Rolex 218235 Day-Date II

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

Day-Date › 218235

Rolex Day-Date II 218235 in Everose gold with the chocolate Roman dial, the reference's signature configuration. Produced 2008 to 2015 on the caliber 3156.

The 218235 is the Everose-gold Day-Date II reference, a 41 mm model produced during the 2008–2015 generation. It uses Cal. 3156, a fluted Everose bezel, and an Everose President bracelet. Archived model material identifies the case and bracelet as 18 ct Everose gold. Chocolate Roman is one documented dial configuration among several.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	218235
family	Day-Date (Day-Date II, 41mm)
production	2008 to 2015
movement	caliber 3156, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, ~48h power reserve, double quickset, COSC chronometer
case	41mm 18k Everose gold Oyster, about 12.1mm thick
crystal	sapphire with Cyclops
bezel	fluted Everose
crown	Twinlock screw-down
bracelet	Everose President, three semi-circular links, concealed Crownclasp
water resistance	100m
dial	chocolate Roman the signature; ivory, black and silver Roman, black Arabic, chocolate wave Arabic, and factory diamond and baguette layouts
metal	Everose, Rolex's fade-resistant 18k pink gold (introduced 2005)
siblings	218238 (yellow gold), 218239 (white gold), 218206 (platinum), 218348 / 218349 (factory diamond bezel)
36mm counterpart	118235, which ran alongside rather than being replaced
successor	228235 (Day-Date 40, caliber 3255, from 2015)

Where it sits in the line

The 218235 is the Everose-gold member of the Day-Date II generation, introduced in 2008 with a 41 mm case. Yellow gold is the 218238, white gold the 218239, platinum the 218206 with its smooth bezel and ice-blue dial, and factory diamond bezels sit on the 218348 and 218349. Everose gets the same fluted bezel as the other gold references and the same caliber; the metal is the whole difference.

The 41 mm Everose model did not replace the 36 mm Everose 118235, which remained in the catalogue into 2019. The Day-Date II was an additional size; when it ended in 2015, the 36 mm reference continued.

Production outline

The Day-Date II launched at Baselworld 2008 alongside the Datejust II, and the 218235 ran with the generation to its 2015 discontinuation, when the Day-Date 40 arrived at 40mm and took the slot. The catalogue window is shorter than the preceding 36 mm generation, but catalogue dates do not establish the exact production date of every case.

The whole run falls in or near Rolex's random-serial era. The company moved to scrambled serial numbers catalogue-wide in 2010, and documented Everose examples carry random serials with warranty cards dated 2012, 2014 and 2015. Rolex has published no production figure for the reference, and none has surfaced from any other quarter, so no population comparison with the yellow-gold 218238 can be made from a published number.

Movement notes

The 3156 is the movement specified for the Day-Date II references in the reviewed technical sources. Published specifications give 31 jewels, a 28,800 vph beat, about 48 hours of reserve, double quickset for day and date, and chronometer certification. The balance is Glucydur with Microstella regulating screws, the hairspring is the blue Parachrom, and the Paraflex shock system is fitted. Introduced with the generation in 2008, the 3156 was retired in 2015 and 2016 as the Day-Date 40 moved to the caliber 3255 and its 70-hour reserve.

One caveat for anyone reading listings. The 218235 is occasionally advertised with a caliber 3155, the 36mm movement. Every specification source for the reference gives the 3156. A listing that reports Cal. 3155 needs a movement photograph and service history; it may be a listing error or a later movement change, not evidence of a factory variant. The Reference:Movements page carries the caliber lineage, and the 218238 entry covers the 3156 in more depth.

Dial map

The Everose 218235 was offered across a wider spread of dials than its short run suggests, and the documented layouts split into plain-marker dials and factory gem-set ones.

dial	markers	code where documented	notes
chocolate	Roman	218235-0035	a documented Everose pairing
ivory	Roman	218235-0033	plain Roman layout
black	Roman	218235-0034	Everose applied markers and hands
pink	diamond	218235-0008	factory diamond hour markers on a pink ground
silver	Roman	not in the published roster	documented on the market
black	Arabic	not in the published roster	documented on the market
chocolate wave	Arabic	not in the published roster	wave-pattern ground, an Everose reading of a Day-Date II dial texture
black	baguette diamond	not in the published roster	factory baguette markers
pink	Roman	not in the published roster	plain Roman layout

The published dial-code roster for the Day-Date II runs to seventeen codes across the whole generation, four of them on the 218235. At least five further Everose layouts are documented in dealer and auction records, so the published roster is not a complete list. A model-code search alone will miss encountered configurations such as the black Arabic dial.

Factory and aftermarket gem-setting should be kept separate. A factory diamond or baguette dial is supported by a Rolex model code or strong catalogue record; an aftermarket dial, bezel, or bracelet requires separate disclosure and should not be assigned a factory code from appearance alone.

Silver Roman dial.
Black Arabic dial; documented outside the published Day-Date II dial-code roster.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The case is 41mm in 18k Everose, roughly 12.1mm thick, with a sapphire crystal, a Cyclops over the date and a Twinlock screw-down crown, rated to 100m. The bezel is fluted, a form used on earlier Day-Date references. The fluted surface is rendered in Everose on this reference.

The 41 mm case has broader proportions than the 36 mm Day-Date references. The 2015 successor moved to the 40 mm Day-Date 40 case; case dimensions should be checked on the individual watch.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

The 218235 wears the Everose President, the three-piece semi-circular-link bracelet scaled up to the 41mm head, with the concealed Crownclasp that shows only the coronet on the closed cover. As with any President, a clasp date code dates the bracelet rather than the watch head, and a bracelet can be older or newer than the case it is on. The cross-family detail sits on Reference:Bracelets.

Special branches

Everose and the chocolate dial

Chocolate Roman dials are documented on both the 36 mm 118235 and the 41 mm 218235. They are one of the reference's catalogued layouts, alongside ivory, black, silver, pink, Arabic, wave, and gem-set examples.

Gem-set and aftermarket examples

Everose 218235s appear with factory diamond and baguette dials and, separately, with aftermarket stones on the dial, bezel, and bracelet. Factory gem-set dials require a Rolex model code or strong catalogue record; aftermarket work requires its own disclosure and does not establish a factory configuration.

Factory black baguette-diamond dial.
Factory pink diamond dial, catalogued as 218235-0008.

Auction and market evidence

The reviewed auction evidence is stronger for the platinum 218206 than for the 218235. No 218235 lot was confirmed in the records checked here; that is a research limit, not proof that no such lot exists. Dealer and certified-pre-owned listings document asking or authorised-channel prices for individual watches, but they are not a complete auction census or a reference-wide price guide.

Related references

Day-Date 218239: white-gold Day-Date II, 2008–2015.
Day-Date 218238: yellow-gold Day-Date II, 2008–2015.
Day-Date 218206: platinum Day-Date II, 2008–2015.
Day-Date 118235 (2005–2019, 36mm Everose President)
Day-Date 118238: 2000–2019.
Day-Date 118208: 2000–2019.

Gallery

Everose Day-Date II 218235 with chocolate Roman dial
Silver Roman dial
Black Arabic dial
Black baguette-diamond dial
Pink diamond dial