Day-Date and Oyster Perpetual
Rolex watches are crafted from the finest raw materials and assembled with scrupulous attention to detail. Every component is designed, developed and produced to the most exacting standards.
At Fourtané, we know that nothing beats experiencing first-hand the meticulous details, the balanced weight, the comfort and simply the feel of a Rolex watch. Our watch department was created in 1996 by Josh Bonifas, the son of our founders John and Sandy, who was moved by his passion for vintage timepieces and for Rolex and its history specifically. Fourtané became an Official Rolex Jeweler in 2002, with the Oyster Perpetual models forming the pillar of our Rolex collection of legendary timepieces. Among them is the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date, one of the most prestigious watches in the Oyster Perpetual collection, which was seen as a technical marvel when it launched in 1956.
Built to last, these timepieces are all characterized by their distinctive and timeless aesthetics. Each dial is a miniature work of art, with the color, reflections and surface texture playing a crucial role in the watch's intrinsic character. The constantly evolving dial designs and colors of the Oyster Perpetual collection are forever fresh and always sought after. And with the launch of the 2023 Oyster Perpetual Day-Date and Oyster Perpetual models, Rolex has brought a marvel of color to the collection, once again expertly combining tradition, prestige, and technology with precision, peerless reliability, and style suited to every occasion.
Time Stamped with Emotion
With these versions of the Day-Date 36, Rolex brings an unexpected creative twist to one of its iconic models. By displaying a new emotion each day, the watch brings an element of spontaneity into the wearers' daily life and allows them to invest the reading of time with their changing mood.
Rolex unveils three new variants of its Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36, full of joy and energy. Crafted from 18 ct yellow, white or Everose gold, these watches have adopted an original face. Rather than showing the day of the week, the arc-shaped aperture at 12 o'clock displays an inspirational keyword in English — 'Happy', 'Eternity', 'Gratitude', 'Peace', 'Faith', 'Love' and 'Hope'. The window at 3 o'clock reveals daily one of 31 exclusive emojis in place of the date.
Entirely created using champlevé enameling, the dial is striking for the depth and intensity of its gleaming colors and decoration. The motif is inspired by a jigsaw puzzle. Turquoise blue, red, fuchsia, orange, green and yellow pieces fit together on a single-color background, each representing one of the key moments in life. The hours are marked by 10 baguette-cut sapphires in six different hues set according to the main color of the dial, which is turquoise blue on the 18 ct yellow gold and 18 ct white gold versions, and orange on the watch in 18 ct Everose gold.
The new versions of the Day-Date 36 are equipped with calibre 3255, a movement at the forefront of watchmaking technology, enabling them to display a special keyword each day of the week and an individual emoji each day of the month, as well as the hours, minutes and seconds.
Like all Rolex watches, the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 carries the Superlative Chronometer certification, which ensures excellent performance on the wrist.
Every Dial a Discovery
The new Day-Date 36 welcomes dials made of decorative stone in shimmering tones that evoke the atmosphere of the Mediterranean coast. Rolex unveils three new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 with radiant dials in decorative stone studded with diamond-set hour markers and Roman VI and IX.
Made of 18 ct Everose gold, the first variant is presented with a dial in green aventurine, a stone with a finely crystallized surface. The second is crafted from 18 ct yellow gold and its dial is cut from carnelian, an orangey-color stone typified by lines of varying shapes and sizes forming an artful cameo of patterns. The third, in 18 ct white gold, features a turquoise dial textured with natural veining.
All three are endowed with a bezel set with 52 brilliant-cut diamonds and fitted on the iconic President bracelet with an elegant concealed Crownclasp. The new versions of the Day-Date 36 are equipped with calibre 3255, a movement at the forefront of watchmaking technology, enabling them to display the day and the date, as well as the hours, minutes and seconds.
Like all Rolex watches, the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 carries the Superlative Chronometer certification, which ensures excellent performance on the wrist.
Exclusivity According to Rolex
At its launch in 1956, the Day-Date was a major innovation: it was the first calendar wristwatch to indicate, in addition to the date, the day of the week spelt out in full in an arc-shaped window at 12 o'clock on the dial — a technical feat at the time. The day of the week is available in a choice of 26 languages. Watches in the Day-Date range are made only of precious metals — 18 ct yellow, white or Everose gold, or 950 platinum.
Worn by many of the world's political figures, directors and visionaries, the Day-Date is instantly recognizable, in particular thanks to its emblematic President bracelet, whose evocative name, together with the eminent figures who have worn it, ensured the Day-Date became known as the 'presidents' watch.
Designed for exploration
The Explorer, launched in 1953, sets itself apart with a simple design and a highly legible black dial with characteristic 3, 6 and 9 numerals and large index hour markers. It is a tool watch, created to tell time accurately, whatever the circumstances. Even in the dark, the dial is easy to read, thanks to the Chromalight display. Today, the Explorer is available in a 36 mm diameter – the size of the 1953 original model – as well as in a 40 mm diameter.
