Reference:118235

Day-Date › 118235

Rolex Day-Date 36 118235 in Everose gold — the fluted Everose bezel and the chocolate-brown dial.

The 118235 is the fluted pink-gold Day-Date 36 from Rolex's six-digit generation. Early examples used conventional 18 ct pink gold; later examples are catalogued in Rolex's Everose alloy, introduced in 2005. It is the pink-gold counterpart to the yellow-gold 118238, on the same 36mm case and caliber 3155. Brown and chocolate dials are common in surviving examples. The reference ran until about 2019, when the 128235 with caliber 3255 replaced it.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	118235
family	Day-Date (Day-Date 36, 6-digit)
production	2000 to about 2019; early conventional 18 ct pink gold, later examples catalogued as Everose (118235F)
movement	caliber 3155, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, ~48h, double quickset, Parachrom hairspring, COSC
case	36mm 18 ct pink gold; Everose on later examples
crystal	sapphire
bezel	fluted
bracelet	Everose President with concealed Crownclasp, solid links
dial	chocolate/brown, sundust, champagne, ivory, rhodium, mother-of-pearl, meteorite, diamond-set
crown	Twinlock screw-down
metal	18 ct pink gold; Rolex introduced its Everose alloy in 2005
siblings	118238 (yellow gold), 118239 (white gold); 118205 (smooth Everose), 118135 (leather-strap Everose)
successor	128235 (Day-Date 36, caliber 3255, from 2019)

Where it sits in the line

The 118235 occupies the pink-gold slot in the six-digit Day-Date 36 generation. That generation introduced broader lugs, solid links and a concealed Crownclasp around 2000. The 118238 is the yellow-gold fluted model and the 118239 is white gold. Within the pink-gold group, the 118235 has the fluted bezel; the smooth-bezel model is the 118205 and the leather-strap model is the 118135. The 128235 replaced it around 2019.

Production outline

The 118235 was the pink-gold model in the six-digit Day-Date 36 from 2000, and for its first years it was cast in conventional 18k pink gold, with pink-gold examples dated 2000 to 2004 appearing in the auction record. Everose arrived in 2005, and the Everose examples carry the 118235F suffix, catalogued from about 2007. The run closed around 2019. The reviewed sources do not give a Rolex production total.

The date of the movement change is sometimes given as 2015. That conflates the 36mm Day-Date with the Day-Date 40, the 40mm model that replaced the 41mm Day-Date II in 2015 and took the caliber 3255 that year. The 36mm 118235 stayed on the caliber 3155 until the 128235 replaced it in 2019.

Movement notes

The 118235 runs the caliber 3155, the double-quickset Day-Date movement, with 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, a roughly 48-hour reserve and COSC certification, and both the day and the date set from the crown. Later production carries the Parachrom hairspring that Rolex rolled across the line from around 2005. It is the same movement the yellow-gold 118238 carries, and the 118238 entry covers the caliber in detail. On the 118235 the case metal and the dial do all the differentiating.

Dial map

• 
  A gem-set chocolate dial with diamond markers and ruby baguettes.
• 
  Rosé diamond-dial configuration documented in the auction record.
• 
  Angled view of the same watch, showing the fluted Everose bezel.

Brown and chocolate dials are frequently associated with the pink-gold 118235, including plain baton versions and gem-set examples with diamond markers and ruby baguettes. Published examples also show sundust, champagne, ivory, rhodium, black, mother-of-pearl and meteorite dials, along with further gem-set configurations. Dial names and availability vary by market and period; the deeper President-line taxonomy is on the 1803 entry.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The case is the 36mm Oyster case used by the six-digit Day-Date, in conventional 18 ct pink gold on early examples and Everose on later ones. It has the broader lugs of that generation, a sapphire crystal with Cyclops, a Twinlock screw-down crown and a screw-down caseback. The bezel is fluted and made in the same gold alloy as the case.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

The 118235 wears a pink-gold President bracelet, with the concealed Crownclasp and solid links used in the six-digit era. Later examples use Everose; an individual bracelet should be checked separately from the watch head. As with any President, a clasp date code dates the bracelet, which may be older or newer than the head, and the cross-family detail sits on Reference:Bracelets.

Special branches

Everose alloy

Rolex introduced Everose in 2005 and describes it as an 18 ct pink-gold alloy intended to resist colour change. Rolex publishes the gold and copper proportions and names palladium and indium among the other elements, while keeping the full formula private. Specialist literature differs on the role of platinum. Rolex casts the alloy in its own foundry.

Auction and market record

The reviewed auction record is limited. Antiquorum catalogued a rosé diamond-dial example; that lot is a useful record of one configuration, not a production rule. Dealer and certified-pre-owned listings cover standard and gem-set watches, but asking prices vary with dial, condition, and provenance and should be checked against current listings rather than treated as a reference-wide value.

Related references

• Day-Date 218206: 2008–2015
• Day-Date 218238: 2008–2015
• Day-Date 118208: 2000–2019
• Day-Date 118238: 2000–2019
• Day-Date 118138: 2013–2019
• Day-Date 18208: 1988–2000

See also the Day-Date family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.

• 
  118235 pink-gold Day-Date 36
• 
  Chocolate gem-set dial
• 
  Rosé diamond dial
• 
  Rosé dial and fluted bezel

Sources

• The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
• "Everose - Materials, Watchmaking Features", Rolex
• Antiquorum, "Rolex Ref. 118235 Day-Date 36, 18k Everose gold with rosé diamond-set dial — Antiquorum", Antiquorum
• The 1916 Company editorial, "Rolex Certified Pre-Owned: a Day-Date Ref. 118235F-0093 with chocolate dial", The 1916 Company
• WatchBase, "Rolex Day-Date 118235 — reference data", WatchBase
• WatchBase, "Rolex caliber 3155 (registry page)", WatchBase
• "What is Rolex Everose Gold? A Complete Guide", Millenary Watches
• Monochrome editorial, "In-Depth: The History of the Rolex Day-Date, The Presidential Watch", Monochrome Watches
• Italian Watch Spotter editorial, "The History of the Rolex Day-Date", Italian Watch Spotter
• Sotheby's editorial, "The Rolex Day-Date: A Complete Collector's Guide", Sotheby's
• Fratello editorial, "Exploring Evergreens: The Rolex Day-Date 18238", Fratello Watches
• Bob's Watches, "Rolex President Day-Date Everose Gold 118235, chocolate dial", Bob's Watches