Reference:18208: Difference between revisions

==Core facts==

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==Where it sits in the line==

The caliber-3155 Day-Date generation includes the fluted 18238, bark-finish 18248, diamond-set 18348 and smooth 18208. The white-gold smooth reference is the 18209, and the platinum smooth reference is the 18206 with its ice-blue dial. The 18208 shares the broad case and movement generation with the 18238, but dial, bezel, metal and service history still need to be checked on each watch.

==Production outline==

Production ran from 1988, when caliber 3155 replaced 3055 across the Day-Date line, until about 2000, when the six-digit smooth-bezel reference became the [[Reference:118208|118208]]. Rolex has released no production figure. Early examples carry tritium marked “T SWISS MADE T”; later examples use non-tritium lume, with the exact Luminova or Super-LumiNova changeover requiring watch-specific dating.

==Movement notes==

The caliber 3155 runs at 28,800 vph on 31 jewels, holds a roughly 48-hour reserve and is associated with COSC certification in the cited movement records; certification belongs to the individual movement and its papers. Its main change from the caliber-3055 [[Reference:18028|18028]] is double quickset, which sets both day and date from the crown. The 3155 is also used in the fluted [[Reference:18238|18238]] and other Day-Date references. The [[Reference:Movements]] page holds the caliber lineage, and the 18238 entry covers the 3155 in detail.

==Dial map==

The cited 18208 record includes champagne or silvered baton dials, Roman numerals, mother-of-pearl, diamond-index and hardstone examples. Arabic-script dials also appear in broader Day-Date records, but their fitment to 18208 needs watch-specific evidence. The lacquered Stella dials associated with earlier Presidents should not be assumed to be factory 18208 configurations. The broader dial taxonomy sits on the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry.

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

The case is the 36mm yellow-gold Oyster shared across the caliber-3155 Day-Date, with a sapphire crystal and Cyclops, a Twinlock screw-down crown and a screw-down caseback. The bezel is a plain, polished, gently domed gold ring, without the fluting, gem-setting or bark texture the other three references carry.  

==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==

The 18208 wears the President bracelet, reference 8385, with the concealed Crownclasp and the solid links of the 5-digit era. A clasp date code dates the bracelet rather than the head, which may be older or newer than the band it sits on; the cross-family detail sits on [[Reference:Bracelets]].

==Special branches==

===Smooth-bezel branch===

The 18208 carries forward the smooth-bezel format of the [[Reference:18028|18028]], with the double quickset as its main functional change. The platinum 18206 is a separate material and dial branch, not a measure of every yellow-gold 18208.

==Auction record==

The cited auction record is small and includes a coral hardstone example. Those lots document specific configurations; they do not establish a current price band. Condition, dial originality, metal and provenance remain the relevant comparison points.

* [[Reference:18238|Day-Date 18238]], 1988–2000

* [[Reference:18248|Day-Date 18248]], 1988–2000

== Sources ==

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

* [https://www.bobswatches.com/pre-owned-rolex-day-date-36-ref-18208-obsidian-dial.html Bob's Watches, "Pre-Owned Rolex Day-Date 36 Ref. 18208, 18k yellow gold smooth bezel, onyx dial", Bob's Watches]