Reference:118208: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 07:11, 21 September 2026

Day-Date › 118208

Yellow gold Rolex Day-Date 36 118208 with smooth bezel and champagne dial — Rolex Day-Date 36 118208 with smooth bezel and champagne dial on an Oyster bracelet

The 118208 is the smooth-bezel Day-Date 36 of the six-digit era. It follows the five-digit smooth 18208 and uses caliber 3155 in a 36 mm yellow-gold Oyster case. Catalogued examples appear on Oyster and President bracelets. The fluted 118238 is the closest sibling, with the bezel as the visible difference.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	118208
family	Day-Date (Day-Date 36, 6-digit)
production	2000–about 2019
movement	caliber 3155, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, ~48h, double quickset, Parachrom hairspring, COSC
case	36mm 18k yellow gold
crystal	sapphire
bezel	smooth (plain domed)
bracelet	Oyster three-piece flat-link with folding clasp is the documented norm; President 8385 catalogued but absent from the auction record
dial	champagne and silver stick, Roman, mother-of-pearl, meteorite, hardstone (coral, bloodstone, garnet), diamond-set
crown	Twinlock screw-down
siblings	118238 (fluted), 118235 (Everose), 118239 (white-gold fluted), 118209 (white-gold smooth), 118206 (platinum smooth, ice-blue)
predecessor	18208 (5-digit smooth)
successor	no direct yellow-gold smooth-bezel reference is documented in the current 36 mm caliber-3255 range

Where it sits in the line

The 118208 is the smooth-bezel member of the six-digit Day-Date 36 range. The 118238 uses a fluted bezel, the 118235 is Everose gold, and the 118209 is the white-gold smooth-bezel counterpart. The smooth-bezel line continues the 18028 and 18208 design. Current 36 mm caliber-3255 references list fluted and Everose cases; a direct yellow-gold smooth successor is not identified in the sources used here.

Production outline

The 118208 appears in catalogues from around 2000 through about 2019. No production total is published in the sources used here. Examples vary by dial, bracelet, and service history; the case and caliber family remain the reference's baseline.

Movement notes

The 118208 uses caliber 3155, the Day-Date movement with double quickset, 31 jewels, a 28,800 vph frequency, roughly 48 hours of reserve, and COSC certification in the documented specification. Later examples may carry a Parachrom hairspring; check the movement and service record rather than inferring it from the reference alone. The same caliber family appears in the 118238 and 118235.

Dial map

The documented dial range includes champagne and silvered stick layouts, Roman numerals, mother-of-pearl, meteorite, diamond-set dials, and hardstone examples such as coral, bloodstone, and grossular garnet. Catalogues show the materials and settings on individual watches; they do not establish a complete production sequence. The broader Day-Date dial taxonomy is on the 1803 entry.

Yellow gold Rolex 118208 with grossular garnet dial — 118208 with a grossular-garnet dial

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The case is a 36 mm yellow-gold Oyster with sapphire crystal, Cyclops lens, Twinlock crown, and screw-down caseback. The bezel is smooth and gently domed, unlike the fluted 118238. Rehaut and engraving details vary with production period and should be checked on the watch.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

Catalogued examples include the three-piece flat-link Oyster bracelet with folding clasp. The President bracelet 8385 appears in catalogue material as an option, while the auction examples checked here are on Oyster. A clasp date code dates the bracelet, not the watch head; see Reference:Bracelets for the cross-family method.

Auction record

The table records the auction examples checked for this audit. Results reflect the individual dial, bracelet, condition, and provenance; they do not establish a general market band for the reference.

date	house	configuration	result
2014	Christie's Hong Kong, lot 2732	coral stone dial	HKD 525,000
2018	Christie's Hong Kong	green bloodstone diamond-set dial	HKD 225,000
2024	Sotheby's New York, lot 131	grossular-garnet diamond-set dial	not sold (est. USD 25,000–50,000)
2021	Sotheby's	silvered dial	USD 10,710

Related references

Day-Date 118238: 2000–2019
Day-Date 218206: 2008–2015
Day-Date 218238: 2008–2015
Day-Date 118235: 2005–2019
Day-Date 118138: 2013–2019
Day-Date 18208: 1988–2000

