Rolex Datejust 36 Yellow Rolesor, Diamond Bezel

The first watch with a date that just changed

Rolex introduced the original Datejust, reference 4467, in 1945 to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary. It was the first self-winding chronometer wristwatch to show the date in a window on the dial. It came only in 18-karat yellow gold, with a small bubble-back case built on the waterproof Oyster case Rolex had introduced in 1926, and it measured 36 millimeters, the size this reference keeps.

The earliest Datejusts changed date gradually in the hours before midnight; from 1955 the change became instantaneous. Over eight decades the line grew into sizes from 28 to 41 millimeters, in steel, two-tone and solid gold, on either the Oyster or the Jubilee bracelet.

Two-tone was part of the formula from early on. Rolex calls its combination of steel and gold Rolesor; it has appeared on Rolex models since the early 1930s and was trademarked as a name in 1933.

The company behind it

Rolex began in London in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis, founded by the German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and the British watch dealer Alfred Davis to import Swiss movements. Wilsdorf registered the name Rolex in 1908, reportedly wanting a word that was easy to say in any language and short enough to fit on a dial, and in 1919 moved the company to Geneva.

Two inventions make the Datejust what it is. The waterproof Oyster case arrived in 1926, and in 1931 Rolex patented the Perpetual rotor, a freely turning half-disc that winds the watch with the wearer's movement. Together they gave the Oyster Perpetual its name, and the Datejust added the date.

After his wife's death in 1944, Wilsdorf placed all his shares in the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private trust. Since his death in 1960 the foundation has owned and run Rolex.

Reading reference 126283RBR

Reference 126283RBR belongs to the new generation of Datejust 36 that Rolex introduced at Baselworld in 2018, with a subtly redesigned case and the calibre 3235 movement. It is the version in stainless steel and yellow gold with a diamond-set bezel.

The case is a 36-millimeter Oyster with an Oystersteel middle case, a screw-down steel back and a screw-down 18-karat yellow gold crown with Rolex's Twinlock double waterproofness system. A scratch-resistant sapphire crystal carries the Cyclops lens over the date at 3 o'clock, and the watch is rated waterproof to 100 meters. In place of the Datejust's traditional fluted bezel is an 18-karat yellow gold bezel set with diamonds, each stone hand-seated by Rolex's gem-setters.

Calibre 3235, introduced with the Datejust 41 in 2016 and fitted to the Datejust 36 from 2018, is a self-winding movement with 31 jewels beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour. It has about 70 hours of power reserve and is certified as a chronometer by the Swiss official testing institute, then tested again by Rolex after casing, earning the Superlative Chronometer title and the green seal that comes with a five-year guarantee.

Dial options define each variant. They range from champagne, silver, slate or olive green index and Roman dials to diamond-set dials and white mother-of-pearl with 10 diamond hour markers. On some versions the Roman VI and IX are 18-karat gold set with 24 diamonds. The Oyster bracelet has three-piece solid links and a folding Oysterclasp with a 5-millimeter Easylink comfort extension.

What it costs

Because the reference covers many dials, there is no single price. An authorized U.S. jeweler listed the version with diamond-set Roman VI and IX, reference M126283RBR-0036, at $26,150 in October 2026.

A U.S. online watch merchant listed new examples the same month at $27,660 with a champagne index dial, $30,975 with a black diamond dial and $31,885 with a white mother-of-pearl diamond dial, with lower prices for wire payment. The diamond dials carry the steepest premiums.

The archetypal jewelry watch

The Datejust has long been the Rolex people picture first. On screen, a two-tone Rolesor Datejust from the 1990s appears on Matthew McConaughey's character in The Wolf of Wall Street, and Edie Falco's Carmela Soprano wore a 1990s women's Datejust throughout The Sopranos.

The diamond bezel takes that familiar shape and makes it fine jewelry, while keeping the waterproof Oyster case, the self-winding movement and the date window that defined the watch in 1945.

The numbers

Reference

126283RBR

Case

36 mm Oyster, Oystersteel and 18k yellow gold (yellow Rolesor), 20 mm lug width

Bezel

18k yellow gold, diamond-set

Calibre

3235: self-winding, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, about 70 hours reserve

Water resistance

100 m / 330 ft

Production

Current; introduced 2018

Certification

Superlative Chronometer (COSC plus Rolex tests after casing)

Timeline

1. 1905

   Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis found Wilsdorf and Davis in London.

2. 1908

   Wilsdorf registers the Rolex trademark.

3. 1919

   The company moves to Geneva.

4. 1926

   The waterproof Oyster case is introduced.

5. 1931

   Rolex patents the Perpetual self-winding rotor.

6. 1933

   Rolesor, Rolex's steel-and-gold combination, is trademarked.

7. 1945

   The Datejust, reference 4467, launches for Rolex's 40th anniversary.

8. 1955

   The Datejust's date change becomes instantaneous.

9. 2016

   Rolex introduces calibre 3235.

10. 2018

    A new-generation Datejust 36 with calibre 3235 debuts at Baselworld, including the diamond-bezel yellow Rolesor reference 126283RBR.

11. Oct 2026

    An authorized U.S. jeweler lists reference M126283RBR-0036 at $26,150.

The world in 2018

• Feb 6, 2018

  SpaceX flies its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time.

• Feb 9, 2018

  The Winter Olympics open in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

• Mar 18, 2018

  Vladimir Putin wins a fourth term as Russia's president.

• Mar 19, 2018

  The world's last male northern white rhinoceros dies in Kenya.

• Mar 24, 2018

  People in more than 900 cities march against gun violence.

• Apr 27, 2018

  Kim Jong Un crosses into South Korea to meet President Moon Jae-in.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Rolex Datejust 36 Yellow Rolesor, Diamond Bezel is number 53 of 100 in the jewelry entries of the FLOAT 100. 44 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (87 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The Datejust was the first self-winding chronometer wristwatch with a date window.
• The original 1945 Datejust came only in solid 18-karat yellow gold.
• Rolex reportedly chose its name because it sounded like a watch being wound.
• Rolex is owned by a charitable foundation set up by its founder.
• Rolex tests calibre 3235 to standards twice as strict as an official chronometer's.
• On some dials the Roman VI and IX alone hold 24 diamonds.