Hands-on with the new Rolex Day-Date 60th Anniversary Edition, the President’s Watch with Green Dial
Day Date, which is considered as one of the most important model ranges of Rolex since its first release, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Rolex Day Date has been the choice of USA presidents among other important personalities through the years which gave it the famous nick name: President’s Watch.
During that 60 year period, Day Date had a number of upgrades and revisions which strictly stayed loyal to the original design just like the rest of the Rolex model range. The latest issue was the 40mm diameter one which was launched last year and became one of the most talked about novelties of the industry. The versions we have here today are the Day-Date 60th Anniversary Edition models with green dials.
As mentioned above, the watches we have here are designed for the 60th anniversary of the Day Date model range. However - as the loyal followers of the brand are well aware of - the special and/or limited edition thing is a bit different for Rolex models. At least it’s different from AP’s or Hublot’s... They are not limited, not numbered or not officially exclusive. To be honest, I am not bothered with that at all... In fact, I like it as I think the special/limited edition concept has been severly damaged for the last decade and I am glad to see Rolex not being a part of it.
Let’s get to the watches... The models we have here are differentiated from each other with the color of gold they have been made of. Ref. 228235 stands out for the 18K rose gold ( Everose in Rolex lingo ) while the Ref. 228239 points the 18K white gold. I have mentioned about the initial release of the Day Date 40mm which took place last year. The 60th Anniversary models are basically the newly designed versions of Day Date 40.
Rolex does its best not to compromise the original design of the model ranges while making upgrades and Day Date 40 is no exception. The new version features a number of very important details regarding major parts of the design like the fluted bezel, the President bracelet and the case which may only be noticed upon close inspection or if you are a fellow Rolex fan.
But before I get to those upgrades, I would like to talk about the green dial. As you know, green is more like an official color for Rolex. The brand made a perfect decision by choosing that lovely green tone for the 60th Anniversary models as they both look amazing with that groovy dial. The hands, the inscription, the applied logo at 12 and the indexes are all in rose or white gold depending on the version, creating a mild contrast with the green dial. About the numerals, Rolex used the special form of newly introduced and highly stylized Roman numerals with strong, diamond-cut like facets which we are familiar with the first Day Date 40 models. They look like mini sculptures when inspected by a loupe... I really like their form and I believe they give the dial a 3D depth along the visual beauty.
For the rest, the Rolex Day-Date 60th Anniversary is totally identical with the Day Date 40 introduced last year. But it is way different than the previous version Day Date II with 41mm diameter as the difference is not limited with 1mm only.
First of all, the new case is slimmer... Slightly smaller at 40mm, it is also very elegant as well. I can practically say that this new 40mm version seems to have fixed every single fault about the Day Date II which I never liked at all. The overall proportion is nicely balanced in respect to the original design.
Besides the case, the trade mark Fluted Bezel is also upgraded. The bezel is now better proportioned than on the Day-Date II, giving the entire watch a more balanced look with the increased number of fluted pattern.
The classic Rolex winding crown is located at the right side of the case with its virtually un-changed look.
The timepieces feature sapphire crystals with a magnifier on top of the 3 o’clock position. Different users have different ideas about that little Cyclops which provides 2.5x magnifying effect. Personally, I am OK with that if the watch is a Day Date ( or a Date Just ) but, I prefer the non-Cyclops crystal ( in fact, no date dial ) when it comes to sporty models like Submariner. The sapphire crystal is not AR coated. Actually the bottom side of the Cyclops is AR coated in order to improve the legibility of the date window but, the rest of the crystal acts like a mirror at certain angles. It is a known fact that, the double AR coated crystals are very prone to scratches on the front side as the AR treatment is actually a type of coating but, inner coating is virtually indestructible. I believe an inner AR coated sapphire crystal would look perfect on a Rolex. Just take a pair of polarized sunglasses and look at the dial of a Rolex under direct light and you’ll see what I mean.
The other major update is about the bracelet, which refers back to the “President” style with 3 half-rounded links alternating mirror polished and satin brushed surfaces. The newly designed bracelet is now integrated to the case which provides utmost wearing comfort with ceramic inserts into the links offering more flexibility with enhanced durability.
Inside the case is the brand’s new movement Caliber Ref. 3255 sporting a number of significant upgrades. First of all the 3255 consumes less energy (thanks to the new Chronergy escapement) than its predecessors and manages to store more into its barrel -which features a wider spring- resulting in an impressive power reserve of 70 hours when fully wound. It features a variable-inertia balance wheel with the Parachrom hair spring which provides higher accuracy and improved resistance to magnetic fields. Just like all Rolex watches since 2015, the movement is certified “Superlative Chronometer” and runs into -2/+2 seconds / day and is now guaranteed to 5 years.
It is impossible to talk about the negative sides of the Rolex Day-Date 60th Anniversary models as they practically do not have one. Especially considering the Day Date II version, the new Day Date 40 is absolutely stunning and flawless. Regarding the 60th anniversary models we have here, I am forcing myself to talk about something wrong or negative but, all I can come up with is the lack of any other dial type instead of the Roman numerals one -which I still cannot decide whether it is an issue or not...
I am sure it would be hard to decide which Day Date 60th Anniversary Edition is the best for most of the watch aficionados as both models look absolutely great. Interestingly, I have the same hard-to-decide situation for myself too as I never liked the " white gold " thing.
Irrespectively of the gold tone you go for, you will be thrilled with the new Rolex Day-Date 60th Anniversary models.
Rhodium is one of the best organisations in Turkey in terms of luxury watch shopping with their 5 cleverly located botiques in Istanbul. Especially the one in Nişantaşı which offers a great environment for luxury shopping. Their experienced team and wide model avalibilities make those boutiques perfect spots for buying a Rolex.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Rhodium for their great hospitality and support.
