====== Rolex President ======
Although not an official model name, the **President** name describes a specific version of the [[Rolex Day-Date]] watch and the special [[bracelet#President|bracelet]] it uses.

===== History =====
In [[1956]], Rolex presented U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower with a special [[Rolex Day-Date|Day-Date Ref. 6611]] watch, their 150,000th certified chronometer. This followed the company's [[1944]] presentation of a Oyster Perpetual chronometer to Swiss general Henri Guisan (celebrating 50,000 watches produced) and [[1948]] presentation of a pink gold Datejust to Winston Churchill. The company did not celebrate or use these gifts in marketing, and in fact kept the details secret for many decades.

Rolex suggested providing Eisenhower with a [[Rolex Datejust]] "bubbleback" Ref. 4467 with a silver dial and red date wheel. Although Guisan and Churchill received watches on a strap, Rolex further suggested providing Eisenhower with a matching gold bracelet. This would be the signature detail of the watch, but it might not have happened if Eisenhower had said no. The back was engraved "DDE" with five stars and "12-19-1950", the date of his appointment as Supreme Commander of NATO.

Although Eisenhower is widely credited as the eponymous "president" referred to, his watch was not a "Rolex President" model for many reasons It was a Datejust, not a Day-Date; it had a Jubilee bracelet rather than a President bracelet, and he was not president at the time he received it. In [[1956]], Rolex introduced the famous [[Rolex Day-Date]] Ref. 6511 with the "President" band. The first US president to wear such a watch was Lyndon Johnson, and historians suspect that Rolex coined the term after seeing him wearing this watch.

By the 1960s, Rolex was openly referring to three-link bracelet as the "President Bracelet" in advertising. The same watch was favored by generals and businessmen at the time, and the term became fixed in the consciousness of the market. Today, most people consider a fluted bezel, yellow gold case, and three-link bracelet Rolex as the signature of success. In the 1980s, Rolex officially referred to the Day-Date watch as the "Rolex President Day-Date Chronometer" in advertising. Today, the name stands for the bracelet, the watch, and the image of a yellow gold Rolex in general.

===== Characteristics =====
For a watch to be considered a "Rolex President", it should have the following characteristics 

  - It must use the [[President bracelet]]
  - It must be a [[Rolex Day-Date]] model
    - The later [[Rolex Day-Date II|Day-Date II]] and [[Rolex Day-Date 40|Day-Date 40]] would likely be acceptable
    - Most people expect it to have the fluted bezel
  - Most people associate yellow gold with the President designation

Although the Day-Date is available with a smooth bezel, other bracelets, and a wide variety of colors, these would generally not be considered to be "Rolex President" watches. This is even true of [[white gold]], [[platinum]], and [[diamond]] [[bezel]] models.

===== Chronology =====
  * [[Rolex Day-Date]] - 36 mm case
    * 1955-1957 - Ref. 6511
    * 1957-1959 - Ref. 6611 - [[Rolex 1055|Cal. 1055]] (Also Ref. 6612 and Ref. 6613)
    * 1959-1978 - Ref. 1800 - [[Rolex 1555|Cal. 1555]] (Also Ref. 1802, 1803, 1804, 1806, 1807, 1811)
    * 1978-1988 - Ref. 18000 - [[Rolex 3055|Cal. 3055]] (Also Ref. 18038, 18039)
    * 1988-2000 - Ref. 18200 - [[Rolex 3155|Cal. 3155]] (Also Ref. 18300)
    * 2000-2019 - Ref. 118000 - [[Rolex 3155|Cal. 3155]]
    * 2019-present - Ref. 128000 - [[Rolex 3255|Cal. 3255]]
  * [[Rolex Day-Date II]] - 41 mm case
    * 2008-2015 - Ref. 218000 - [[Rolex 3156|Cal. 3156]]
  * [[Rolex Day-Date 40]] - 40 mm case
    * 2015-present - Ref. 228000 - [[Rolex 3255|Cal. 3255]]

===== External Links =====
  * [[https://www.rolexmagazine.com/2008/07/history-of-rolex-president-part-1.html|The Complete History of The Rolex President]]


{{tag>Watch_models Rolex_models}}