Every Rolex Day-Date reference, 1956 to today. The first watch with a spelt-out day window, only ever made in solid gold or platinum, and the founder of the "President" silhouette.
Introduced1956
References20
Spanning1950s - 2010s
The Rolex Day-Date launched in 1956 as the first wristwatch with a fully spelt-out day-of-the-week window above 12 oclock. From day one Rolex restricted it to solid gold or platinum, never steel, never two-tone. The original 1956 launch came with a new bracelet specifically for it: a three-piece, semi-circular link that became known as the President bracelet after Lyndon B. Johnson and Dwight D. Eisenhower were photographed wearing the watch in office.
Three movement eras define the Day-Date: Cal. 1555 / 1556 in the 4-digit refs (1956-77), Cal. 3055 / 3155 in the 5- and 6-digit refs (1977-2015), and Cal. 3255 from the Day-Date 40 launch (2015-present). Two case sizes ship today: Day-Date 40 (228xxx) and the smaller Day-Date 36 (128xxx) for those who want the original 1956 silhouette.
Filter:
6511
1956-1957
36mm case50m WR
DialSilver, gold, or black with applied indices
BezelFluted yellow or white gold
MovementCal. 1055 (no quickset)
BraceletPresident 18k gold
First Day-Date. Earliest examples did not show day in any English shorthand - some Italian, French, and German variants were sold to specific markets.
6510
1956-1957
36mm case50m WR
DialVarious incl. silver, black, ivory
BezelFluted
MovementCal. 1055
Sister reference to 6511, distinguished by minor case-finish differences. Both replaced after a year by the 6611 series.
6611
1957-1959
36mm case50m WR
DialSilver, champagne, black
BezelFluted
MovementCal. 1055
Late-1950s Day-Date. Quickset day still not available; both day and date advance only via crown rotation through midnight.
Eighteen-year four-digit reference. The lacquered "stella" dials (named after the Stella SA dial maker that supplied them) are among the most-coveted vintage Rolex dials, especially in turquoise and oxblood.
The unloved Day-Date II in 41mm. Production lasted seven years before Rolex replaced it with the slimmer Day-Date 40 in 2015. Now collectible precisely because of its short run.
Rolex deliberately kept the Day-Date as the most-prestigious model in the catalogue by restricting it to 18k yellow gold, 18k white gold, 18k Everose, or 950 platinum. There has never been a steel Day-Date. The two-tone, gem-set, and rainbow variants exist only within those gold tiers. The Datejust covers the same complications in steel and two-tone, leaving the Day-Date positioned at the top.
Day-Date 36 vs Day-Date 40
From 2008 the Day-Date came in two case sizes: the classic 36mm and a new 41mm "Day-Date II". The 41mm proved unpopular and was replaced in 2015 by the slimmer Day-Date 40 (228xxx) with the new Cal. 3255. The 36mm went through its own renumber in 2019 to the 128xxx generation. The two sizes share Cal. 3255 and the bracelet options (President or Oyster).
The "President" name
Rolex itself does not use "President" as the model name. The watch is officially the Day-Date; "President" is the bracelet (introduced for the Day-Date launch in 1956 and now also offered on Datejust 31 / 28). Collector use blurs the distinction so completely that "Rolex President" almost always means a Day-Date in popular usage. Rolex has not officially fought the rebrand.