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Rolex Day-Date 40 and Calibre 3255: 2015 Launch, Specs and Price

Introduced in 2015, the Rolex Day-Date 40 paired a distinctive full-day calendar display with calibre 3255. Here are reference 228238’s specs and the dated launch-price examples.
Estimate2–3 min Catalogued SpecialistWatchRanker Team
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The Rolex Day-Date 40 and calibre 3255 debuted together in 2015. The movement brought a stated power reserve of approximately 70 hours, while the watch retained the Day-Date’s defining display: the weekday spelled out at 12 o’clock and the date at 3. The specifications below focus on reference 228238; the prices are historical launch figures reported in March 2015, not current guidance.

What was introduced in 2015?

Rolex introduced calibre 3255 as a new-generation movement for the Day-Date 40 in 2015. It was not a 2026 launch. Rolex’s history of 2013–2022 says the movement was designed to improve precision, power reserve, reliability, resistance to shocks and magnetism, and ease of adjustment.

The Day-Date itself dates to 1956. Its signature calendar layout displays the day of the week in full in an arc-shaped window at 12 o’clock and the date at 3 o’clock. Rolex says the weekday display is available in 26 languages in its 2024 technical overview.

What changed with calibre 3255?

Rolex says calibre 3255 provides approximately 70 hours of power reserve—24 hours, or 50 per cent, more than the prior generation. That is the manufacturer’s stated figure, not a measurement of a particular sample watch.

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Rolex identifies the movement’s main technologies as a Chronergy escapement, blue Parachrom hairspring, Paraflex shock absorbers and a Perpetual rotor. Its 2024 technical overview also describes the escapement’s nickel-phosphorus construction and the hairspring’s Rolex overcoil. Rolex notes that an optimized ball bearing for the oscillating weight was added in 2023; that later update should not be confused with the movement’s 2015 introduction.

What are the specifications of reference 228238?

Reference 228238 is one specific Day-Date 40 configuration: an 18 ct yellow-gold watch with a white dial. Its specifications in Rolex’s brochure are not a universal specification list for every Day-Date 40.

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  • Polished silver-tone watch featuring blue sunray dial with stick indices and day/date window
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Specification Reference 228238
Case 40 mm Oyster case in 18 ct yellow gold
Bezel and crown Fluted bezel; Twinlock screw-down crown
Crystal Scratch-resistant sapphire with Cyclops date lens
Water resistance 100 metres / 330 feet
Dial and bracelet White dial; 18 ct yellow-gold President bracelet with concealed folding Crownclasp
Movement Mechanical, self-winding calibre 3255 with bidirectional Perpetual rotor
Functions Central hours, minutes and seconds; instantaneous day and date; unrestricted rapid-setting; stop-seconds
Power reserve Approximately 70 hours
Precision −2/+2 seconds per day after casing, according to Rolex’s finished-watch certification standard

These details come from Rolex’s Day-Date 40 brochure for reference 228238. The −2/+2 seconds-per-day figure describes Rolex’s standard for the fully cased watch; it is not an independently measured result for an individual example.

What was the Day-Date 40 price at launch?

A Monochrome-Watches launch article published 27 March 2015 reported these prices, both excluding taxes:

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Configuration reported Price reported in March 2015
Everose model €27,250, excluding taxes
Platinum version €45,400, excluding taxes

Those are dated editorially reported launch prices, not current retail prices. A current price was not established here; pricing depends on market and configuration. The brochure specifications above identify reference 228238, but the price examples in the 2015 article concern the Everose and platinum versions, not that yellow-gold reference.

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How to read the launch story today

The useful distinction is between the original 2015 introduction and later Day-Date 40 updates or configurations. Rolex’s newsroom entry dated 15 September 2026 reports a new Day-Date 40 configuration in Jubilee Gold; it is separate from the 2015 introduction of calibre 3255. The calibre’s 2015 launch, its stated approximately 70-hour reserve, and the reference-specific 228238 specifications answer different questions and should not be treated as interchangeable claims.

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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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