Power Play: The Platinum Rolex President
Rolex is a brand that boasts plenty of iconic watch designs to its name. And one of the most famous among them is the Day-Date, more commonly known as the Rolex President. Today we take a closer look at a particularly special version of the Day-Date: a platinum Rolex President ref. 118206 with a diamond ice-blue dial.
Brief Explanation of the Rolex Day-Date “President”
Born in 1956 as the first wristwatch to feature both a date window and a day window on the dial with the day of the week spelled out in full, the Day-Date has always been synonymous with personal success. This is the Rolex watch that many indulge in and proudly wear to celebrate an important milestone. Today, Rolex offers the day disc in 26 languages–emphasizing the global appeal of this famed watch.
Aside from the duo of calendars on the dial, another signature design trait of the Day-Date is its bracelet–officially called the President bracelet–which was created specifically for the debut of the Day-Date. Characterized by semi-circular links in a three-link configuration, the President bracelet is almost as famous as the watch itself. The name of the bracelet and the fact that this watch is popular amongst some of the world’s most powerful people–including a handful of presidents–paved the watch for the Day-Date’s ubiquitous “President” nickname.
Finally, it is important to note that Rolex exclusively makes the Day-Date in precious metals–there have never been steel or two-tone President watches. Whether in yellow gold, white gold, Everose gold (Rolex’s proprietary pink gold), or platinum, the Day-Date is the quintessential luxury timepiece.
Rolex Day-Date 118206 in Platinum
Among all the precious metals available in the Day-Date lineup, the platinum models are of course the most valuable. However, this particular platinum Rolex President 118206 has a few other details that make it stand out.
For instance, inside the 36mm platinum Oyster case is an ice-blue dial–a shade that Rolex reserves for its platinum watches. So, even from a distance, one can tell that this is a platinum timepiece (rather than stainless steel or white gold one) because of its specific dial color. What’s more, for added sparkle, this Day-Date ref. 118206 has diamonds for hour markers; eight round-cut diamonds and two baguette-cut diamonds.
While many Day-Date models have a fluted bezel, the 118206 has a smooth one. This is because Rolex fluted bezels are always crafted in gold and since this is a platinum model, it has a smooth platinum bezel instead.
As is typical for the President watch, there’s a day calendar at 12 and a date calendar at 3. Since the ref. 118206 is a relatively new model--debuting in the early 2000s–it is powered by Caliber 3155 with double quickset functionality. Double quickset means that the day and date windows can be adjusted separately, making it more practical to use.
Similar to most Day-Date watches, this ref. 118206 is fitted with a President bracelet. Since it is fashioned entirely in platinum, the bracelet is especially hefty and ultra-luxe. Like the majority of modern Rolex watches, the President ref. 118206 is water-resistant to 100 meters thanks to its screw-down winding crown and screw-down fluted caseback.
From its platinum case and bracelet to its ice-blue dial with diamond hour markers, the Day-Date ref. 118206 is a gorgeous and impressive iteration of the legendary Rolex President watch.
