Reference:118208

Day-Date › 118208

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; the cited catalogue record does not identify a direct yellow-gold smooth successor.

Production outline

The 118208 appears in catalogues from around 2000 through about 2019. No production total is published. 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.

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 cited on this page 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 named auction examples. 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

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

• 
  118208 yellow-gold smooth-bezel Day-Date 36.
• 
  118208 with grossular-garnet dial.

Sources

• The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
• Christie's, "Rolex Ref. 118208 Day-Date 36, 18k yellow gold smooth bezel with coral stone dial — Christie's Hong Kong, Important Watches, sale 3369, lot 2732", Christie's, 26 November 2014
• Christie's, "Rolex Ref. 118208 Day-Date 36, 18k yellow gold with green bloodstone and diamond-set dial — Christie's Hong Kong, Important Watches and Private Collections, sale 16128, lot 2272", Christie's, 28 May 2018
• Sotheby's, "Reference 118208 Day-Date, 18k yellow gold with grossular-garnet diamond-set dial — Sotheby's Important Watches, lot 131", Sotheby's, 2024
• Sotheby's, "Rolex Ref. 118208 Day-Date 36, 18k yellow gold with silvered dial — Sotheby's", Sotheby's, 2021
• WatchBase, "Rolex caliber 3155 (registry page)", WatchBase
• SwissWatchExpo editorial, "Generations of the Rolex President Day-Date", SwissWatchExpo, 2024
• 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
• JazTime, "Rolex Day-Date 36 yellow gold, champagne index dial, smooth domed bezel, Oyster bracelet, 118208", JazTime