range on the ground is wider than the five configurations Rolex kept online. Deeper dial taxonomy across the President line sits on the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry.
Beyond those catalogue pages, dealer records document white Roman-numeral examples on brown alligator. That is evidence of an encountered configuration, not proof of a complete factory dial list. Deeper dial taxonomy across the President line sits on the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry.
 
[[File:Ref 118139 cherry.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex 118139 cherry dial on a bordeaux alligator strap|118139 cherry dial on a bordeaux alligator strap.]]


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


[[File:Ref 118139 white roman.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex 118139 white Roman dial showing the fluted white gold bezel|A white Roman example on brown alligator. The fluting on the white-gold bezel reads as a fine ribbed ring rather than a bright sunburst.]]
The case is the 36mm white-gold Oyster of the 6-digit Day-Date: monobloc middle case, screw-down caseback, screw-down Twinlock crown, sapphire crystal with a Cyclops over the date, waterproof to 100 metres.


The case is the 36mm white-gold Oyster of the 6-digit Day-Date: monobloc middle case, screw-down caseback, screw-down Twinlock crown, sapphire crystal with a Cyclops over the date, waterproof to 100 metres. The lugs carry a strap instead of an end link, and that is the only structural departure from the bracelet references.
[[File:Ref 118139 white roman.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex 118139 white Roman dial showing the fluted white gold bezel|A white Roman example on brown alligator. The fluting on the white-gold bezel reads as a fine ribbed ring rather than a bright sunburst.]] The lugs are configured for the strap rather than a President bracelet. Individual case, strap, and clasp fitment still needs to be checked on the watch in hand.


The bezel is fluted. This is worth stating plainly because dealer listings routinely describe the strap Day-Dates as smooth-bezel watches, and photographs of real examples show the fluting as clearly as Rolex's own spec sheet prints it. On white gold the fluting reads as a fine ribbed ring rather than the bright sunburst it makes on yellow gold, which is probably where the confusion starts.
The bezel is fluted. This is worth stating plainly because dealer listings routinely describe the strap Day-Dates as smooth-bezel watches, and photographs of real examples show the fluting as clearly as Rolex's own spec sheet prints it. On white gold the fluting reads as a fine ribbed ring rather than the bright sunburst it makes on yellow gold, which is probably where the confusion starts.
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==Strap and clasp==
==Strap and clasp==


The 118139 wears an alligator strap in a colour matched to the dial, and the clasp is where Rolex contradicts itself. The downloadable spec sheets list the fitting as a folding Oysterclasp; the catalogue text on the same product pages describes an 18 ct gold Crownclasp, the concealed folding buckle that hides under a crown medallion. Both descriptions are Rolex's, published at the same time about the same watch, and no third source resolves them. In practice the strap is a wear item and gets replaced, so the clasp on a given example dates that example's last strap change rather than the watch.
The 118139 wears an alligator strap in a colour matched to the dial, and the clasp is where Rolex contradicts itself. The downloadable spec sheets list the fitting as a folding Oysterclasp; the catalogue text on the same product pages describes an 18 ct gold Crownclasp, the concealed folding buckle that hides under a crown medallion. Both descriptions appear in Rolex material. The reviewed sources do not resolve whether the difference reflects a naming change, a clasp variation, or a catalogue inconsistency. In practice the strap is a wear item and gets replaced, so the clasp on a given example dates that example's last strap change rather than the watch.


The cross-family bracelet detail sits on [[Reference:Bracelets]]. The strap Day-Dates sit apart from the President-bracelet references covered there.
The cross-family bracelet detail sits on [[Reference:Bracelets]]. The strap Day-Dates sit apart from the President-bracelet references covered there.
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===The lapis lazuli dial===
===The lapis lazuli dial===


Lapis is the one 118139 that a collector would chase for the dial alone. Rolex cut stone dials in small numbers across the Day-Date line, and the deep blue of lapis against a white-gold case and a dark strap is the most striking combination the reference offered. It sits apart from the four metallic and lacquer dials in both rarity and price.
The lapis lazuli entry is a stone-dial configuration documented in Rolex's archived model pages. Its material and dial are distinct from the blue, cherry, rhodium, and white catalogue descriptions; the reviewed sources do not establish a production count or a reference-wide rarity ranking.
 
===The quiet one of the 2013 trio===
 
Of the three strap Day-Dates launched in 2013, the yellow gold gets the attention, on the strength of the cognac and green dials that came with it. The white gold is the one that disappears on the wrist. That is either the point of the watch or the reason it sold in smaller numbers, depending on which collector is asked, and both readings show up in how the two references trade.


==Market==
===The 2013 strap group===


The 118139 is a modern reference that changes hands through the dealer and certified-pre-owned market rather than under the hammer; no headline auction lot has surfaced for it. Documented asking prices sit in the mid-twenties of thousands of dollars for a standard catalogued dial in good order with its box and papers, which places it below the white-gold President-bracelet [[Reference:118239|118239]] by roughly the value of the gold bracelet it does without. The lapis lazuli and any gem-set configuration carry premiums above that band. As with the rest of the strap group, the dial drives the price and the strap itself is worth nothing, because it will have been replaced.
The 2013 strap Day-Date group included yellow-gold, white-gold, and Everose references with different dial colours. The reviewed sources do not establish comparative production totals or sales volume for the three metals.


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


* [[Reference:118138|Day-Date 118138]] — 2013–2019
* [[Reference:118138|Day-Date 118138]]: 2013–2019.
* [[Reference:118239|Day-Date 118239]] — 2000–2019
* [[Reference:118239|Day-Date 118239]]: 2000–2019.
* [[Reference:118238|Day-Date 118238]] — 2000–2019
* [[Reference:118238|Day-Date 118238]]: 2000–2019.
* [[Reference:118209|Day-Date 118209]] — 2000–2019
* [[Reference:118209|Day-Date 118209]]: 2000–2019.
* [[Reference:118208|Day-Date 118208]] — 2000–2019
* [[Reference:118208|Day-Date 118208]]: 2000–2019.
* [[Reference:118235|Day-Date 118235]] — 2005–2019
* [[Reference:118235|Day-Date 118235]]: 2005–2019.


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]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 118139 hero.webp|White-gold 118139 on an alligator strap
File:Ref 118139 cherry.webp|Cherry dial and bordeaux strap
File:Ref 118139 white roman.webp|White Roman dial and fluted bezel
</gallery>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
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