The complications in modern watches are really impressive. They are capable of measuring solar time, time of sunset and sunrise, displaying moon phases and much more. But it is quite doubtful that an average customer really needs his watch to have these functions. What he needs is to know the time of day, the day and the date. This is exactly what the Rolex Day-Date series provides.
The Rolex Day-Date was the first watch telling the day and the date. It was introduced at the Basel fair in 1956, two years after the GMT Master. As one might guess, the timepiece was named after its day-date function. The Rolex Day-Date can display the weekday in 26 languages.
The watches from the Rolex Day-Date line come with a “President” bracelet, unlike other timepieces from the Oyster Perpetual Collection, featuring a standard Oyster strap. This is no accident – when President Eisenhower was re-elected, Rolex gave him the Day-Date watch to celebrate this. Since then, the Rolex Day-Date watches have been available with “President” bracelets.
Over the years, the timepieces have undergone several improvements and innovations. The original movement was replaced with a new one, more accurate. The setting of the Rolex Day-Date watches has also become easier – the watchmaker first introduced the Quick Set Feature, and then the Double Quick Set Feature, making it possible to set the day and the date with a single push of a button. The Rolex Day-Date recent models have become water-resistant to 100 meters, while the older ones were waterproof only at half the depth.
In 2008, to mark its 100th anniversary, Rolex launched an entirely new version of the Rolex Day-Date - the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date II. The new timepiece features a larger case, measuring 41mm in diameter instead of 38mm. It is also equipped with a new movement. Everything else remained the same, other than the price. The newer model costs a few thousand more than the older version of the timepiece which is expensive enough as it is.
To buy a watch from the Rolex Day-Date watch series for about twenty thousand dollars without being tight with money afterwards, one has to earn at least half a million a year. Unfortunately, most people do not get this kind of salary and are more limited in means. They also want to wear a Rolex Day-Date on their wrist, but simply cannot afford it. These people have another choice – to buy a replica of the watch they like. Replica Rolex Day-Date watches are a perfect copy of the originals. They look and tell the time just as good as the genuine timepieces. Moreover, fake Rolex Day-Date watches have an advantage that the real ones don’t – their price is a hundred times less.
