WATCH REVIEW Rolex Day-Date 40 Everose gold ref. 228235: don’t wait to be President to buy it

Day-Date: another legend by Rolex

The aura of Rolex watches around the world is relatively easy to explain, even though it has been built over time and no brand has yet achieved this level of notoriety or desirability.

Of course, they are originally robust and precise watches with a sporty-chic elegance that gives them total versatility, including a design that is immediately recognizable by all.
But that’s not all.

Rolex has indeed accompanied the birth of (almost) each of its models with a History with a capital H (explore the Rolex catalog), creating a world and a legend around its watches.

That of the birth of the highly sought-after Cosmograph Daytona ceramic bezel is linked to the speed records beaten by Sir Malcolm Campbell in the mid-1930s on the beach of Daytona, Florida.

That of the iconic Explorer has its roots in the first successful ascent of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and his sidekick Tenzing Norway in 1953.

The Day-Date, whose full name is Oyster Perpetual Day-Date, appeared in the Rolex catalog in 1956.

Exclusively forged in precious metal, it was the first watch to simultaneously display the time (hours, minutes and seconds), the date and the day of the week in full text.

From the moment it was born, it was fitted with a bracelet specifically designed for it called Président.

Because of this (or not), Rolex will very quickly communicate on the Day-Date as the watch worn by the leaders and influential personalities of the world – a communication that will earn it the nickname of the Presidents’ Watch.

While it has been able to display different case sizes throughout its history, culminating in a 41mm diameter on the references launched in 2008, this automatic watch now exists in two variations: 36 or 40mm.

I set my sights on a 40mm-version launched in 2015, as this diameter is perfectly adapted to a wrist with a classic circumference (17 to 18cm), more contemporary than a 36mm-case.

The case of this Day-Date 40 ref. 228235 is forged in this Rolex-specific pink gold called 18-carat Everose gold – a gold produced on the Rolex site in Plan-les-Ouates, which brings together all the development and production activities for the cases and bracelets of the brand’s crown watches.

In particular, this is where the foundry is located, where Rolex creates the 18-carat gold alloys used for its watches, including this Everose gold, an exclusive rose gold alloy developed in-house and composed of a mixture of gold, copper and titanium that promises an unalterable hue.

My test of a few days didn’t allow me to be sure…

What I can confirm, however, is that the 18K Everose gold on which this Rolex Day-Date is graced has a warm and soft hue that avoids the shiny or even flashy appearance that we sometimes fear from a classic pink gold.

The one of Rolex is indeed of a great but discreet elegance and it is rather good news insofar as it is in this precious material that the case and bracelet are forged.

While Rolex only offers gold versions of its Day-Date, the Manufacture offers a choice between a set, smooth or fluted bezel.

My choice naturally goes to the latter.

Both because the very first Rolex Day-Date was made in 1956 with a fluted bezel, which today seems to me to be part of the visual identity of the model.

But also because it gives the Day-Date an extra touch of elegance that I feel is lacking on versions with a smooth bezel that appear naked in comparison, as if they lacked a little something – a perception that I fully assume the subjectivity of.

To be continued below…

Rolex Day-Date 40:
When elegance and functionality are one

Objectively, however, and as on the very beautiful and timeless Rolex Datejust 36 ref. 126234, the succession of finely chiseled facets of which this fluted bezel is made offers its owner a magnificent daily spectacle, the relief cut out of it responding to that of the bracelet (to which I will return later).

As on its Datejust in particular, Rolex offers for the Day-Date 40 a wide range of dials alternating tones, structures and patterns.

My choice went to a dial called Sundust to use the Rolex wording – a slightly golden hue that looks like the color champagne.

Rolex adorns this dial with a vertical lining decoration to which is added a sunburst treatment.
The combination brings structure and relief to the sumptuous face of this Day-Date 40, a magnifying glass examination being a real treat for the discerning eye.

The graduated timer that encircles the dial, combined with the arc-shaped window located between 11am and 1am for the day display, finally bring a geometrical side to this dial by giving it a beautiful and elegant originality.

You will note that Rolex offers the choice between 26 languages for the day display!

The brand with the crown also offers, depending on the dials and in addition to the diamond indexes, applied Roman numerals or baton-shaped indexes.

In my opinion, the beautifully crafted Roman numeral markers reinforce the classic dimension of the Day-Date, while the baton-shaped markers give it a more contemporary aesthetic and a more sporty feel.

Made in faceted pink gold, they contribute both to the elegance of the model and at the same time to its great functionality. The Day-Date benefits from a very efficient daytime readability – the Sundust dial is not the most contrasted of the collection.

These indexes also offer a weight advantage regarding my criteria when it comes to a dress watch: equipped, like the hour and minute hands, with Chromalight, the ultra-efficient luminescent material developed by Rolex, they allow this Day-Date 40 to be perfectly readable even at night.

Finally, in terms of optimized functionality, it should be noted that the Day-Date 40, under the guise of a classic and elegant watch, is water-resistant to 100 meters, which ensures its remarkable versatility.

The Day-Date 40 also features a President bracelet forged in 18K Everose gold.

Made of three rows of short links, of which only the central row is mirror-polished while the other two have a satin finish, the Rolex President bracelet allows for optimal articulation that adapts to all wrists for a comfort that does not suffer the criticism.

I draw your attention to this essential asset, the Rolex Day-Date 40 gold Everose weighing 199 grams with a strap adjusted for a wrist of 17.5cm in circumference.

This weight, which is by no means insignificant, is however in no way a handicap in my opinion.

If it requires that you like watches that are well present on your wrist, it provides a feeling of pleasure: that of wearing a beautiful block of gold on your wrist.

Finally, this self-winding watch is equipped with a latest-generation movement: the 3255 caliber directly developped and produced in the Rolex manufacture.

As such, it benefits from the assets that contribute to the success of Rolex watches throughout the world: a remarkable precision of -2/+2 seconds per day, a comfortable power reserve of 70 hours, and resistance (to shocks and magnetic fields in particular) thanks to the use of a paramagnetic blue Parachrom balance spring and high-performance Paraflex shock absorbers.

As with all the watches in its catalog, Rolex guarantees their performance through its Superlative Chronometer certification – a certification that comes with a 5-year warranty.

To be continued below…