Datejust 31 Yellow Gold Fluted / Oyster / Black

About This Watch

The Rolex Datejust 31, in its enduring form, has long been a testament to the brand’s commitment to balancing precision with timeless elegance. The 178278-0106, with its yellow gold fluted case and striking black dial, embodies this philosophy with quiet authority. The fluted bezel—a hallmark of Rolex’s design language since the 1940s—adds a tactile and visual dimension that distinguishes this model within the Datejust lineage, which first debuted in 1945 as a response to the demand for a self-winding chronometer with a date display. Here, the black dial serves as a refined counterpoint to the warm luster of the yellow gold, its stick indexes and hands rendered with the precision that has become synonymous with the brand. The sapphire crystal, paired with a closed case back, ensures durability without compromising the watch’s understated presence. At its core, the 178278-0106 is driven by the Caliber 2235, an automatic movement featuring a Parachrom blue balance spring and a date display that aligns with the Datejust’s original innovation. The 31mm case, a modern iteration of the collection’s classic proportions, offers a discreet yet impactful silhouette. This watch is for those who seek distinction without ostentation—individuals who value heritage, craftsmanship, and the quiet confidence of a timepiece that needs no introduction. It suits moments that demand both formality and subtlety, from private gatherings to the quiet triumph of a well-earned achievement.

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.

178278-0106 is one of 37 executions of the 178278 base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a black dial and a yellow gold case.

Rolex

White · Yellow Gold

178278-0010 · 31 mm

Rolex

Champagne · Yellow Gold

178278-0018 · 31 mm

Rolex

Champagne · Yellow Gold

178278-0021 · 31 mm

Rolex

Champagne · Yellow Gold

178278-0025 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178278-0028 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178278-0031 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178278-0034 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178278-0037 · 31 mm

+ 28 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