Datejust 31 Yellow Gold Diamond / President / Champagne Diamonds Rubies

About This Watch

The Rolex Datejust 31 has long stood as a testament to the brand’s commitment to blending timeless elegance with meticulous engineering, and the yellow gold variant with gem-set detailing exemplifies this legacy. The 31mm case, crafted in 18ct yellow gold, is adorned with a bezel and indexes set with brilliant diamonds, their subtle sparkle complementing the warm hue of the metal. The dial, a rich champagne hue with a sunburst finish, exudes quiet sophistication, its stick hands and gem-set markers adding a refined touch of ornamentation without overwhelming the eye. This iteration of the Datejust 31, with its President bracelet—a hallmark of Rolex’s luxury sport watches—pairs the collection’s enduring formalism with a sense of contemporary sophistication, making it as suitable for a gala as it is for a quiet evening of contemplation. At its core, the watch is powered by Rolex’s Calibre 2235, an automatic movement celebrated for its precision, reliability, and in-house craftsmanship. The chronometer-certified mechanism ensures unwavering accuracy, while the 100-meter water resistance underscores the watch’s practicality without compromising its aesthetic purity. The closed case back, a signature of Rolex’s commitment to durability, further reinforces the piece’s status as a heirloom in the making. This watch is for those who value understated luxury, whose tastes are shaped by an appreciation for heritage and refinement. It is a companion for moments that demand both presence and restraint—a quiet declaration of identity worn on the wrist.

In Context

At 31 mm it is small by current standards, in the range most wristwatches occupied before cases began growing through the 1990s. The case back is closed, so the movement stays out of sight, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse. 100 m is genuine swimming resistance — more than the shape of this watch suggests it would need.

The movement winds itself from the motion of your wrist. 48 hours of reserve is enough to set it down on Friday evening and find it still running on Monday. At 28,800 vph the seconds hand advances 8 times a second.

178158-0070 is one of 38 executions of the 178158 base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a champagne sunburst dial and a yellow gold case.

Rolex

Champagne · Yellow Gold

178158-0007 · 31 mm

Rolex

White · Yellow Gold

178158-0008 · 31 mm

Rolex

Champagne · Yellow Gold

178158-0009 · 31 mm

Rolex

Black · Yellow Gold

178158-0011 · 31 mm

Rolex

Black · Yellow Gold

178158-0018 · 31 mm

Rolex

Paved · Yellow Gold

178158-0022 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178158-0024 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178158-0025 · 31 mm

+ 29 more variants in this family.

The 2235 is the small Rolex automatic of the six-digit generation, a 20 mm movement with a date. It carried the Datejust 31 and the 26 mm Lady-Datejust from around 2000 until the 2236 replaced it. It powers 733 watches in this library. It has 31 jewels, a 48-hour reserve and a beat of 28,800 vph, and every one is a COSC chronometer. It is the same architecture as the [2236](/calibers/rolex-2236) that followed, without the silicon Syloxi hairspring and with seven hours less reserve; the [2236 piece](/blog/the-rolex-2236-the-most-common-movement-in-this-library) explains what changed. The library finds it almost entirely in the [Datejust 31](/brands/rolex/datejust-31): 682 references, the 1782xx generation, whose 45 base references and hundreds of dial variants make that collection the largest here. The 26 mm [Lady-Datejust](/brands/rolex/lady-datejust) of the 1791xx generation accounts for 29, the [Pearlmaster](/brands/rolex/pearlmaster) 29 mm and 34 mm for 19, and the 35 mm Yacht-Master for 3. A six-digit Datejust 31 reference is a 2235; the seven-digit one is a 2236, as the [reference-number guide](/blog/how-to-read-a-watch-reference-number) explains. The 2231 was its no-date sibling in the Oyster Perpetual, and the [3135](/calibers/rolex-3135) its counterpart in the 36 mm cases.

732 other watches in the library run the Rolex 2235.

Rolex

Datejust 31 Yellow Gold Diamond / Oyster / Black MOP

178158-0056 · 31 mm

Rolex

Datejust 31 Stainless Steel Diamond / Oyster / Pink MOP

178384-0061 · 31 mm

Rolex

Datejust 31 Rolesor Everose Domed / Jubilee / Black MOP

178241-0043 · 31 mm

Rolex

Datejust 31 Yellow Gold Domed / Oyster / Champagne Roman

178248-0079 · 31 mm