Rolex Day-Date 36 118138
Day-Date › 118138
The 118138 is the yellow-gold, leather-strap Day-Date 36. It uses the fluted case of the 118238 with an alligator strap and gold deployant clasp in place of the President bracelet. Rolex introduced the strap-mounted Day-Dates at Baselworld 2013, with cognac and green among the first dial colours. It uses caliber 3155 in a 36mm case; catalogues place the reference in the 2013–2019 period.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 118138 |
| family | Day-Date (Day-Date 36, 6-digit) |
| production | 2013 to about 2019 |
| movement | caliber 3155, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, ~48h, double quickset, Parachrom hairspring, COSC |
| case | 36mm 18k yellow gold |
| crystal | sapphire |
| bezel | fluted |
| strap | alligator leather strap with an 18k gold Crownclasp deployant |
| dial | champagne, silver, black, white Roman, green, cognac, mother-of-pearl, diamond-set |
| crown | Twinlock screw-down |
| siblings | 118238 (President bracelet), 118208 (smooth, President/Oyster); 118139 (white-gold strap), 118135 (Everose strap) |
| successor | no plain fluted-bezel equivalent; the caliber-3255 strap Day-Date 36 references (128158RBR, 128159RBR, 128155RBR, from 2021) are fully gem-set |
Where it sits in the line
The 118138 is the yellow-gold strap member of the 6-digit Day-Date 36 line. The 118238 uses the same fluted case on a President bracelet; the 118138 replaces that bracelet with an alligator strap and a gold deployant clasp. The white-gold strap version is 118139 and the Everose version is 118135. Rolex added these strap references at Baselworld 2013, alongside the bracelet references 118238, 118208 and 118235.
Production outline
The 118xxx Day-Date 36 generation began in 2000; the leather-strap references arrived at Baselworld 2013. Archived catalogues and contemporary launch coverage place the 118138 in the 2013–2019 period. The later 3255 generation retained bracelet versions. Rolex brought back strap-mounted Day-Date 36 models in 2021 as the fully gem-set 128158RBR, 128159RBR and 128155RBR. The available sources do not show a plain fluted-bezel strap replacement for 118138, and Rolex has not published a production total.
Movement notes
The 118138 uses caliber 3155, the double-quickset Day-Date movement. Published technical references list 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, about 48 hours of power reserve, COSC certification and a Parachrom hairspring. The day and date set from the crown. The bracelet-mounted 118238 uses the same caliber.
Dial map
Contemporary 2013 coverage lists cognac and green dials for the yellow-gold strap model, with other catalogued examples in champagne, silver, black and white Roman, mother-of-pearl, and diamond-set configurations. Dial and strap colours were often paired, but a dial or strap seen on one example does not establish the full factory option list. The broader Day-Date dial taxonomy is covered on the 1803 entry.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
The case is the 36mm yellow-gold Oyster of the 6-digit Day-Date, with the broader lugs of that generation, a sapphire crystal and Cyclops, a Twinlock screw-down crown, and the fluted bezel that is the Day-Date signature. It is the same case the President-bracelet 118238 uses, and the only structural difference sits at the lugs, which take a strap instead of an end link and bracelet.
Strap and clasp
The 118138 uses an alligator leather strap with an 18k gold Crownclasp deployant. A replacement strap can change the watch’s appearance and may not preserve the original delivery configuration, so the strap and clasp should be recorded separately when examining a used example. President-bracelet hardware is covered on Reference:Bracelets.
Market
The source set has no headline auction result for the 118138. Dealer and certified-pre-owned listings vary with dial, condition, papers, and whether the strap and clasp are original to the watch. Those listings are useful for current availability, but they do not establish a fixed price band or a universal premium for a particular dial colour.
Related references
- Day-Date 118235; 2005–2019
- Day-Date 218206; 2008–2015
- Day-Date 218238; 2008–2015
- Day-Date 118208; 2000–2019
- Day-Date 118238; 2000–2019
- Day-Date 18208; 1988–2000
See also the Day-Date family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.
Sources
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual; Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
- Sotheby's, "Rolex President Day-Date Reference 118138, 18k yellow gold with green stick dial on crocodile strap; Sotheby's", Sotheby's, 2016
- Sotheby's, "Rolex President Day-Date Reference 118138, 18k yellow gold, crocodile strap; Sotheby's", Sotheby's, 2017
- Petite Genève editorial, "Rolex Day-Date 36 Ref. 118138", Petite Genève Petrovic, 2018
- 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
- Loupe This, "Rolex Day-Date 118138, cognac/copper dial, leather strap", Loupe This
- Bob's Watches, "Rolex Day-Date 118138, white Roman dial on green leather strap", Bob's Watches