Reference:218238: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Ref 218238 hero.webp|thumb|right|360px|alt=Rolex Day-Date II 218238 — 41mm 18k yellow gold President, cal 3156. 2010 UK-retailed example, Watch Club London. Image via Monochrome.|Rolex Day-Date II 218238 — 41mm 18k yellow gold President, cal 3156. 2010 UK-retailed example, Watch Club London. Image via Monochrome.]]

The 218238 is the Day-Date II. Production runs seven years, 2008 through 2015, on the cal 3156 — a cal 3155 scaled up with a 2.5mm wider main plate to fit the 41mm Oyster case envelope that the reference introduced. The 5mm case jump from 36mm to 41mm is the single largest dimensional change in the Day-Date line since the 6510 launched in 1956. Same fluted bezel on yellow gold. Same hidden Crownclasp on a President bracelet scaled to 41mm. The Day-Date II is also the shortest-run Day-Date reference in the modern era and the only 41mm Day-Date Rolex has ever produced — by Baselworld 2015 the Day-Date 40 (228xxx) had taken its slot at 40mm, splitting the difference between the 36mm classic and the 41mm Day-Date II.

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* '''c. 2012''' — Sultan of Oman Royal Khanjar 218206 platinum commission. Caseback engraved with the Royal Khanjar crest.

* '''2015''' — Baselworld discontinuation. Day-Date 40 (228xxx) launches at 40mm and replaces both the Day-Date II 41mm and continues the 36mm 118238 line until that line's own discontinuation in 2019.

~~==Where the 2026 market sits==~~

The 218238 market in 2025-2026 reflects its discontinued-only-41mm-Day-Date framing. Yellow gold 218238 trades USD 27,000 to 55,000 depending on dial and provenance; aggregated dealer data places average asking at approximately USD 38,000. Champagne Roman volume dials sit at the lower end; chocolate-Roman Everose 218235 (USD 37,000 to 46,000-plus) carries the cleanest premium of the Roman-dial siblings. Platinum 218206 occupies USD 50,000 to 90,000 with the ice-blue dial commanding the top of the band — the platinum-exclusive ice-blue is the production-signature spec the entire 218 generation is photographed against. Factory diamond-bezel 218348 (yellow) and 218349 (white gold) routinely cross USD 80,000. The standout auction tier sits on commissioned platinum — the Sultan of Oman Royal Khanjar 218206 platinum with Arabic day-and-date discs and Royal Khanjar caseback engraving (Sotheby's Origins 2025 + GE2504 Important Watches Part I) and the parallel Bonhams production-spec 218206 lots. The Day-Date 40 (228238) successor appreciated approximately 30 percent over the last five years per aggregated dealer-market data, and the 218238 tracked that arc on the discontinued-supply premium. The 218238 reads less as a "value" reference now than as a future-classic candidate — the only 41mm Day-Date Rolex has ever produced, seven-year window, the bridge between the 36mm 118238 era and the 40mm Day-Date 40 era.

~~==What to check when buying one==~~

* '''Cal 3156 with double quickset.''' Day and date both advance independently via the crown. The 3156 architecture is the cal 3155 scaled up — 2.5mm wider main plate to fit the 41mm envelope per Watch-Wiki. First Day-Date movement to ship with Parachrom Blu hairspring AND Paraflex anti-shock from launch (both retrofits into earlier 3155s were partial and serial-dependent). A 218238 claimed without Parachrom Blu or without Paraflex has either a movement issue or a misidentified caliber.

* '''41mm case, 21mm lug width, 49mm lug-to-lug.''' The 218238 is the only 41mm Day-Date Rolex has ever produced. The 36mm and 40mm Day-Date sizes both use different lug-link geometries and bracelet end-links. A 218238 case with 20mm or 22mm lug width is wrong; the Super President bracelet is 21mm-specific.

* '''Bezel matches the catalogue: fluted (218238/218239/218235), smooth domed (218206 platinum), factory diamond (218348/218349).''' Aftermarket gem-setting on a 218238 is identifiable through stone-cut and prong-style inconsistencies against the factory 218348 reference standard.

* '''Serial location matches the 2010 rollover.''' Pre-2010 examples (the 218238 launched 2008 deep in the G-serial era) carry sequential G-prefix serials engraved between the lugs at 6 o'clock with the rehaut showing only the ROLEX-ROLEX-ROLEX laser engraving introduced in 2005. Post-2010 examples carry random scrambled 8-character alphanumeric serials on the engraved rehaut and no lug-side engraving. A 218238 with scrambled rehaut serial AND between-the-lugs engraving is wrong both ways.

* '''Coronet engraved at the 6 o'clock rehaut on post-2010 examples.''' Standard alongside the scrambled serial. Pre-2010 G-serial examples don't carry the coronet at the rehaut — that arrives with the random-serial rollover.

