Rolex 1811 Day-Date

A checked version of this page, approved on 28 September 2026, was based on this revision.

Day-Date › 1811

The 1811 in yellow gold with a blue dial: the Morellis (moiré) finish on the bezel and the President bracelet's center links

The 1811 is the Morellis-finish Day-Date. It uses the 36mm gold case and caliber 1555/1556 family shared with the fluted 1803, with a watered or moiré texture on the bezel and documented President bracelet center links. The finish places it with the decorated four-digit Day-Date references, including Florentine 1806 and bark 1807. Collector and auction descriptions use Morellis, moiré, and related terms; the reference number and construction remain the basis for attribution.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	1811
family	Day-Date
production	documented from the late 1960s into the 1970s (4-digit era)
movement	caliber 1555 in early examples, then caliber 1556; hacking appears during 1556 production; no quickset
case	36mm 18k gold President : yellow, white, pink/rose gold
crystal	acrylic
bezel	Morellis (moiré) finish
bracelet	President with Morellis-finished center links
dial	the 4-digit Day-Date catalogue, shared with the 1803
crown	Twinlock screw-down
sibling references	1803 (fluted), 1804 (gem-set), 1806 (Florentine), 1807 (bark)
predecessor	originals-era 6610 / 6611 / 6612 cluster
successor	5-digit 18xxx era

Where it sits in the line

The 1811 is one of the 1803's decorated siblings, the group that split the 4-digit Day-Date by surface finish, on a shared case and movement. The 1803 took the fluted bezel, the 1804 a gem-set bezel, the 1806 the Florentine cross-hatch, the 1807 the coarse bark, and the 1811 the Morellis moiré. Each carried its texture onto the bezel and, on the 1806, 1807 and 1811, onto the bracelet center links so the finish ran the length of the watch.

Collector and trade listings use both Morellis and moiré for the texture, and some listings conflate it with Florentine. The case, bracelet, movement, and dial should be assessed together; the 1803 entry covers the shared four-digit lineage.

Production outline

Documented 1811 examples date from the late 1960s and 1970s and use caliber 1555 or 1556. Rolex does not publish a production total or sales history for the reference. The textured finish is not the same as the bark treatment used on later references such as the 18078.

Movement notes

The 1811 uses the four-digit Day-Date movement family. Reference material places caliber 1555 before caliber 1556, with 19,800 vph on the later movement; hacking was added during 1556 production, but the exact fitment year is not a clean reference cutoff. Four-digit Day-Date references do not have a quick-set day/date mechanism. Exact fitment should be checked from the movement and case evidence. The Reference:Movements page holds the caliber lineage, and the 1803 entry covers the 1555-to-1556 transition in detail.

Dial map

The 1811 used dials from the four-digit Day-Date catalogue. Auction descriptions document champagne, silver, and special dial configurations, including a champagne dial described as Doorstop. Dial choice is shared across the group and is not, by itself, an 1811 identifier.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The Morellis grain up close: textured bezel and bracelet center links against polished outer links
A yellow gold Morellis 1811 with a champagne dial

The case is the 36mm three-piece gold Oyster shared across the 4-digit Day-Date, with a Twinlock screw-down crown, screw-down caseback and acrylic crystal. The defining feature is the Morellis finish on the bezel, a watered moiré texture distinct from the Florentine cross-hatch of the 1806 and the bark of the 1807. It came in yellow, white and pink gold to match the case.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

Documented 1811 examples use President bracelets with textured center links. Service or replacement bracelets can have plain links, so original fitment should be checked against the bracelet, clasp, case, and provenance. A clasp date dates the bracelet, not the watch head.

Special branches

The decorated 4-digit references

The decorated four-digit group includes Florentine 1806, bark 1807, and Morellis 1811 treatments. Because the finishes can be confused or altered, attribution should use the reference number between the lugs, case construction, bracelet, and provenance.

Auction record

The cited auction records show individual configurations rather than a complete production total. Antiquorum sold a yellow-gold example in New York on 8 December 2016 (Lot 211): a 1967 piece, caliber 1556, satin silver dial, 36mm case on a President bracelet with textured center links, complete with its original Chronometer Certificate and booklet. The catalogue calls the bezel finish “moiré crosshatch,” supporting the Morellis name. It was estimated at USD 8,000–12,000 and sold for USD 17,500.

A second Antiquorum lot, Hong Kong, 28 May 2022 (Lot 211), catalogues a yellow-gold example from around the same period: case no. 1,672,343 by Genex of Geneva, caliber 1555, on a President bracelet the lot text describes as “hammered.” The catalogue also records the case as 1811/1601. Whether “hammered” and “moiré crosshatch” are two names for the same texture or indicate a sub-variant is not settled by these two lots alone. The estimate was HKD 95,000–144,000 and the result HKD 115,000.

The bracelet is part of the provenance and originality assessment in both lots; replacement or service links can change the configuration.

Morellis 1811
Morellis finish and bracelet
Champagne dial example

Related references

Day-Date 1803 : Fluted President (1960–1977)
Day-Date 1804
Day-Date 1806
Day-Date 1807
Day-Date 1831
Day-Date 6510 : 1956–1957

Sources

Wikipedia: Rolex Day-Date — family chronology
Rolex Day-Date technical material — current family terminology
Christie's decorated Day-Date catalogue — comparison for Florentine finish and bracelet evidence