Sources

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{#seo:
 |title=Rolex Day-Date 36 118208 — The Smooth-Bezel 6-Digit President
-|description=The Rolex 118208 is the yellow-gold smooth/domed-bezel 6-digit Day-Date 36 (caliber 3155, 2000-2019), offered on President or Oyster bracelet. The understated sleeper of the generation; value lives in the hardstone dials.
+|description=The Rolex 118208 is the yellow-gold smooth-bezel Day-Date 36 of the six-digit generation, with caliber 3155 and documented Oyster- and President-bracelet configurations.
 |keywords=Rolex 118208, Day-Date 118208, smooth bezel Day-Date, domed bezel, Oyster bracelet Day-Date, caliber 3155, stone dial, 6-digit Day-Date
 |image=Ref 118208 hero.webp
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 <div class="rp-lead">
-[[File:Ref 118208 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Day-Date 36 118208 in yellow gold — the plain smooth/domed bezel and champagne dial, here on the Oyster bracelet, one of the bracelet options that set the smooth 6-digit Day-Date apart.|Rolex Day-Date 36 118208 in yellow gold — the plain smooth/domed bezel and champagne dial, here on the Oyster bracelet, one of the bracelet options that set the smooth 6-digit Day-Date apart.]]
+[[File:Ref 118208 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Yellow gold Rolex Day-Date 36 118208 with smooth bezel and champagne dial|Rolex Day-Date 36 118208 with smooth bezel and champagne dial on an Oyster bracelet]]
 </div>
-The 118208 is the smooth-bezel Day-Date 36 of the 6-digit era, the understated yellow-gold President that leaves the bezel plain. It is the 6-digit successor to the 5-digit smooth [[Reference:18208|18208]], on the broader 6-digit case and the caliber 3155, and unlike the fluted [[Reference:118238|118238]] it was offered on the sporty Oyster bracelet as well as the President. The smooth bezel was the minority taste, which makes the 118208 the sleeper of the generation. Where it commands real money is the dial, and specifically the hardstone dials, coral and bloodstone and garnet, that turn an understated President into a headline result.
+The 118208 is the smooth-bezel Day-Date 36 of the six-digit era. It follows the five-digit smooth [[Reference:18208|18208]] and uses caliber 3155 in a 36 mm yellow-gold Oyster case. Catalogued examples appear on Oyster and President bracelets. The fluted [[Reference:118238|118238]] is the closest sibling, with the bezel as the visible difference.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 |-
 | production
-| 2000 to about 2019
+| 2000–about 2019
 |-
 | movement
@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 |-
 | successor
-| none direct — the 2019 caliber-3255 Day-Date 36 dropped the yellow-gold smooth
+| no direct yellow-gold smooth-bezel reference is documented in the current 36 mm caliber-3255 range
 |}
 ==Where it sits in the line==
-The 118208 is the smooth member of the 6-digit Day-Date 36. The [[Reference:118238|118238]] is the fluted volume reference, the [[Reference:118235|118235]] the Everose, and the 118208 the plain-bezel one. The 6-digit generation broadened the case, and on the smooth references Rolex offered the Oyster bracelet alongside the President, a sportier option the fluted models never had. In white gold the smooth is the 118209, in platinum the ice-blue 118206. The reference continues the smooth thread that runs from the 5-digit [[Reference:18028|18028]] and [[Reference:18208|18208]]. The 2019 caliber-3255 Day-Date 36 kept the fluted and Everose references but appears to have dropped the yellow-gold smooth, so the 118208 has no direct successor.
+The 118208 is the smooth-bezel member of the six-digit Day-Date 36 range. The [[Reference:118238|118238]] uses a fluted bezel, the [[Reference:118235|118235]] is Everose gold, and the 118209 is the white-gold smooth-bezel counterpart. The smooth-bezel line continues the 18028 and 18208 design. Current 36 mm caliber-3255 references list fluted and Everose cases; a direct yellow-gold smooth successor is not identified in the sources used here.
 ==Production outline==
-The 118208 ran from 2000, when the 6-digit references took over from the 5-digit line, to about 2019. No Rolex production figure has surfaced. Case, bezel and movement stay constant across the whole run, so the only variation that matters is which dial an example carries and whether it sits on the President or the Oyster bracelet.
+The 118208 appears in catalogues from around 2000 through about 2019. No production total is published in the sources used here. Examples vary by dial, bracelet, and service history; the case and caliber family remain the reference's baseline.
 ==Movement notes==
-The 118208 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 Rolex rolled across the line from around 2005. It is the same movement the fluted 118238 and the Everose 118235 carry, and the 118238 entry covers the caliber in detail. The plain bezel is all that separates the 118208 from its fluted sibling.