* '''Cyclops on gold variants, no Cyclops on platinum 218206.''' The platinum no-Cyclops convention carries forward from the broader Rolex platinum aesthetic. A gold 218238 / 218239 / 218235 without a Cyclops over the date is a service replacement of the crystal. A platinum 218206 with a Cyclops is similarly wrong.

* '''Sub-reference numbering — 218238 yellow / 218239 white / 218235 Everose / 218206 platinum / 218348 yellow diamond bezel / 218349 white diamond bezel.''' There is no 218389 Tridor — Rolex discontinued the Tridor around 2000 with the 18239B closeout, and the modern numbering scheme (last digit indicating metal) doesn't support a 218389 slot. There is no 218339 — the white-gold diamond-bezel reference is the 218349. Dealer listings of these are typos.

* '''Platinum ice-blue dial is the 218206 signature.''' Three forms: Roman (-0043), Arabic (-0010), diamond Roman (-0052). Plus the platinum-only configurations in black Arabic, black diamond, silver diamond, white Roman. Ice blue on a non-platinum 218xxx case is wrong — the ice blue is Rolex-platinum-exclusive across the catalogue.

* '''Meteorite 218239 listings need primary-catalogue verification.''' Dealer pages tagging "218239 meteorite" haven't produced a factory-catalogued example in the auction record or WatchBase index. Available evidence places meteorite on the 228239-0055 Day-Date 40 baguette configuration rather than the 218 generation. Treat dealer-listed 218239 meteorite as pending verification.

* '''Super President 41mm bracelet, hidden Crownclasp.''' Rolex scaled the three-piece President geometry up to 41mm; concealed Crownclasp continues from the 118238 generation. End-link and link parts are interchangeable across 218238 / 218348 and the 228238 successor per Rolex parts catalogue listings.

* '''Inside-caseback "218238" reference stamp.''' Factory-standard across the generation. A 218238 case with a non-matching reference stamp is a re-case flag.

==Sources==

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* [https://watchbase.com/rolex/caliber/1556 Watchbase editorial, "Rolex Caliber 1556 — Watchbase", Watchbase]

* [https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=11327271 Rolex Forums community, "Rolex Forums — 1803 Owners and Enablers Thread", Rolex Forums]

[[Category:Day-Date]]

[[Category:References]]

