Datejust 31 Yellow Gold Diamond / President / Black Diamond

About This Watch

The Rolex Datejust 31, in its refined iteration of yellow gold with a black diamond-set dial, embodies the enduring elegance of a collection that has defined luxury horology for over seven decades. This particular model, distinguished by its gem-set bezel and indexes, marries the timeless sophistication of the Datejust’s design language with the opulence of precious materials. The black dial, framed by a diamond-studded bezel, creates a striking contrast that accentuates the precision of the stick hands and the subtle luminescence of the hour markers. The President bracelet, a hallmark of Rolex’s commitment to both comfort and prestige, complements the case’s polished yellow gold finish, ensuring a seamless union of form and function. At its core, the watch is powered by Rolex’s in-house automatic movement 2235, a testament to the brand’s mastery of mechanical innovation. This calibre, with its Parachrom blue balance spring and Côtes de Genève decoration, ensures exceptional accuracy and resilience, while the date display, positioned at the 3 o’clock mark, remains a signature feature of the Datejust lineage. The case, crafted from 18ct yellow gold and sealed with a sapphire crystal, is both a nod to tradition and a benchmark of modern craftsmanship, offering 100 meters of water resistance without compromising its refined silhouette. This watch is for the discerning individual who values heritage, understated luxury, and the quiet confidence of a timepiece that needs no embellishment to command respect. It is suited to moments that demand both presence and restraint—whether in the boardroom, at a gala, or as a treasured heirloom passed through generations

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.

178288-0011 is one of 38 executions of the 178288 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

178288-0001 · 31 mm

Rolex

Champagne · Yellow Gold

178288-0007 · 31 mm

Rolex

White · Yellow Gold

178288-0010 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178288-0012 · 31 mm

Rolex

Black · Yellow Gold

178288-0016 · 31 mm

Rolex

Champagne · Yellow Gold

178288-0021 · 31 mm

Rolex

White · Yellow Gold

178288-0025 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · Yellow Gold

178288-0028 · 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