+The 118208 uses caliber 3155, the Day-Date movement with double quickset, 31 jewels, a 28,800 vph frequency, roughly 48 hours of reserve, and COSC certification in the documented specification. Later examples may carry a Parachrom hairspring; check the movement and service record rather than inferring it from the reference alone. The same caliber family appears in the 118238 and 118235.
 ==Dial map==
-[[File:Ref 118208 garnet.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Yellow gold Rolex 118208 grossular garnet stone dial|A grossular-garnet stone dial set with diamonds — the hardstone dials are where the understated 118208 commands its strongest results.]]
+The documented dial range includes champagne and silvered stick layouts, Roman numerals, mother-of-pearl, meteorite, diamond-set dials, and hardstone examples such as coral, bloodstone, and grossular garnet. Catalogues show the materials and settings on individual watches; they do not establish a complete production sequence. The broader Day-Date dial taxonomy is on the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry.
-The smooth bezel keeps the eye on the dial, and the 118208's range lives there. The standard configuration is a champagne or silvered stick dial, with Roman, black, green-index, mother-of-pearl, meteorite and diamond-set dials all in the catalogue. The headline is the hardstone. Coral, bloodstone and grossular garnet, frequently diamond-set, read especially well against a plain bezel that has nothing on it to compete, and those are the examples that carry the reference at auction. The deeper dial taxonomy spanning the President line is on the [[Reference:1803|1803]] entry.
+[[File:Ref 118208 garnet.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Yellow gold Rolex 118208 with grossular garnet dial|118208 with a grossular-garnet dial]]
 ==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==
-The case is the 36mm yellow-gold Oyster of the 6-digit Day-Date, with the broader lugs of the generation, a sapphire crystal and Cyclops, a Twinlock screw-down crown and a screw-down caseback with the engraved rehaut of the later production. The defining feature is the smooth, gently domed bezel, plain polished gold with none of the fluting of the 118238. That plainness is the character of the reference.
+The case is a 36 mm yellow-gold Oyster with sapphire crystal, Cyclops lens, Twinlock crown, and screw-down caseback. The bezel is smooth and gently domed, unlike the fluted 118238. Rehaut and engraving details vary with production period and should be checked on the watch.
 ==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==
-The 118208 is an Oyster-bracelet reference in practice. The three-piece flat-link Oyster with a folding clasp is what catalogued examples wear, and no President-bracelet 118208 has surfaced in the auction record, though the President 8385 appears as a catalogue option. A gold Day-Date on the sportier Oyster reads quite differently from the dress-watch President, and that is the clearest separation between the smooth 6-digit references and the fluted ones, which run overwhelmingly on the President. A clasp date code dates the bracelet, which may be older or newer than the head; the cross-family detail is on [[Reference:Bracelets]].
+Catalogued examples include the three-piece flat-link Oyster bracelet with folding clasp. The President bracelet 8385 appears in catalogue material as an option, while the auction examples checked here are on Oyster. A clasp date code dates the bracelet, not the watch head; see [[Reference:Bracelets]] for the cross-family method.
-==Market==
+<span id="market"></span><span id="Market"></span>
+== Auction record ==
-The 118208 is a liquid modern reference that trades through the dealer and certified-pre-owned market and rarely reaches the catalogued auctions. The smooth bezel carries no premium of its own, and a standard example with a stick, Roman or plain dial sits in the same band as the fluted 118238 or slightly softer, roughly the high teens to low thirties of thousands of dollars. Stone and diamond dials are the only 118208s that reach the auction headlines, and the gap between them and a plain example runs to several multiples. Christie's Hong Kong sold a coral-dial example for HKD 525,000 in 2014, the high-water mark for the reference. The value attaches to the dial, not to the bezel.
+The table records the auction examples checked for this audit. Results reflect the individual dial, bracelet, condition, and provenance; they do not establish a general market band for the reference.
 {| class="wikitable"
@@ Line 128: / Line 129: @@
 == Related references ==
-* [[Reference:118238|Day-Date 118238]] — 2000–2019
+* [[Reference:118238|Day-Date 118238]]: 2000–2019
-* [[Reference:218206|Day-Date 218206]] — 2008–2015
+* [[Reference:218206|Day-Date 218206]]: 2008–2015
-* [[Reference:218238|Day-Date 218238]] — 2008–2015
+* [[Reference:218238|Day-Date 218238]]: 2008–2015
-* [[Reference:118235|Day-Date 118235]] — 2005–2019
+* [[Reference:118235|Day-Date 118235]]: 2005–2019
-* [[Reference:118138|Day-Date 118138]] — 2013–2019
+* [[Reference:118138|Day-Date 118138]]: 2013–2019
-* [[Reference:18208|Day-Date 18208]] — 1988–2000
+* [[Reference:18208|Day-Date 18208]]: 1988–2000
 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]].