Among the novelties presented by Rolex, Day-Date had to be there too. Perhaps the most prestigious model of the maison, born in 1956 as the first watch to indicate the day of the week in its entirety. Worn by elites around the world, so much so that it was renamed “President”, it features a semicircle window at 12 o’clock that indicates the day of the week available in a wide range of languages.
This year, the lucky class of “Presidents” is enriched with a large number of variants, in a Rossinian crescendo of aesthetic perfection and elegance. No, this is not a watch for everyone. But when it comes to timepieces, dreaming is often the same as wearing and so we offer you a rundown of the new 2022 Day-Date models.
We have already discovered together the Day-Date 40 in platinum with ice dial and fluted bezel.
Among the new entries we find models in both yellow gold and platinum. By the way, a curiosity: Rolex has always taught us that the ice blue dial is the discreet and exclusive feature that distinguishes Rolex watches in platinum. This rule seems to find an exception with the latest Day-Dates, in which for some seasons platinum has also been combined with dials of different colors.
The dials this year show off a kaleidoscope of colors and materials: from “Rolex” green to olive green, from onyx (wonderful) to meteorite, material only used for Daytonas and GMTs until today. There are also (how could they miss?!) diamond pavé dials.
In some cases, the indexes are Roman numerals, with the characteristic number IIII, and not IV, renamed “the four of the watchmaker”. Few people know that this is a far from recent convention: notation “IIII” was already in use by the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks and later the Etruscans, from which the Romans derived its use. It will take until the late Middle Ages for the alternative variant (IV) to spread and, when the first mechanical clocks were made, the ancient notation was still widely used. Many believe that it is still used today due to the extraordinary balance it gives the dial.
Characteristic of all models, of course, the President bracelet with three rounded elements.
Another typical feature of the Day-Date is the Crownclasp, a very discreet clasp with folding foils in which the opening and closing system is hidden under a small lever in the shape of a Rolex crown, which makes it completely invisible.
Inside the Day-Date 40 pulsates a new generation movement, the caliber 3255, entirely developed and produced by Rolex. This self-winding mechanical movement boasts fourteen patents that guarantee its precision, autonomy, resistance to shocks and magnetism, comfort of use and reliability. Thanks to the barrel architecture and the superior performance of its escapement, the caliber boasts a power reserve of approximately 70 hours.
And now let’s take a closer look at the new protagonists of the 40 mm Day-Date line.
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in 18kt yellow gold with green dial and roman numerals – Ref. 228238
This model (list price € 35,900) features Roman numeral indexes, with the iconic IIII instead of IV and is also available with a diamond bezel (Reference 228348RBR and price on request).
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in 18 kt yellow gold with dial and bezel full diamond set – Ref. 228398TBR
Il quadrante di questo stupendo segnatempo presenta 10 diamanti taglio baguette in luogo degli indici. A ore 12 troneggia invece, come in tutti i Day-Date, l’iconica corona Rolex. Il prezzo è su richiesta.
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in 18 kt yellow gold with Onyx dial and diamond indexes – Ref. 228238
The dial of this Day-Date is in black silica onyx, with the characteristic white streaks. Mined in Brazil, India, Madagascar and Uruguay, based on silicon dioxide (SiO2), this stone boasts a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale (the maximum is 10, the prerogative of the diamond) and has been used since ancient Greece for the making brooches and jewels. It is a particularly fascinating material, already used to embellish the dials by Rolex but also by other brands (for example, the Infinity Edition 2020 by Girard-Perregaux).
In this regard, I leave you a link to our guide to the stone dials used by Rolex.
The Day-Date with onyx dial is also available in the version with a diamond bezel, instead of the fluted bezel (Reference 228348RBR).
For both versions, the price is on request.
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in platinum with ice blue, decorated dial – Ref. 228236
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in platinum with olive green dial – Ref. 228236
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in 18kt yellow gold with diamond set dial – Ref. 228238
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in platinum with Meteorite dial and diamond indexes – Ref. 228236
The dial of this Day-Date is distinguished by the material, the meteorite: extracted from the heart of an asteroid – perhaps even a planet -, which exploded, projecting the matter that composed it into the solar system, then entered orbit by chance. of our planet, falling to Earth due to gravity.
During its journey, the heart of the meteorite undergoes a gradual transformation that gives rise to extremely unusual metallic motifs, the result of the very slow cooling process of the molten core of the asteroids. Starting from these configurations, the brand’s designers have created a unique dial for some of the most prestigious models (GMT, Daytona).
The novelty of this year is the combination of the meteroite dial with platinum. In the catalog, before the new entry this year, there was already the Day-Date 40 with a weathered dial but with a white gold case and bracelet (Reference 228239).
The indexes of this Day-Date are baguette-cut diamonds. The price is on request.
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in platinum with vivid blue dial – Ref. 228236
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in platinum with silver dial and diamond indexes – Ref. 228236
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in platinum with white dial and roman numerals – Ref. 228236
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in platinum with diamond set dial – Ref. 228236
The dial of this Day-Date is embellished with a brilliants pave and indexes composed of 8 baguette-cut diamonds and 2 baguette-cut blue sapphires at 6 and 9 o’clock. This model is available for the first time in platinum (the Reference in white gold, 228239, was already in the catalog).
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in platinum with slate dial – Ref. 228236
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