If Rolex’s existing precious metal options are not enough for you, the most famous name in luxury Swiss timepieces has developed a new 18k gold alloy from its in-house foundry. Now, in addition to 18k yellow gold, 18k Everose (rose) gold, 18k white gold, and 950 platinum, Rolex has introduced a new gold it calls Jubilee gold. The company is secretive about the specific makeup of this 18k gold blend, but what you need to know is that it represents a new color option you can think of as “pale gold.” Some might also call it “old gold” because the tone somewhat mimics the hue of gold alloys as they fade over time. Rolex is certainly being inspired by the popularity of vintage gold timepiece aesthetics. Jubilee gold will no doubt be rolled out to additional Rolex models in the future, but for 2026, Jubilee gold appears to be exclusively available in the reference 228235 JG Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 (debuted on aBlogtoWatch here). Is this the Rolex President watch “to own” in 2026?
I swear, I had a dream about this gold alloy prior to Rolex showing it to the aBlogtoWatch team on the first day of Watches & Wonders Geneva 2026. In imagining what Rolex might have decided to release as a novelty this year, I pondered if it would follow the lead of brands such as A. Lange & Sohne, Breguet, and others, which have released their own proprietary pale gold alloys in recent years. Rolex always likes to do things its own way, meaning the company developed a unique gold formula in-house because it melts its own gold using the Rolex foundry. Having a new gold alloy is the exact type of innovation Rolex likes, because it allows the brand to offer something new while barely changing the core products at all.
Jubilee gold is similar to yellow gold, but as I said, paler. Some might see it as a middle ground between yellow gold and rose gold. The color needs to be appreciated in person to best understand it, as it can appear slightly different based on different photography lighting conditions (a fact that is true for most gold alloy tones). I understand why the brand calls it Jubilee gold (“jubilee” is a common name at Rolex and the term used for the style of 5-link bracelet that is typically matched to Rolex Datejust and some GMT Master-II models), but I am not sure if the term is specific enough. With “Oyster Steel,” you still understand its color. When someone says “Everose gold,” you are pretty sure it is a form of rose gold. “Jubilee gold” could really look like anything, absent a bit more context. Rolex might disagree. In the strictest sense, “jubilee” is meant to honor an anniversary of sorts. I already said above that this new gold hue is somewhat inspired by the look of faded, vintage gold. Thus, Rolex might be using the term “Jubilee gold” as a way of saying “vintage gold.” This is a guess, though, as no one at Rolex elaborated too much when explaining the nature of the new gold alloy’s name.
Also often known as the “Rolex President,” the Rolex Day-Date (the current generation is the Day-Date 40) is one of the brand’s flagships and most recognizable models. As the name implies, the case is 40mm wide and water resistant to 100 meters (the Oyster case promise) with a wider bracelet that allows the watch to wear a bit visually larger than it is. The classic Day-Date look includes a flat sapphire crystal with a magnifier “cyclops” over the date window (for easier reading). The dial also has a large window aperture opening for a fully spelled-out day of the week indicator at the 12 o’clock position on the dial. This was always supposed to be the “fancier” version of the Datejust (which features only time and date). To protect that status, Rolex only produces the Day-Date 40 watch in precious materials, including platinum and various shades of gold. The Datejust does have a similar 18k gold fluted bezel, but most models feature steel as part of the case material (even if the Datejust models may be two-tone “Rolesor” blends of gold and steel components). This allows Rolex to protect the “status” of the Day-Date President, by allowing wearers to have the comfort that no one viewing their watch might ever suspect it isn’t produced from a precious material!
For a number of years, the Rolex President was a mainstream popular watch that collectors did not care too much about. This was interesting, but I understood why. The Day-Date model does not fall into traditional watch style archetypes (diver’s watch, driver’s watch, dress watch, pilot watch). It was a sports watch with jewelry elements, and a focus on expressing preciousness as opposed to utility. It has the identity of being an object that looks like it is meant to project wealth, as opposed to trying to be the best timepiece. The reality is, however, that the Day-Date President is both a status item and a rather well-rounded timepiece as well. It might be “boring” for certain types of wearing experiences, but it is a superlative watch in many ways, including legibility, durability, and value. As expensive as a modern Day-Date 40 watch is, it still almost always beats the rest of the market in terms of what you can get for an all-gold timepiece. If I had gold watch money, the Rolex Day-Date 40 would be nearly at the top of my list of options to get.
Once you’ve decided that you want a Rolex President, the company does not make it any easier to choose which model since they come in so many colors and with so many dial styles. For my money, I suggest going with diamond hour markers and a stone, or at least an interesting dial. Rolex did not disappoint in that department with the Day-Date 40 Jubilee gold 228235 JG. The dial uses Rolex’s beautiful baguette-cut diamond hour markers, which are legible and elegantly set. The dial itself is green (to match the favorite color of the maison), but with a beautiful texture as it is “green aventurine.” I don’t think most aventurine is a natural stone (most blue aventurine is synthetically created, for example), but that doesn’t really matter to me, as most Rolex dials are manufactured for their beauty. The emerald-like look of the green dial is a beautiful and on-brand style that goes really well with (as Rolex states it), the “tones of tender yellow, warm gray, and soft pink” that describe the hue of Jubilee gold.
Inside the Rolex Day-Date is the company’s in-house developed and manufactured Swiss Made Rolex caliber 3255 automatic “Superlative Chronometer” movement. It operates at 4Hz with about 70 hours of power reserve, and is promised to perform at plus/minus two seconds per day. The movement is very stable and reliable, and is a mechanism that Rolex has been producing in some form for many decades. While Rolex is slowly offering more watches with display casebacks (such as for special versions of the Cosmograph Daytona), you still need to put up with a relatively boring, solid-gold caseback for the Day-Date 40. That’s fine, though. Maybe use the empty caseback space for a personalized engraving, reminding you what led you to purchase or own a timepiece of great distinction such as this.
Readers of this article will notice that the Rolex Day-Date 40 Jubilee gold watch in this article includes photography taken by both Jake and myself from the aBlogtoWatch team. In these images, the watch’s gold color looks slightly different. Which is more accurate? Jake’s images are certainly warmer (the light in the Rolex room is always yellowish in its hue), making the Jubilee gold look a lot more similar to yellow gold. You can see how much ambient light can change the look of the metal. I typically attempt to color-correct my photography so that the warmer artificial light hues do not change the color of the base materials. In my opinion, the images I shot are a slightly better guide for what the actual gold and green hues of the Day-Date 40 Jubilee gold watch are like.
Rolex will slowly debut more Jubilee gold options, and even this particular Day-Date 40 228235 JG will be an uncommon model with limited production numbers. Rolex initially had this model listed on its website, and now you can only find mention of it when the brand discusses its “exceptional” watches that were debuted for Watches & Wonders Geneva 2026. That tends to mean Rolex is perhaps treating this as an “off-catalog” model, that you need to know about or be “offered” because you are a particularly good Rolex client. No doubt for the first few years, there will be an accelerated interest in Jubilee gold until Rolex manufactures enough of them to be distributed into the market. If I had the means and was interested in an all-gold timepiece, this Rolex President Jubilee gold with the diamond hour markers and green aventurine dial would be a swell option. Price for the reference 228235 JG Rolex Day-Date 40 Jubilee Gold watch is $62,700 USD. Learn more at the Rolex website.