Datejust 31 Yellow Gold Diamond / President / Champagne Roman

About This Watch

The Rolex Datejust 31 178288-0051 embodies the enduring elegance of a collection first introduced in 1945, a benchmark for timeless design and precision. This particular iteration marries the enduring allure of yellow gold with a diamond-set bezel, its gemstones arranged with meticulous symmetry to frame the dial’s soft champagne hue. The Roman numerals, rendered in a contrasting tone, add a touch of classical refinement, while the stick hands sweep across the surface with quiet authority. At 31 millimeters in diameter, the case strikes a balance between presence and subtlety, its proportions honed by decades of evolution in the Datejust lineage. Beneath the sapphire crystal lies the Caliber 2235, a self-winding movement distinguished by its Côtes de Genève decoration and a date display that aligns with the brand’s relentless pursuit of accuracy. The closed caseback, paired with the President bracelet’s five-link design, reinforces the watch’s role as a symbol of understated sophistication. The 100-meter water resistance and the movement’s 48-hour power reserve underscore the marriage of practicality and luxury that defines Rolex’s engineering. This watch is for those who value heritage as much as horology, seeking a piece that transcends trends yet remains perpetually relevant. It suits formal occasions with its restrained opulence, yet its craftsmanship ensures it is as comfortable in a boardroom as it is on the wrist of a discerning collector.

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.

178288-0051 is one of 38 executions of the 178288 base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a champagne 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

Black · Yellow Gold

178288-0011 · 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

+ 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