Perpetual Calibre 3255
The new versions of the Day-Date 36 are equipped with calibre 3255, a movement entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex that was released in 2015 and fitted on this model in 2019. A distillation of technology, this self-winding mechanical movement delivers outstanding performance in terms of precision, power reserve, convenience and reliability.
Calibre 3255 incorporates the patented Chronergy escapement, which combines high energy efficiency with great dependability. Made of nickel-phosphorus, this escapement is resistant to strong magnetic fields. The movement is fitted with a blue Parachrom hairspring, manufactured by Rolex in a paramagnetic alloy. The hairspring offers great stability in the face of temperature variations as well as high resistance to shocks. It is equipped with a Rolex overcoil, ensuring the calibre's regularity in any position. The oscillator is mounted on the Rolex-designed, patented high-performance Paraflex shock absorbers, increasing the movement's shock resistance. The oscillating weight is now fitted with an optimized ball bearing.
Calibre 3255 is equipped with a self-winding system via a Perpetual rotor. Thanks to its barrel architecture and the escapement's superior efficiency, the power reserve of calibre 3255 extends to approximately 70 hours.
President Bracelet
The new variants of the Day-Date 36 are fitted on a President bracelet in 18 ct yellow or white gold for those with a turquoise blue puzzle-motif dial, or in 18 ct Everose gold for the orange puzzle-motif dial. Created specially for the launch of the prestigious Oyster Perpetual Day-Date in 1956, this three-piece link bracelet, made only from 18 ct gold or 950 platinum, is still reserved exclusively for the Day-Date and precious metal versions of the Datejust.
The President bracelet is equipped with an elegant concealed folding Crownclasp and includes patented ceramic inserts — designed by Rolex — inside the links to enhance its flexibility on the wrist and its longevity.
Superlative Chronometer Certification
Like all Rolex watches, the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 is covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification redefined by Rolex in 2015. This designation testifies that every watch leaving the brand's workshops has successfully undergone a series of tests conducted by Rolex in its own laboratories according to its own criteria, following the official certification of the movements by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). The in-house certification tests apply to the fully assembled watch, after casing the movement, guaranteeing superlative performance on the wrist in terms of precision, power reserve, waterproofness and self-winding. The precision of a Rolex Superlative Chronometer is of the order of −2 /+2 seconds per day — the rate deviation tolerated by the brand for a finished watch is significantly smaller than that accepted by COSC for official certification of the movement alone.
The Superlative Chronometer status is symbolized by the green seal that comes with every Rolex watch and is coupled with an international five-year guarantee.
A Marvel of Color
All of these new Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 models come to life in vivid colors and a host of precious gems. The striking champlevé enameling of the jigsaw-puzzle-inspired dial is accented by 10 sparkling baguette-cut sapphire hour markers in different hues, while the vibrant decorative stone dials feature hour markers set with 32 diamonds, and a Roman VI and IX set with 24 diamonds.
These gem-set dials embody a sparkling symphony to enhance the watch and enchant the wearer. As expressions of Rolex's dial-making expertise, these new Day-Date 36 watches are also testament to the brand's mastery of the gem-setting art. Gem-setters, like sculptors, finely carve the precious metal to hand-shape the seat in which each gemstone will be perfectly lodged. With the art and craft of a jeweler, the stone is placed and meticulously aligned with the others, then firmly secured in its setting.
Besides the intrinsic quality of the stones, several other criteria contribute to the beauty of Rolex gem-setting: the precise alignment of the height of the gems, their orientation and position, the regularity, strength and proportions of the setting, as well as the intricate finishing of the metalwork. This union of exceptional stones, gems and precious metals emphasizes the distinction and elegance of these prestigious watches.
And while Rolex's mastery of gem-setting is second-to-none, the brand is also globally renowned for the uniquely intense color and deep brilliance of their lacquer dials. This bold, vivid tone is thanks to exceptional in-house expertise at Rolex, where craftsmanship rhymes with high technology. The colors created for the Oyster Perpetual range come to life with lacquer that must be meticulously applied in a controlled-atmosphere environment to avoid dust and other contamination. The brass plate of the dial base receives layer upon layer of lacquer, six in all, before being varnished and polished to bring out the lacquer's full brilliance and depth of color.
In 2020, Rolex unveiled a new generation of Oyster Perpetual watches that featured dynamic and vibrant lacquer dials in five new colors. These eye-catching colors make a return this year in an entirely new dial motif for the elegant 2023 Oyster Perpetual, resulting in an effervescent, euphoric design that is the product of true artistry and masterful technique.
An Effervescence of Excellence
Alive with color, vitality and positivity, the new lacquered dial of the Oyster Perpetual in 31 mm, 36 mm and 41 mm is dotted with many-colored bubbles that joyfully reunite the five hues introduced to the range in 2020.
Rolex brings in a new dial decoration for its Oyster Perpetual range, recognized for its pure lines and universal elegance.
Named 'Celebration', this brand-new motif is available for the Oyster Perpetual 31, Oyster Perpetual 36 and Oyster Perpetual 41. Composed of differently sized bubbles fringed with black, it encapsulates the vivid colors of the lacquered dials introduced in 2020: candy pink, turquoise blue, yellow, coral red and green.
