The Rolex Day-Date 18038 is the solid 18K yellow gold, fluted bezel version of the Day-Date, the model that shows the day of the week spelled in full at 12 o’clock and the date at 3 o’clock. It sits at the top of the Rolex catalogue and has only ever been made in precious metal, never in steel.
The 18038 was introduced in 1977 as the first five-digit reference of the Day-Date line, taking over from the acrylic-crystal reference 1803. It belongs to the 18000 series produced through 1988.
The change from the 1803 was mostly internal and structural. The 18038 brought a flat sapphire crystal in place of the earlier domed acrylic, a Twinlock screw-down crown, and the Caliber 3055 with a quickset date. These updates moved the Day-Date into its modern form while keeping the 36mm gold case and President bracelet unchanged in character.
Within the range, the 18038 is the yellow gold, fluted bezel configuration. The white gold counterpart carried the reference 18039, and yellow gold examples with a bark finish were sold as the 18078. It was regular production, not a limited edition, and remained in the lineup until the 18238 replaced it.
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Rolex Day-Date II Brown Chocolate Dial Roman Numerals Fluted Bezel President Bracelet 18K White Gold 41mm MINT CONDITION COMPLETE SET 218239
Rolex Day-Date 36 Champagne Gold Dial Roman Numeral Markers Fluted Bezel Presidential Bracelet 18K Yellow Gold NEAR MINT CONDITION 18038
Rolex Day-Date Blue Roman Dial Fluted Bezel President Bracelet 18K White Gold 40mm MINT CONDITION COMPLETE SET 228239
This example carries a champagne dial with a sunburst finish and applied gold Roman numerals. The day aperture sits at 12 o’clock and the date sits at 3 o’clock beneath the Cyclops lens. The dial is flat, replacing the pie-pan profile used on the earlier 1803.
The hands are gold. The printed dial text reads ROLEX beneath the coronet at 12, then OYSTER PERPETUAL, DAY-DATE across the upper half, with SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED above 6 o’clock. Dials of this production era used tritium luminous material.
The day is displayed in a curved window at the top of the dial. Rolex offered the day wheel in a wide range of languages during this reference’s run, with the number of available languages expanding partway through production.
The case is a round Oyster form in solid 18K yellow gold, measuring 36mm in diameter with a 20mm lug width. The fluted bezel is machined from the same 18K yellow gold as the case and is fixed and decorative rather than functional.
The crystal is flat sapphire with a Cyclops lens over the date at 3 o’clock. The crown is a screw-down Twinlock, and the caseback is solid and screw-down. Water resistance is rated to 100 metres, provided by the screw-down crown and caseback and the correct gaskets.
This reference is fitted with the President bracelet, reference 8385 with 55B end links, in solid 18K yellow gold. The bracelet uses the three-piece semi-circular link design that gave the Day-Date its President nickname, and it fits the 20mm lug width with a slight taper toward the clasp.
The closure is a concealed folding Crownclasp, marked only by the small Rolex coronet on the outside, giving an unbroken line of links around the wrist. The centre links of this generation are hollow, a construction choice that keeps weight down but can develop stretch over decades of wear.
The 18038 is powered by the Rolex Caliber 3055, an automatic movement with 27 jewels running at 28,800 vph and holding a 48-hour power reserve. It is a self-winding chronometer carrying COSC certification, marked on the dial as Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified.
The 3055 introduced the quickset date to the Day-Date. The date advances independently through the crown, but the day is not independently quickset on this caliber. The day changes by turning the hands forward past midnight, which is why the movement is described as single quickset.
The caliber retained the Microstella regulating system, a Nivarox hairspring, and a Glucydur balance, and added a fast rotating barrel that lifted the power reserve over the previous generation.
The case, bezel, and bracelet are solid 18K yellow gold throughout, with no plating or gold-capping anywhere on the watch. The crystal is sapphire, a harder and more scratch-resistant material than the acrylic used on the preceding reference.
The dial furniture, including the applied Roman numerals and the hands, is gold-coloured to match the case. The clasp is 18K yellow gold in line with the bracelet.
The overall material character is a fully precious-metal dress watch with a scratch-resistant modern crystal.
A full set for this reference’s era would typically include:
Original paper is a dating and authenticity document for a watch of this age, and a punched paper guarantee is harder to falsify than a hand-written one, which is why it carries weight on a full set.
Older version
Newer version
Both generations are green Rolex boxes from within the production run, and the transition between them is approximate rather than a fixed date. A much later modern Rolex box on an example of this reference indicates a service replacement rather than original packaging.
At original sale the watch shipped with a punched paper Rolex guarantee stating the reference and serial number. The guarantee period applicable in this era was short by modern standards, and it has long since expired on every example given the reference left production in 1988.
The plastic guarantee card and the later chip-embedded card formats postdate this reference and would not be correct original paperwork for an 18038.
Older version
Newer version
Both generations are paper documents, and the plastic guarantee card and later chip-embedded formats postdate this reference. The original factory guarantee has expired on every 18038 as of today, so any current coverage on an example comes from a service warranty or a seller guarantee rather than the original Rolex guarantee.
The 18038 is not in current production. It was introduced in 1977 and discontinued in 1988, giving an approximate production run of 11 years. It was replaced by the reference 18238, which introduced the Caliber 3155 and double quickset.
The 18038 wears as a 36mm dress watch on a 20mm bracelet. The proportions are restrained by modern standards, sitting flatter and slimmer than the current Day-Date 36, and the solid gold case and bracelet give it noticeable weight for its size.
It suits smaller to medium wrists and sits comfortably under a cuff. The fluted gold bezel and full gold construction place it as a formal watch, with the day and date functions keeping it practical for daily use.
Across the 18038 run the constants are the solid 18K yellow gold case, the fluted yellow gold bezel, the President bracelet, the 36mm case, and the Caliber 3055. The variation is concentrated in the dial and the markers.
Dials
Hour markers
Special finishing
Diamond configurations
Day wheel language
Neighbouring references (separate references, specifications do not carry across)
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