Datejust 31 Stainless Steel Diamond / Oyster / Black MOP

About This Watch

The Rolex Datejust 31, in its 178384-0019 iteration, marries the brand’s enduring commitment to understated elegance with a refined interplay of materials and craftsmanship. At its heart lies a black mother-of-pearl dial, its iridescent sheen subtly enhanced by gem-set indexes that catch light with quiet sophistication. The dial’s depth is further underscored by the contrast of polished stainless steel, a material that has long defined Rolex’s Oyster case construction, while the stick hands add a timeless clarity to the design. This reference, though rooted in the Datejust collection’s legacy—a line first introduced in 1945 as a response to the demand for a self-winding dress watch—carries a modern sensibility, balancing heritage with contemporary precision. Powering the watch is the Caliber 2235, a self-winding movement certified as a chronometer for its accuracy and reliability. Its integration into the Datejust 31 underscores Rolex’s mastery of mechanical engineering, ensuring that even in a smaller case size, the watch retains the robustness and performance expected of the brand. The 31mm diameter and 16mm lug width offer a proportioned fit, ideal for those who value discretion without compromise. This watch is for the discerning individual who seeks a symbol of quiet achievement, one that commands respect through its heritage, craftsmanship, and the quiet confidence of a timepiece that needs no embellishment. It is suited to moments that demand both presence and restraint—business, celebration, or simply the passage of time marked with precision.

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.

178384-0019 is one of 52 executions of the 178384 base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a black dial.

Rolex

Silver · White Gold, Stainless Steel

178384-0001 · 31 mm

Rolex

Silver · White Gold, Stainless Steel

178384-0003 · 31 mm

Rolex

White

178384-0004 · 31 mm

Rolex

Black

178384-0005 · 31 mm

Rolex

White · White Gold, Stainless Steel

178384-0006 · 31 mm

Rolex

Grey · White Gold, Stainless Steel

178384-0007 · 31 mm

Rolex

Pink · White Gold, Stainless Steel

178384-0009 · 31 mm

Rolex

Grey · White Gold, Stainless Steel

178384-0010 · 31 mm

+ 43 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