It’s a deeply entrenched tradition to sport the colours red and gold—hues considered to be auspicious—during the Chinese New Year festive period. In fact, Chinese families the world over faithfully practise this cultural belief during Lunar New Year so much so that it’s common to see every household decked out in shades of red and gold. To that end, we recommend the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in 18 ct Everose gold for your wrist as we usher in the Year of the Rat. Cultural traditions aside, the watch alone is impressive enough as an investment, packing enough highlights to excite horophiles.

IN THE PINK
Pink gold is widely used in the watch industry but brands that manufacture their own variants are far and in between. Since Rolex inaugurated its own foundry, it has been producing its own gold variants there. Case in point: 18 ct Everose gold—it is a proprietary, patented pink gold alloy cast in the foundry. Introduced in 2005, 18 ct Everose gold, which boasts a warm, rose-coloured hue, is used on all Rolex models in pink gold. Using 18 ct Everose gold on the Day-Date 40 softens the look of the majestic and stately timepiece, making it a suitable accessory on the wrist for day and night.

A master at mixing-and-matching colours, Rolex endows the Day-Date 40 with a sundust dial that perfectly complements the 18 ct Everose gold case, bezel and bracelet. Besides the elegance exuded by the gilded components, the watchmaker ups the ante by setting 10 baguette-cut diamonds on the dial—they not only add an extra touch of class to the watch but also serves a utilitarian function as hour markers.

In 1945, Rolex introduced the Oyster Perpetual Datejust to commemorate its 40^th anniversary. It was the first self-winding waterproof chronometer wristwatch to display the date in a window at 3 o’clock on the dial. The first women’s version of the date chronometer known as the Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust was launched in the late 1950s. It fused classic sophistication with functionality into a smaller, daintier timepiece for a woman’s wrist. Over the decades, Rolex produced Lady-Datejust watches in various sizes until when it launched the Lady-Datejust 28 in 2015. Available in a 28mm Oyster case, the Lady-Datejust 28 is a firm favourite among modern women for its ability to bring them effortlessly from boardroom to the ballroom. Using the Lady-Datejust 28 in yellow Rolesor (a combination of Oystersteel and 18 ct yellow gold) as an example, we list the important figures of the watch that one should know by heart.

2 — NUMBER OF METALS USED TO CRAFT THE EXTERIOR OF THE LADY-DATEJUST 28
Oystersteel is reliable and robust, while gold is shiny and precious. That is why Rolex has been combining the use of these two metals in its watches since the early 1930s. Known as Rolesor—the use of gold and steel, with their contrasting colours and radiance, on a single Rolex watch—this metallic combination is well-loved by consumers, a prominent pillar of the Oyster collection, and employed in the Lady-Datejust 28.

3 — WHERE THE ICONIC CYCLOPS LENS IS LOCATED AT
For its earlier watch releases, Rolex introduced a date indicator via a disc in a window located at 3 o’clock on the dial. In 1953, the Cyclops lens, a domed shape that magnifies the date for better legibility, was added to the sapphire crystal. It has since become one of the iconic and instantly recognizable characteristics of the Oyster Perpetual Datejust collection, of which the Lady-Datejust 28 is a part of.