Rolex 228238-0004 Day-Date 40 Yellow Gold Black Baguette

The high-contrast version

Put a black dial behind the yellow gold-plated bezel of a replica Rolex Day-Date 228238 and everything on the face reads instantly. The baguette-cut markers stand out against the dark ground, the gold hands separate cleanly, and the white weekday arc at 12 o’clock and date window at 3 look brighter than they do on a lighter dial. The finish is a smooth sunburst black rather than matte, so it still picks up a highlight when the wrist turns.

What you get in the hand

A 904L steel case under yellow gold plating, a fluted bezel, a screw-down crown and sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating, on a President bracelet with three-piece tapering links. Sizing is a five-minute job for any jeweller. The plating wants the same routine as any polished watch: a soft cloth, no magnets, and a service every three to four years to keep the automatic winding properly.

Movement and accuracy

Choose the Japanese Miyota-based automatic for about 40 hours of reserve and simple servicing, or the Swiss one, built to follow the original caliber, for 28,800 vph and about 70 hours. As a general guide the Swiss keeps 5 to 8 seconds a day. A timegrapher reading can be sent with your QC photos if you want proof of rate.

Same case, other dials

Same case, same plating, different dials: the champagne dial 228238 keeps plain batons, while the green 228238-0061 with baguette stones carries stones like this one. For the full spread of colours see the remainder of the Day-Date range, and before choosing a gold tone read how well the Day-Date gold plating holds up. Water: 30 m.

Are the black dial markers stones or polished batons?

Baguette-cut stone markers sit at the hours, and the hands are gold tone. Nothing else on the face is set.