Question about Day-Date 36 Reference Number

[Branpanman]

Hello, all. I'm new here.

I recently received two Rolex watches as part of the divorce settlement of my marital estate. One is a Submariner 16613 that I'm very fond of and wear frequently, and another is a Day-Date 36 that, while beautiful, is not my style, and so I'm looking to sell it (unfortunately to help cover my legal fees).

So in doing my research, I found the reference and serial numbers for the Day-Date but in doing so I've become puzzled by the reference number on the watch, as seen in the pictures; it clearly says 18238, however looking at the bezel and the dial it seems to be an 18348... I'm not an expert (thus why I'm here) but every picture I've looked up of the bezel and dial screams 18348 and to my eyes they do not appear to be aftermarket, but must that be the case? Or could the serial number have been incorrectly assigned? Could something else be going on here?

I also put a screenshot of the serial number I found behind the lugs... seems to be a 1995.

Unfortunately I don't have the box and papers for the piece either, so I'm trying my best to do a forensic understanding of this piece's history and thus potential value.

Anyway, some help and guidance from those much more knowledgeable than me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[miamiclay]

The most likely answer may be that the 18238 watch and the diamond bezel are both genuine factory Rolex, but they were not “born together.” (You are correct that, if they’d been born together, the case’s reference number would be 18348.)

Rolex used to encourage its ADs to upsell diamond bezels separately, to add some new appeal to existing watches. This bezel could have been added by the AD on day 1 when the watch was first sold, or years later.

This thread may offer you some more answers -
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=289046

[Branpanman]

Thank you! Your reply and that thread you linked to were EXTREMELY helpful!!

I'm confident now that you're correct; this is an original and authentic 18238 with an authentic aftermarket bezel and dial... I'm going to assume that the bezel was done on D1, but in truth there's no way to know for sure.

Thank you, again!

[miamiclay]

My pleasure …

And FYI, if the bezel is genuine factory, it’s not referred to as “aftermarket.” That term usually means “not made by or for Rolex.”

[928ktgold]

Originally Posted by miamiclay

The most likely answer may be that the 18238 watch and the diamond bezel are both genuine factory Rolex, but they were not “born together.” (You are correct that, if they’d been born together, the case’s reference number would be 18348.)

Rolex used to encourage its ADs to upsell diamond bezels separately, to add some new appeal to existing watches. This bezel could have been added by the AD on day 1 when the watch was first sold, or years later.

This thread may offer you some more answers -
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=289046

My dad’s 1990 day date is a18238 but has a factory bezel from the AD he bought it from. My dad loved his upsell. It’s now my mom’s watch and she loves it.

[Branpanman]

Thank you for the nomenclature correction! That's definitely important.