Rolex Day-Date 36 Platinum Turquoise Diamond Bezel: Ref. 128396TBR
The Rolex Day-Date is the brand's flagship, made only in precious metals, and this reference takes the formula somewhere more exotic. The 128396TBR pairs a 36mm platinum President with a natural turquoise stone dial and a factory diamond bezel. It is not a quiet Day-Date, but it does not feel desperate for attention either. It walks a fine line between elegance and opulence, and the moment you handle it, the weight and the color tell you this is not the usual boardroom Rolex.
Watch the full hands-on with the Day-Date 36 in platinum.
The Day-Date 36 in platinum, turquoise stone dial and factory diamond bezel.
Table of Contents
Platinum Case and Wrist Presence
The 36mm Oyster case is machined from 950 platinum, sealed by a screw-down caseback and a Twinlock winding crown. Our measurements put it just around 10mm thick, with a lug-to-lug just under 43mm. On paper that reads modest. On the wrist it is anything but: the watch weighs a little under 240 grams, more than half a pound, so the 36mm case carries real presence. Platinum density is the first thing you feel.
On the scale, the platinum case weighs just under 240 grams.
Calipers confirm the case measures just around 10mm thick.
The Turquoise Stone Dial
The dial is where this Day-Date leaps ahead of other rare examples. This is a natural turquoise stone dial, not a painted blue one. Every piece of turquoise carries its own color, texture, and matrix pattern, so no two dials are identical. A lacquer dial can be flawless, but a stone dial has character you do not see every day. Rolex sets it with diamond hour markers and diamond Roman numerals at the 6 and 9 positions, then rings it with a factory-set bezel of baguette-cut diamonds.
A macro of the natural turquoise stone dial, with matrix veining unique to every example.
The factory bezel set with baguette-cut diamonds framing the turquoise dial.
Diamond-set Roman numerals with the day and date displays against the turquoise.
Movement and Everyday Function
Under the exotic exterior is a fully practical watch. Inside is the Rolex caliber 3255, the automatic Day-Date movement with an approximately 70-hour power reserve. You get the day fully spelled out in a window at 12 o'clock, the date under the Cyclops lens, and 100 metres of water resistance. It is the same accuracy and reliability Rolex builds for daily wear, even when the watch itself feels anything but daily. The Day-Date is Rolex's prestige piece, produced only in precious metals, and this reference keeps that pedigree while turning the dial into something you rarely see across a boardroom table.
The President Bracelet
The watch rides on a platinum President bracelet with a concealed Crownclasp. It is clean, iconic, and heavy in the best way. The President is arguably the most recognizable bracelet ever fitted to a watch, and in platinum it reinforces everything the case is already saying.
The platinum President bracelet and case profile.
The 36mm case carries real presence on the wrist.
The Watch in This Video
This Day-Date 36 is for someone who wants the traditional President silhouette without the traditional President personality. It keeps the charm of an old-school 36mm platinum Day-Date but adds the confidence of modern Rolex at its most expressive, and that balance is the whole appeal. If you are interested in this reference or any other, browse our Rolex selection or reach out to the team at Watches Off 5th.