The Rolex Datejust 31 Red Ombré Dial

A Datejust 31 in 18k yellow gold with a dial that runs from bright red at the centre to near black at the rim. Rolex creates the gradient by physical vapour deposition, and it's the first time the house has done an ombré in this fiery red since ombré dials came back to the catalogue in 2019.

This is a beauty. The Datejust has always been a beauty as far as I'm concerned, but this one is something else.

How does Rolex make an ombré dial?

Physical vapour deposition, which sounds industrial and is closer to an art.

PVD deposits an extremely thin film of material onto the dial inside a vacuum chamber. By controlling the deposition precisely, Rolex can vary colour intensity across the surface and produce a continuous gradient rather than a printed transition. The control it gives is remarkable and the process remains genuinely difficult, because the transition from colour to darkness has to be perfectly even and any flaw means the dial is scrap. Rolex themselves describe it as equal parts art and engineering, and dials get rejected at a rate you'd not expect from a company that makes as many watches as they do.

The result changes with the light and the angle. Turn your wrist and it shifts. For me it's a little like paintings where the eyes seem to follow you. You almost do a double take.

What are the specifications?

The dial is set with ten diamond hour markers, and the bezel carries 46 brilliant-cut diamonds.

It runs on the President bracelet in 18k yellow gold, with the semi-circular links and the concealed Crownclasp that make the bracelet look unbroken all the way round. Inside is the calibre 2236, a self-winding movement with a silicon hairspring, which is more resistant to shock and magnetism than a traditional metal one. Like every Rolex it carries Superlative Chronometer certification, which means Rolex tested the finished, cased watch to within two seconds a day, tighter than the COSC standard the movement had already passed.

Is it still the newest Datejust?

No, and that's why I've taken the year out of the title.

This was a 2025 novelty and Rolex has released watches since. That takes nothing away from the dial. Discontinued and superseded Rolex dials have a habit of becoming the ones everybody wants a few years later, and a red ombré is a good deal rarer than a champagne one will ever be.

For me, Rolex hit this one out of the park. What do you think? I'd like to hear it.

If you're in the market for a pre-owned Rolex, or you have one to sell, give me a call or drop by my La Jolla showroom.