The Oyster Perpetual 31 is equipped with caliber 2232, while the Oyster Perpetual 36 and Oyster Perpetual 41 are both fitted with calibre 3230. These two movements at the forefront of watchmaking technology provide essential functions — hours, minutes and seconds.
Like all Rolex watches, these Oyster Perpetual models carry the Superlative Chronometer certification, which ensures excellent performance on the wrist.
The Essence of the Oyster
Watches in the Oyster Perpetual range are direct descendants of the original Oyster, the world's first waterproof wristwatch, on which Rolex has built its reputation since 1926. These timepieces benefit from all the fundamental features of the Oyster Perpetual collection — chronometric precision, a waterproof Oyster case, and self-winding of the movement via a Perpetual rotor. Displaying hours, minutes and seconds, made exclusively of Oystersteel and featuring a sophisticated finish, they represent chronometer wristwatches in their purest form. Timeless in their essence, they are continually reinterpreted and have gradually been endowed with the brand's successive technical innovations. The varied and constantly evolving colors and design of the dials ensure the Oyster Perpetual never loses its fresh and contemporary appeal.
The Oyster case, Symbol of Waterproofness
A paragon of robustness and elegance, the Oyster case of the new versions of the Oyster Perpetual 31, Oyster Perpetual 36 and Oyster Perpetual 41, respectively 31 mm, 36 mm and 41 mm in diameter, is guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 100 metres (330 feet). The middle case is crafted from a solid block of Oystersteel. Its case back, edged with fine fluting, is hermetically screwed down with a special tool that allows only Rolex watchmakers to access the movement. The Twinlock winding crown, fitted with a double waterproofness system, screws down securely against the case. The crystal is made of virtually scratchproof sapphire and benefits from an anti-reflective coating. The waterproof Oyster case provides optimal protection for the movement it houses.
Perpetual Calibres 2232 and 3230
The Oyster Perpetual 31 is equipped with caliber 2232; the Oyster Perpetual 36 and the Oyster Perpetual 41 with calibre 3230. These movements, entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex, were both unveiled in 2020 and introduced to these models the same year. A distillation of technology, these self-winding mechanical movements deliver outstanding performance in terms of precision, power reserve, convenience and reliability.
Calibre 2232 is fitted with a Syloxi hairspring that is produced by Rolex and patented. This silicon hairspring has a patented geometry that ensures the calibre's regularity in any position. The movement also contains a paramagnetic nickel-phosphorus escape wheel.
Calibre 3230 incorporates the patented Chronergy escapement, which combines high energy efficiency with great dependability. Made of nickel-phosphorus, this escapement is resistant to strong magnetic fields. The movement is fitted with a blue Parachrom hairspring, manufactured by the brand in a paramagnetic alloy. The hairspring offers great stability in the face of temperature variations as well as high resistance to shocks. It is equipped with a Rolex overcoil, ensuring the calibre's regularity in any position. The oscillating weight is now fitted with an optimized ball bearing.
The oscillator of these two calibres is mounted on the Rolex-designed, patented high-performance Paraflex shock absorbers, increasing the movements' shock resistance.
Calibres 2232 and 3230 are equipped with a self-winding system via a Perpetual rotor. The first offers a power reserve of approximately 55 hours. For the second, the power reserve extends to approximately 70 hours, thanks to its barrel architecture and the escapement's superior efficiency.
Oyster Bracelet
The new variants in the Oyster Perpetual range are fitted on an Oyster bracelet. Developed at the end of the 1930s, this three-piece link bracelet remains the most universal in the Oyster Perpetual collection and is known for its robustness.
Made of Oystersteel, the Oyster bracelet of these new variants is equipped with a folding Oysterclasp and the Easylink comfort extension link — developed by Rolex — that allows the wearer to easily adjust the bracelet length by approximately 5 mm.
Superlative Chronometer Certification
Like all Rolex watches, the Oyster Perpetual 31, Oyster Perpetual 36 and Oyster Perpetual 41 are covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification redefined by Rolex in 2015. This designation testifies that every watch leaving the brand's workshops has successfully undergone a series of tests conducted by Rolex in its own laboratories according to its own criteria, following the official certification of the movements by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). The in-house certification tests apply to the fully assembled watch, after casing the movement, guaranteeing superlative performance on the wrist in terms of precision, power reserve, waterproofness and self-winding. The precision of a Rolex Superlative Chronometer is of the order of −2 /+2 seconds per day — the rate deviation tolerated by the brand for a finished watch is significantly smaller than that accepted by COSC for official certification of the movement alone.
The Superlative Chronometer status is symbolized by the green seal that comes with every Rolex watch and is coupled with an international five-year guarantee.
Showcasing Excellence with Fourtané
A family-owned business since 1950, Fourtané is proud to be part of the worldwide network of Official Rolex Jewelers. Our expert team is thrilled to share details about new, exemplary timepieces making history, like the 2023 Oyster Perpetual Day-Date and Oyster Perpetual. We invite you to explore these new models, experience the Fourtané difference, and celebrate the art of watchmaking in one of our boutique locations in Carmel-by-the-Sea or San Diego.
