22 Interesting Facts About Rolex Day-Date
The Rolex Day-Date is a legendary timepiece. It has been worn by some of the most prominent people in the world, and when it launched, it introduced major technical innovations.
The Rolex Day-Date is today one of the most iconic Rolex timepieces, recognized all around the world. It’s classic, and ever since its release in the 50s, it still looks very similar, which shows that its design is truly timeless.
In this article, we list some of the most interesting facts about the Rolex Day-Date you should know.
Facts about the Rolex Day-Date
1. The first Rolex was introduced in 1956
2. The first Rolex Day-Date reference was 6511
This watch was powered by the caliber 1030.
3. The Rolex Day-Date is only available in precious metals
The Rolex Day-Date is exclusively made in precious metals. This includes platinum, yellow gold, rose gold, white gold.
4. Rolex made a stainless steel version Day-Date
That’s right! The Day-Date is known to only be made in precious metals, but the fact is that Rolex actually did produce an ”entry-level” Day-Date, and it was made in steel. However,
according to Antiquorum, only six were ever made. This makes them insanely rare and the few times they do come up at auctions, they fetch huge numbers.
5. The Day disc of the Day-Date is available in 26 languages
The languages are English, Spanish, Dutch, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Arabic, German, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Danish, Basque, Catalan, Ethiopian, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Moroccan, Norwegian, Farsi, Swedish and Turkish.
6. The Rolex Day-Date was only available in 36mm until 2008
The classic size of the Day-Date is 36mm. For a long time, it was only available in 36mm, but in 2008, Rolex introduced the Day-Date II as an answer to the market’s demand (and trend) towards larger watches).
7. The Day-Date of the early days was waterproof up to 165 feet
Today, the Day-Date has a water resistance of 100m as it is an Oyster. But after all, it’s not a watch that you’re meant to go diving with exactly.
8. Rolex had added the quick-set date function to all models by 1983
Finally, a great technical innovation to the Day-Date was introduced. The quick-set date function allows the wearer to adjust the date of the watch independently.
9. Rolex released the Day-Date II in 2008
To many, the Day-Date II was a huge surprise. This is because of the fact that the Day-Date has always been the classic and traditional 36mm, and that Rolex then decided to release a 41mm variant was quite a shock. The Day-Date II was the response to the market trend of larger watches.
10. The Day-Date II was only in production for seven years
The Day-Date II was not a huge success. Many people think that the proportions of the Day-Date are not in line with the traditional and classic looks that we are used to seeing on the Day-Date. It was replaced in 2015 by the Day-Date 40, which has better proportions, closer to the look of the 36mm.
11. The sapphire crystal was introduced with the 5-digit reference number
12. Rolex introduced the hacking seconds for the Day-Date in 1972
This technological feature allows the wearer to stop the second hand by pulling out the crown. This enables a more exact time-setting.
13. Franklin D. Roosevelt wore a Rolex Day-Date
14. Lyndon B. Johnson wore a Rolex Day-Date
15. Pope John Paul II wore a Day-Date
16. Warren Buffett has been seen wearing a Day-Date
17. Rolex introduced the Double-Quick-Set in around 1990
The double quickset function enables you to adjust both the date wheel and the day wheel independently. This was a huge innovation from Rolex that substantially improved the function of this watch and made it easier to use.
18. Rolex introduced a quartz version of the Day-Date in 1977
During the quartz crisis, Rolex released a few different quartz watches. One of which was the Oysterquartz Day-Date.
These watches had the 19000 references. The Oysterquartz Day-Date was in production between around 1977 and 2001. These watches were powered by the caliber 5033 and at the end of their production, the models came with a caliber 5355
19. Marilyn Monroe gave away a Day-Date to John F. Kennedy
Marilyn Monroe’s lover John F. Kennedy received a Day-Date with the inscription “Jack / With love as always / Marilyn / May 29, 1962”. It is said that Kennedy gave the watch to one of his employees to get rid of it. The watch surfaced and was sold at an auction in 2005 for $ 120,000.
20. The Day-Date acquired the ”President” name in 1965 after US President Lyndon B Johnson wore a yellow gold Day-Date
To be correct, it is the bracelet of the watch that is called the Presidential bracelet, but the watch has since come to become known as the ”President” or the ”president’s watch”.
21. Rolex introduced a series of Day-Dates with leather straps in 2013
Rolex innovated the Day-Date line in 2013 by introducing several new versions with a leather bracelet, special end-links, and with different dial colors that match the color of the strap.
22. The President or presidential bracelet was made especially for the Day-Date
Typically referred to as the Presidential bracelet, the bracelet made for the Day-Date is now iconic and instantly recognizable.
