Rolex 18238 Day-Date
Day-Date › 18238
The 18238 replaced the 18038 in 1988. It kept the 36mm yellow-gold case, fluted bezel, sapphire crystal, and President bracelet, but introduced caliber 3155. The movement added independent quickset correction for both the day and date. Production ended around 2000, when the six-digit 118238 took over with a revised case and bracelet.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 18238 |
| family | Day-Date |
| production | 1988 to about 2000 |
| movement | caliber 3155, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, ~48h power reserve, COSC; double quickset (day and date both set from the crown) |
| case | 36mm 18k yellow gold President |
| crystal | sapphire |
| bezel | fluted |
| crown | Twinlock screw-down, 100m water resistance |
| bracelet | President 8385 with hidden Crownclasp |
| lume | tritium ("T SWISS MADE T") on early examples; Luminova or transitional non-tritium dials on later examples |
| siblings | 18248 (bark), 18348 (diamond bezel), 18239 / 18249 white gold, the 18208 smooth and platinum variants of the 3155 generation |
| predecessor | 18038 (single quickset, caliber 3055) |
| successor | 118238 (6-digit, caliber 3155) |
Where it sits in the line
The 18238 follows the 18038, which brought sapphire and quickset date to the 36mm Day-Date in 1977 with caliber 3055. The 18238 arrived in 1988 with caliber 3155 and double quickset. The six-digit 118238 followed around 2000 with the same caliber number but a revised case and a solid-link bracelet. The 18238 is the last five-digit yellow-gold fluted President before that case change.
The 3155 generation splits by metal and bezel. The 18238 is yellow gold with a fluted bezel; the 18248 has a bark finish; the 18348 has a factory diamond bezel; and the 18239 and 18249 are white-gold fluted and bark variants. Smooth-bezel and platinum references complete the range. Pink gold is absent from this five-digit group.
Production outline
The 18238 ran for roughly twelve years. Early examples carry tritium, marked "T SWISS MADE T" at the foot of the dial; later examples use non-tritium luminous material, with transitional wording reported in the late 1990s. The case and caliber define the reference, but dial, bracelet, and service parts still need to be checked on an individual watch.
Serial numbers track the standard Rolex stream for the period, running through the letter-prefix series of the 1990s. The reference overlaps the start of the 6-digit era briefly before giving way to the 118238.
Movement notes
The caliber 3155 is the defining mechanical change from the 18038's 3055. It keeps the 28,800 vph rate and roughly 48-hour reserve, but adds a quickset for the day so both discs can be corrected from the crown. The 3155 continued into the 6-digit 118238, where the case and bracelet changed. The Day-Date II later used the related caliber 3156. The full caliber lineage sits on Reference:Movements.
Dial map
The 18238 was offered across the standard President dial range: champagne and silver with applied gold markers as the volume choice, Roman-numeral and diamond-hour-marker dials, mother-of-pearl, textured linen-weave grounds in black and champagne, and the occasional stone or special-order dial. By the 1990s the wilder Stella lacquer and Stern Frères stone dials of the 1803 era had largely given way to more restrained options, so a special-dial 18238 is scarcer than a special-dial 1803. The dial-variant taxonomy that spans the whole President line sits on the 1803 entry.
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A stone-dial 18238 with diamond hour markers, one of the special-order dials offered across the President range. -
A standard champagne-dial 18238 with applied gold markers, fluted bezel, and sapphire crystal, the volume-production dial for the reference.
Wood dials are a documented branch of the 18238 range. Rolex used wood dials on gold Presidents before this reference, and the five-digit examples continued into the 1990s. Hodinkee's guide illustrates a walnut 18238 dated circa 1996 and describes the later dials as lacquered before printing. That finish distinguishes them from the earlier straight-grain dials described in the same guide.
Published references name birch, African mahogany, and walnut for the five-digit generation. Collector material also reports madrona or madrone, but that attribution rests on period advertising and secondary research. A wood species or grain pattern is therefore a lead, not proof of original delivery. Replacement wood dials can appear in later cases, so papers and service records matter.
Wood is vulnerable to moisture, lifting, and cracking, so gasket and service history matter. A dial can be replaced, and the dial alone does not establish original delivery; use papers or service records where available.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
The case is a 36mm three-piece yellow-gold Oyster with a sapphire crystal and fluted bezel. The Twinlock screw-down crown is commonly specified at 100m water resistance. The 18238 keeps the slimmer five-digit case treatment; the six-digit 118238 has broader, more polished lugs and a heavier bracelet.
Bracelets, end links, and clasps
The 18238 wears President bracelet reference 8385 with the older concealed clasp. The links are 18k gold but can stretch with use. A clasp date code dates the bracelet, not the watch head; the cross-family bracelet detail sits on Reference:Bracelets.
Special branches
The 3155 generation siblings
Within the 3155 generation, the yellow-gold fluted 18238 is the standard reference. The diamond-bezel 18348, white-gold 18239 and 18249, and platinum variants are separate branches with different case and metal specifications.
Auction record
Auction and dealer results for the 18238 vary with gold condition, dial originality, bracelet stretch, and the presence of box and papers. Standard champagne and silver dials are easier to compare than wood, stone, diamond, or other special-order configurations. The long production run makes the individual watch's condition more useful than a single reference-wide price range.
Related references
- Day-Date 18208, 1988–2000
- Day-Date 18248, 1988–2000
- Day-Date 18348, 1988–2000
- Day-Date 19018, Oysterquartz President (1977–2001)
- Day-Date 18028, 1977–1988
- Day-Date 18038, caliber 3055 President (1977–1988)
See also the Day-Date family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.
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Rolex Day-Date 18238 -
Stone dial and diamond markers
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Champagne dial and fluted bezel
Sources
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
- Fratello editorial, "Exploring Evergreens: The Rolex Day-Date 18238", Fratello Watches
- A Collector's Guide to Weird and Wonderful Wooden Dials — Malaika Crawford (Hodinkee, 2023)
- Monochrome editorial, "In-Depth: The History of the Rolex Day-Date, The Presidential Watch", Monochrome Watches
- Sotheby's editorial, "The Rolex Day-Date: A Complete Collector's Guide", Sotheby's
- Fratello editorial, "Rolex Day-Date — Historical Overview Of Rolex's Flagship", Fratello Watches
- WatchBase editorial, "Rolex Day-Date History", WatchBase, 2015-02-21
- Italian Watch Spotter editorial, "The History of the Rolex Day-Date", Italian Watch Spotter
- WatchBase, "Rolex caliber 3155 (registry page)", WatchBase
- Beckertime editorial, "Rolex Decades: The 90s Day-Date vs the 2000s Day-Date", Beckertime
- Bob's Watches editorial, "Quickset Vintage Day-Date Models", Bob's Watches