Rolex Day-Date 36 Yellow Gold Bark / Brown Leather / Ivory Jubilee Arabic 18248

The Rolex Day-Date is the brand’s flagship calendar watch, built only in precious metal and defined by two apertures: the day spelled out in full at 12 o’clock and the date at 3 o’clock. Reference 18248 is the 18 ct yellow gold version of that watch with a bark-finish bezel, one of the four-digit-suffix models in the 182xx generation.

The 182xx series arrived in 1988 and replaced the earlier 180xx line. Its headline change was the movement: Rolex introduced caliber 3155, which added a double quickset function allowing the day and the date to be set independently of the hands. The generation also carried the sapphire crystal and Twinlock screw-down crown that had come in with the previous five-digit references.

Within the generation, the reference suffix identifies the bezel. The 18238 carries a fluted bezel, while the 18248 carries the bark finish, a vertically textured surface applied to the bezel and, on bracelet examples, to the centre links. The reference sits in Rolex’s top tier of production watches for the era, positioned as a full precious-metal dress model rather than a tool watch.

Dial and Face Design

This example carries an ivory dial with the engraved Rolex logo motif repeated across the surface, a pattern the trade calls the Jubilee or tapestry dial. The base finish reads cream to off-white depending on light. Hour markers are applied gold Arabic numerals in the Western style, from 1 to 12, with a gold outer minute track.

The hands are gold to match the numerals. The day is displayed in full through the aperture at 12 o’clock and the date through the aperture at 3 o’clock, magnified by the Cyclops lens set into the crystal. Printed dial text reads ROLEX, OYSTER PERPETUAL, DAY-DATE across the upper half, and SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED across the lower half.

The dial is marked T SWISS MADE T at 6 o’clock, indicating tritium luminous material, which is correct for the production era of this example. The luminous compound is carried on the hands.

Case and Bezel

The case is the 36 mm Rolex Oyster in solid 18 ct yellow gold, with a monobloc middle case, screw-down case back, and screw-down crown. The lugs are finished with a brushed top surface and polished sides on this generation, a slightly more restrained treatment than the fully polished lugs of the later 118xxx series. Media measurements of this case put it at about 12 mm thick excluding the Cyclops.

The crystal is scratch-resistant sapphire with a Cyclops magnifier over the date. The crown uses the Twinlock double waterproofness system and screws down against the case, giving a water resistance rating of 100 metres. The case back is solid gold and screws down, with no display window.

The bezel is 18 ct yellow gold with the bark finish, a vertical fluted texture that runs around the full circumference. It is fixed and does not rotate. The bezel is decorative rather than functional and carries no timing or measurement scale.

Bracelet and Clasp

This example is fitted on a brown leather strap with an alligator or crocodile grain, secured by an 18 ct yellow gold Rolex-signed pin buckle. Reference 18248 was supplied from the factory both on a leather strap and on the President bracelet, so a leather-strap example is a period-correct configuration for the reference.

The bracelet alternate for this reference is the 18 ct yellow gold President, the three-piece semi-circular link design created for the Day-Date. On the bark version the centre links carry the same bark finish as the bezel. The President bracelet uses a concealed folding Crownclasp. On yellow gold Day-Dates of this era the concealed clasp blade is made of 18 ct rose gold, which is factory-correct and not a mismatch.

A leather strap keeps the reference at its lightest and makes strap changes straightforward, since the watch takes a standard 20 mm strap between the lugs.

Movement and Functionality

The movement is the Rolex caliber 3155, a self-winding mechanical movement developed and made by Rolex. It is built on the caliber 3135 architecture with an added day complication, and it powered the Day-Date across this generation.

Specifications: 31 jewels, a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), and a power reserve of approximately 48 hours. It is a COSC-certified chronometer. The balance is a Microstella-regulated Glucydur balance running on a free-sprung Nivarox hairspring with a Breguet overcoil.

Functions are hours, minutes, sweep seconds, instantaneous date at 3 o’clock, and instantaneous day in full at 12 o’clock. The defining feature is the double quickset: with the crown at the first position, turning it one way advances the date and the other way advances the day, each independently of the time. The crown must be unscrewed before setting and screwed back down against the case afterward to maintain water resistance.

Materials of the Watch

Case, bezel, case back, crown, and buckle are 18 ct yellow gold. The bezel and, on bracelet examples, the centre links carry the bark surface texture. The crystal is sapphire, chosen for scratch resistance, with an integrated Cyclops magnifier over the date.

The dial furniture, the applied numerals and the hands, is gold. The strap on this example is leather. The concealed Crownclasp on the President bracelet alternate is 18 ct rose gold even on the yellow gold model.

