Rolex Day-Date

Rolex Day-Date was introduced in 1956, and the added Day of the Week display meant a major innovation. Well, it was 1956, not 2022. Today the Day of the Week might be a pretty standard function, but because Rolex was the first with this complication, it cemented its name for being innovative. Coupled with the looks of the watch, which is often referred to as the President’s watch, the Day-Date is imprinted in people’s minds across the globe.

The innovative factor remains since the movement inside, calibre 3255 introduced in 2015, meant a giant leap forward for precision. Covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification that was redefined by Rolex in 2015, it meant a −2/+2 seconds deviation per day. And that was a magnificent feat! The calibre 3255 is still used in the Rolex Day-Date and still offers a guaranteed precision that is more precise than the well-known COSC standard.

The calibre 3255 also meant a longer power reserve of 70 hours, which was achieved (among others) by Rolex’s Chronergy escapement. This escapement combines high energy efficiency with great dependability and is also insensitive to magnetic fields because it’s made of nickel-phosphorus. Of course, the movement is equipped with the blue Parachrom hairspring, which is not only insensitive to magnetism, but also up to 10 times more precise than a traditional hairspring in case of shocks.

The Rolex Day-Date comes in the recognisable Oyster case, measures 40mm in diameter, and comes on the equally recognisable Presidential bracelet. This bracelet was created especially for the launch of the prestigious Oyster Perpetual Day-Date in 1956, and this three-piece link President bracelet is still reserved exclusively for the Day-Date and precious metal versions of the Datejust.