The Rolex Day-Date you never knew existed
Zach BlassRolex is known for being fairly conservative and calculated these days. Sure, there are a few exceptions like the recent falcon’s eye dial for the Yachtmaster, say, or their colourful expressions with their gem-set watches like the leopard and rainbow Daytona watches. But, more often than not, their novelties involve incremental updates – slight refinements to their tried and true Oyster Perpetual framework. That being said, in the past Rolex was more adventurous – the Cellini Prince and its exhibited and engraved movement being just one example. Recently, however, I discovered through WatchBox that there was a Rolex Day-Date I had never heard of: the Rolex Day-Date Tridor ref. 18239BIC that features three shades of gold in one watch . It goes to show there is always more to learn.
The Rolex Day-Date ‘Tridor’ ref. 18239BIC is a rare variant of the Day-Date that only lasted for two generations of the collection, beginning in the 1980s. The 36mm watch is primarily fashioned in white gold, with a yellow-gold fluted bezel, and a white-gold Presidential bracelet that features three hues of gold in its central link. This is where things, of course, get very interesting. The central link is one solid piece of co-moulded rose, yellow and, white gold, that creates a unique tri-gold aesthetic down the centre of the bracelet. Other dial variants exist, but the one WatchBox has for sale from around 1988 has a diamond-set metallic blue dial with even tritium patina.
This sort of creativity and calculated risk-taking expression is sorely missed in the Rolex catalogue today. Sure we have bold leopard and rainbow expressions, but something about the Rolex Day Date ‘Tridor’ is absolutely timeless – and has an air of class the two bolder aforementioned designs do not. Like the exotic-dialled Paul Newman Daytona, this was not a bestselling watch for Rolex in the time it was originally presented. But, of course, with less people purchasing these variants, today there are less of them around – making them quite rare to find.
Personally I would love to see Rolex bring this sort of design back, and considering they basically revived the Stella-dialled Day-Dates of the past, with lacquered Oyster Perpetuals in a variety of colours, this is not such a far-fetched proposal. Rolex by no means needs any business advice, especially when you consider the unobtanium status of their products that simultaneously consumed 28.8% of Swiss watch marketplace in 2021 – more than any other brand. The even-handed sobriety of Rolex manages to get more eyeballs than any other watch brand, so, imagine if The Crown were to show a revival of this Rolex Day-Date Tridor. The effect would be akin to seeing a Rolex after a few negronis. Could be cool… just saying.
Rolex Day-Date 18239BIC pricing and availability:
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WatchBox, at least at the time of writing, has this rare Rolex Day-Date 18239BIC available for purchase right here. Price: $23,500 USD