Rolex Day-Date II 218399

Day-Date → 218399

White-gold Day-Date II with baguette bezel, pavé dial and green enamel markers — Sotheby's lot 8001, case 167610Z6.

Rolex listed reference 218399 as a 41 mm white-gold Day-Date II with an 80-baguette bezel and President bracelet 83219.

Core facts

Detail	Specification
Reference	218399; a 2015 Netherlands list prints 218399 BR
Family	Day-Date II
Documented dates	Exact-reference examples dated circa 2009, circa 2012 and circa 2014; Rolex lists from 2011, 2012 and 2015
Case	41 mm, 18 ct white gold
Bezel	80 baguette diamonds; the 2015 list gives approximately 3.48 ct
Crystal	Synthetic sapphire
Movement	Cal. 3156, automatic, 31 jewels, chronometer
Bracelet	White-gold President, reference 83219

Where it sits in the line

The Day-Date II arrived in 2008; Rolex replaced it with the 40 mm Day-Date in 2015.

Production outline

Poly Auction dates one 218399 to circa 2009. Rolex lists the reference in 2011 and 2012, then includes it in a 2015 Netherlands catalogue. Sotheby's dates case 167610Z6 to circa 2012; Phillips dates a separate case to circa 2014. The exact production start and end remain unknown.

Movement notes

Rolex's Day-Date II timeline pairs the 41 mm model with Cal. 3156. The period list and exact-reference auction catalogues identify a 31-jewel movement.

Dial map

Rolex's 2012 list names a pavé dial with enamel markers and a gem-set option with eight baguette diamonds and two baguette sapphires. Its 2015 list includes eight diamond markers with two baguette diamonds, and a pavé dial with enamel indices. A 2010–11 Rolex dial sheet groups the 218399 with three other Day-Date II references and pictures black, blue and green enamel-marker pavé dials. Auction records identify black and green markers on two 218399 examples.

Poly's circa-2009 example has black enamel markers on a pavé dial. Sotheby's and Christie's describe the same circa-2012 watch, case 167610Z6, with green enamel markers. Phillips records a separate circa-2014 watch with a silver sunburst dial and diamond indexes.

Silver sunburst dial with diamond indexes on white-gold Day-Date II reference 218399BR — Phillips lot 844, case 4P5D5782, circa 2014.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

On its circa-2009 example, Poly describes a screw-down crown and caseback.

Rolex and Sotheby's give 41 mm; Christie's gives 42 mm for the same case, 167610Z6.

Sotheby's, lot 8001, three-quarter view of case 167610Z6
Sotheby's, lot 8001, caseback and bracelet of case 167610Z6

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging

Rolex specifies the white-gold President bracelet 83219. Its 2015 list describes that bracelet as 21 mm wide, with 24 links and a Crownclasp, and names 218399 BR among its applications.

Poly records a Rolex certificate and presentation box with its circa-2009 example.

Special branches

The 2011 and 2012 U.S. lists print 218399; the 2015 Dutch list and Phillips's 2022 catalogue use 218399 BR. These catalogues leave the suffix unexplained.

Auction record

Sale	Watch and catalogue record
Poly Auction Hong Kong, 1 October 2018, lot 2332	Ref. 218399, case not stated; catalogued circa 2009, pavé dial with black enamel markers, certificate and box. Estimate HKD 620,000–900,000.
Sotheby's Fine Watches 2021, lot 8001	Ref. 218399, case 167610Z6, catalogued circa 2012; pavé dial with green enamel markers.
Christie's, lot 6002879	Same case 167610Z6 and circa-2012 configuration as Sotheby's. Christie's reports 42 mm; Sotheby's reports 41 mm.
Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XIV, 27 May 2022, lot 844	Ref. 218399BR, case 4P5D5782, catalogued circa 2014; silver sunburst dial with diamond indexes; guarantee dated 22 April 2014. Sold for HKD 554,400 including buyer's premium.

Gallery

Sotheby's, lot 8001, case 167610Z6; pavé dial with green enamel markers
Sotheby's, lot 8001, three-quarter view of case 167610Z6
Phillips, lot 844, case 4P5D5782; silver sunburst dial with diamond indexes
Sotheby's, lot 8001, caseback and bracelet of case 167610Z6

Sources