Gold Souk, Deira
Rolex Day-Date 40 (Ice Blue), reference 228236G

Rolex

Day-Date 40 (Ice Blue)

Ref. 228236G

$87,600 · AED 321,700

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Case40mm platinum
MovementAutomatic
Year2026
ConditionUnworn

The Day-Date has been the presidents’ watch since 1956, the first wristwatch to spell the day in full, and made only in gold or platinum. On its President bracelet it is the quiet uniform of heads of state and those who advise them.

Rolex's Day-Date 40 (Ice Blue), reference 228236G, in 40mm platinum. Unworn with production year 2026, shown in the exact reference and dial configuration on offer.

Fun fact: Every modern Rolex is a Superlative Chronometer, tested to minus two to plus two seconds a day after casing.

The reference in depth

Platinum Day-Date 40, ice blue dial

Why this one matters

The Day-Date has topped the Rolex range since 1956 and was, in Rolex's own account, the first wristwatch to spell the day of the week out in full on the dial. The Day-Date 40 replaced the 41mm Day-Date II in 2015 with a slimmer case, a redrawn President bracelet and calibre 3255. At launch the platinum version had a smooth bezel, the only bezel offered in platinum until 2022.

In 2022 Rolex cut flutes into a platinum bezel, the first fluted bezel on a platinum Day-Date, which is what the second to last digit marks, the 3 in 228236 against the 0 in 228206. Platinum takes a flute differently from gold, with cooler, flatter reflections. Ice blue is a dial colour Rolex uses only on platinum, so it reads as a badge for the metal. G is trade shorthand for a diamond-set dial rather than a Rolex designation.

The movement

Calibre 3255 arrived with the Day-Date 40 and brought the Chronergy escapement, a blue Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock absorbers. It runs around 70 hours from a single barrel, so a watch put down on Thursday evening is still running on Sunday. Day and date jump instantaneously at midnight and both are set through the crown. Rated by Rolex at 2 seconds a day either way after casing.

On the wrist

Platinum is around two and a half times the density of steel, so 40mm on a President bracelet carries weight that surprises people who only know the gold versions. The proportions are conservative: 40mm, short lugs, a narrow bezel, nothing that pushes past a shirt cuff. From a metre away it can pass for steel. Rolex calls the ice blue dial the exclusive signature of its platinum watches, and in practice the quickest way to read the metal.

Questions we are asked about this reference

Why is the dial ice blue?

Rolex reserves the colour for platinum and calls it the exclusive signature of those watches. Since platinum can read like steel at a distance, the dial is the quickest way to tell the metal apart.

How does 228236 differ from 228206?

The bezel. 228206 is the smooth platinum bezel, 228236 is the fluted one introduced in 2022. Case size, calibre and bracelet are otherwise the same.

Does platinum need different care?

It is softer than gold, so marks tend to displace metal rather than remove it. Light scratches burnish out, but frequent polishing costs you the crispness of the flutes and the case edges, so it is better done rarely.

The collection

Day-Date

The gold and platinum Rolex that spells the day of the week out in full

The Day-Date arrived in 1956 as the first wristwatch to show the day of the week spelled out in full, in an arched window at 12, with the date at 3. Rolex builds it in 18 ct gold or platinum rather than steel, and it introduced the bracelet of three rounded links that took the President name from 1957 onward. The fluted bezel is the usual choice, with smooth and gem set versions alongside it. It runs in 36 mm and 40 mm today, and the day disc is offered in a choice of languages.

Sizes in the family

36 mm and 40 mm current, with a 41 mm generation between 2008 and 2015

Who it suits

Suits a buyer who wants their Rolex in precious metal and formal by default rather than a steel sports watch.

See every Day-Date we have

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