Datejust 31 Yellow Gold Domed / President / Champagne Diamond

About This Watch

The Rolex Datejust 31, in its 178248-0088 iteration, embodies the quiet authority of a timepiece that has defined elegance for generations. The yellow gold case, polished to a warm, lustrous sheen, is crowned with a domed sapphire crystal that amplifies the dial’s refined allure. At its center lies a champagne sunburst dial, its radiating texture catching light in a subtle interplay of depth and brilliance. The gem-set indexes, each carefully placed, lend a touch of discreet opulence, while the stick hands trace their path with precision, their simplicity a counterpoint to the dial’s ornamentation. The president bracelet, with its subtly curved links, ensures a secure yet unobtrusive fit, a testament to Rolex’s mastery of both function and form. As the flagship model of the Datejust collection—a line introduced in 1945 to mark the debut of the self-winding perpetual calendar—this reference carries the weight of heritage in its construction. Beneath the caseback lies the Caliber 2235, a movement that marries Rolex’s legendary in-house engineering with modern advancements in chronometry, ensuring accuracy and reliability without drawing attention to itself. The 100-meter water resistance and 31-millimeter diameter strike a balance between wearability and presence, making it a versatile companion for both formal occasions and moments of quiet introspection. This watch is for those who value understated sophistication, whose discernment lies not in ostentation but in the quiet confidence of a piece that demands no explanation. It suits the boardroom, the gala, or the private collection of someone who understands that true luxury is measured in the precision of its craft and the legacy it carries.

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.

178248-0088 is one of 38 executions of the 178248 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

178248-0012 · 31 mm

Rolex

White · Yellow Gold

178248-0013 · 31 mm

Rolex

White · Yellow Gold

178248-0014 · 31 mm

Rolex

Black · Yellow Gold

178248-0019 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178248-0020 · 31 mm

Rolex

Champagne · Yellow Gold

178248-0023 · 31 mm

Rolex

White · Yellow Gold

178248-0025 · 31 mm

Rolex

Black · Yellow Gold

178248-0026 · 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