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 [[File:Ref 218238 hero.webp|thumb|right|360px|alt=Rolex Day-Date II 218238 — 41mm 18k yellow gold President, cal 3156. 2010 UK-retailed example, Watch Club London. Image via Monochrome.|Rolex Day-Date II 218238 — 41mm 18k yellow gold President, cal 3156. 2010 UK-retailed example, Watch Club London. Image via Monochrome.]]
 The 218238 is the Day-Date II. Production runs seven years, 2008 through 2015, on the cal 3156 — a cal 3155 scaled up with a 2.5mm wider main plate to fit the 41mm Oyster case envelope that the reference introduced. The 5mm case jump from 36mm to 41mm is the single largest dimensional change in the Day-Date line since the 6510 launched in 1956. Same fluted bezel on yellow gold. Same hidden Crownclasp on a President bracelet scaled to 41mm. The Day-Date II is also the shortest-run Day-Date reference in the modern era and the only 41mm Day-Date Rolex has ever produced — by Baselworld 2015 the Day-Date 40 (228xxx) had taken its slot at 40mm, splitting the difference between the 36mm classic and the 41mm Day-Date II.
@@ Line 220: / Line 219: @@
 * '''c. 2012''' — Sultan of Oman Royal Khanjar 218206 platinum commission. Caseback engraved with the Royal Khanjar crest.
 * '''2015''' — Baselworld discontinuation. Day-Date 40 (228xxx) launches at 40mm and replaces both the Day-Date II 41mm and continues the 36mm 118238 line until that line's own discontinuation in 2019.
-==Where the 2026 market sits==
-The 218238 market in 2025-2026 reflects its discontinued-only-41mm-Day-Date framing. Yellow gold 218238 trades USD 27,000 to 55,000 depending on dial and provenance; aggregated dealer data places average asking at approximately USD 38,000. Champagne Roman volume dials sit at the lower end; chocolate-Roman Everose 218235 (USD 37,000 to 46,000-plus) carries the cleanest premium of the Roman-dial siblings. Platinum 218206 occupies USD 50,000 to 90,000 with the ice-blue dial commanding the top of the band — the platinum-exclusive ice-blue is the production-signature spec the entire 218 generation is photographed against. Factory diamond-bezel 218348 (yellow) and 218349 (white gold) routinely cross USD 80,000. The standout auction tier sits on commissioned platinum — the Sultan of Oman Royal Khanjar 218206 platinum with Arabic day-and-date discs and Royal Khanjar caseback engraving (Sotheby's Origins 2025 + GE2504 Important Watches Part I) and the parallel Bonhams production-spec 218206 lots. The Day-Date 40 (228238) successor appreciated approximately 30 percent over the last five years per aggregated dealer-market data, and the 218238 tracked that arc on the discontinued-supply premium. The 218238 reads less as a "value" reference now than as a future-classic candidate — the only 41mm Day-Date Rolex has ever produced, seven-year window, the bridge between the 36mm 118238 era and the 40mm Day-Date 40 era.
-==What to check when buying one==
-* '''Cal 3156 with double quickset.''' Day and date both advance independently via the crown. The 3156 architecture is the cal 3155 scaled up — 2.5mm wider main plate to fit the 41mm envelope per Watch-Wiki. First Day-Date movement to ship with Parachrom Blu hairspring AND Paraflex anti-shock from launch (both retrofits into earlier 3155s were partial and serial-dependent). A 218238 claimed without Parachrom Blu or without Paraflex has either a movement issue or a misidentified caliber.
-* '''41mm case, 21mm lug width, 49mm lug-to-lug.''' The 218238 is the only 41mm Day-Date Rolex has ever produced. The 36mm and 40mm Day-Date sizes both use different lug-link geometries and bracelet end-links. A 218238 case with 20mm or 22mm lug width is wrong; the Super President bracelet is 21mm-specific.
-* '''Bezel matches the catalogue: fluted (218238/218239/218235), smooth domed (218206 platinum), factory diamond (218348/218349).''' Aftermarket gem-setting on a 218238 is identifiable through stone-cut and prong-style inconsistencies against the factory 218348 reference standard.
-* '''Serial location matches the 2010 rollover.''' Pre-2010 examples (the 218238 launched 2008 deep in the G-serial era) carry sequential G-prefix serials engraved between the lugs at 6 o'clock with the rehaut showing only the ROLEX-ROLEX-ROLEX laser engraving introduced in 2005. Post-2010 examples carry random scrambled 8-character alphanumeric serials on the engraved rehaut and no lug-side engraving. A 218238 with scrambled rehaut serial AND between-the-lugs engraving is wrong both ways.
-* '''Coronet engraved at the 6 o'clock rehaut on post-2010 examples.''' Standard alongside the scrambled serial. Pre-2010 G-serial examples don't carry the coronet at the rehaut — that arrives with the random-serial rollover.
-* '''Cyclops on gold variants, no Cyclops on platinum 218206.''' The platinum no-Cyclops convention carries forward from the broader Rolex platinum aesthetic. A gold 218238 / 218239 / 218235 without a Cyclops over the date is a service replacement of the crystal. A platinum 218206 with a Cyclops is similarly wrong.
-* '''Sub-reference numbering — 218238 yellow / 218239 white / 218235 Everose / 218206 platinum / 218348 yellow diamond bezel / 218349 white diamond bezel.''' There is no 218389 Tridor — Rolex discontinued the Tridor around 2000 with the 18239B closeout, and the modern numbering scheme (last digit indicating metal) doesn't support a 218389 slot. There is no 218339 — the white-gold diamond-bezel reference is the 218349. Dealer listings of these are typos.
-* '''Platinum ice-blue dial is the 218206 signature.''' Three forms: Roman (-0043), Arabic (-0010), diamond Roman (-0052). Plus the platinum-only configurations in black Arabic, black diamond, silver diamond, white Roman. Ice blue on a non-platinum 218xxx case is wrong — the ice blue is Rolex-platinum-exclusive across the catalogue.
-* '''Meteorite 218239 listings need primary-catalogue verification.''' Dealer pages tagging "218239 meteorite" haven't produced a factory-catalogued example in the auction record or WatchBase index. Available evidence places meteorite on the 228239-0055 Day-Date 40 baguette configuration rather than the 218 generation. Treat dealer-listed 218239 meteorite as pending verification.
-* '''Super President 41mm bracelet, hidden Crownclasp.''' Rolex scaled the three-piece President geometry up to 41mm; concealed Crownclasp continues from the 118238 generation. End-link and link parts are interchangeable across 218238 / 218348 and the 228238 successor per Rolex parts catalogue listings.
-* '''Inside-caseback "218238" reference stamp.''' Factory-standard across the generation. A 218238 case with a non-matching reference stamp is a re-case flag.
 ==Sources==
@@ Line 254: / Line 235: @@
 * [https://watchbase.com/rolex/caliber/1556 Watchbase editorial, "Rolex Caliber 1556 — Watchbase", Watchbase]
 * [https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=11327271 Rolex Forums community, "Rolex Forums — 1803 Owners and Enablers Thread", Rolex Forums]
 [[Category:Day-Date]]
 [[Category:References]]