Overall the watch is a solid precious-metal build with a sapphire crystal, combining a soft-metal case and bezel with a hard, scratch-resistant front.

Box and Papers

A full set for a mid-1990s example of this reference includes:

• Rolex presentation box of the period, with an outer card sleeve
• Printed paper Rolex guarantee certificate, punched with the reference number
• Officially Certified Chronometer certificate (printed on the guarantee document)
• Product booklets for the Day-Date and the Oyster case
• Chronometer or product hang tags
• Swing tag or seal where retained

For a leather-strap example specifically, the President bracelet is not part of a full set unless the watch was also delivered with it. Where a bracelet-and-strap dual delivery occurred, both pieces belong in the set.

Box Variations

Older version

• Mid-1990s Rolex presentation box in the era-standard style, with an outer cardboard sleeve
• Inner cushion sized for the watch on strap or bracelet
• Period booklets and hang tags matching the sale year

Newer version

• Standard current-style Rolex box supplied when an original box was lost or replaced during service
• Simpler interior with no period-specific booklets or tags
• Service pouch or travel case sometimes issued in place of the original box

Rolex changed presentation box styles several times across the 1988 to 2000 run of this generation, so the era-correct box for a given example depends on its production year. A box from a different decade than the watch, or a plain service box, does not match the original delivery for full-set purposes.

Original Warranty

An example from this era was sold with a printed paper Rolex guarantee certificate, completed and dated by the retailer at point of sale and punched with the watch’s reference number. The paper format preceded the plastic card Rolex introduced in 2007 and the chip-embedded card introduced in 2014 and 2015.

This example’s guarantee is a Japanese-market certificate, printed in Japanese and issued through Montres Rolex S.A. (Rolex’s Japanese entity), dated 15 May 1995. The guarantee document also carries the Officially Certified Chronometer certificate text.

Warranty Variations

Older version

• Printed paper guarantee certificate completed and stamped by the selling retailer, punched with the reference number
• Japanese-market examples carry a Japanese-language certificate issued through Rolex’s Japanese entity
• Officially Certified Chronometer certificate printed on the same document

Newer version

• Post-service documentation issued by Rolex or an authorised service centre on later servicing
• A service guarantee covering the work performed, separate from the original sale guarantee

The original sale guarantee on any example of this reference has long since expired given the production era. A dated, retailer-completed original paper certificate is the primary authenticity document for a full set from this period; a blank or photocopied certificate carries no such value. Rolex extended its international guarantee to five years for purchases from July 2015 onward, which postdates this reference and does not apply to it.

Production and Discontinuation Status

• Currently in production: No
• Generation introduced: 1988 (182xx series)
• Generation replaced: 2000, by the six-digit 118xxx series
• Approximate production run: the 182xx generation ran for about twelve years

Reference 18248 is a discontinued reference. It is not part of Rolex’s current catalogue, which offers the Day-Date 36 in the 128xxx series with caliber 3255.

On-Wrist Feel

At 36 mm across with a height of about 12 mm and a 20 mm lug width, the watch wears as a classic mid-size dress piece. The lug-to-lug span sits in the low-to-mid 40s of millimetres for this generation, so it stays contained on the wrist and slides under a cuff easily.

On the leather strap the watch is lighter than on the full gold President bracelet, and the weight sits mainly in the case. The strap makes it easy to size to the wrist and to swap for a different 20 mm strap.

It suits smaller-to-medium wrists well and reads as a formal watch. The bark bezel adds surface interest over a plain smooth bezel while staying more subdued than a fluted bezel under bright light.

Variations

Reference 18248 is constant in its core build: a 36 mm 18 ct yellow gold Oyster case, a bark-finish yellow gold bezel, sapphire crystal with Cyclops, and caliber 3155. What varies across examples is the dial and the strap or bracelet.

Dials

• Applied baton and index dials in champagne, silver, white, and black
• Applied Arabic numeral dials, including the ivory Jubilee tapestry configuration on this example
• Roman numeral dials
• Factory diamond-set dials with brilliant or baguette hour markers
• Hardstone and specialty dials, including aventurine and coloured lacquer

Bracelets and straps

• 18 ct yellow gold President bracelet with bark-finish centre links and concealed Crownclasp
• Leather strap with an 18 ct yellow gold Rolex pin buckle

Neighbouring references (separate watches, specifications do not carry across)

• 18238: same generation and case in 18 ct yellow gold with a fluted bezel
• 18208: same generation with a smooth (domed) bezel
• 18239 and 18249: white gold versions of the fluted and bark configurations
• 118248: the later six-digit successor with a heavier President bracelet and revised clasp