Ladies' Rolex Buying Guide: Datejust 31, Lady-Datejust, and Beyond

We buy and sell women's Rolex watches every week from our counter at 19 West 47th Street. The single most common request that walks in the door, or lands in our inbox, is some version of the same question: "I want a ladies' Rolex, roughly this size, roughly this color, what should I actually get and what does it cost?" This guide is the answer we give across the counter, written down. It covers the 28mm to 31mm heart of the ladies' Rolex range, the discontinued 26mm that still trades hard, dial and bezel choices that move price, the President versus Jubilee decision, and where two-tone sits relative to steel and solid gold. Every reference, caliber, size, and price below is real. If we could not confirm it, it is not here.

The size question, decoded first

Rolex splits the small-to-mid ladies' range into two named collections plus a discontinued predecessor, and people confuse them constantly.

Lady-Datejust 28mm (279xxx series). This is the current small Rolex, introduced in 2015 as the replacement for the old 26mm. The case measures 28mm across. Inside is the caliber 2236, a self-winding movement with Rolex's Syloxi silicon hairspring, 31 jewels, and roughly 55 hours of power reserve. Water resistance is 100 meters with the screw-down Twinlock crown. This is the one most women picture when they say "a small ladies' Rolex."

Datejust 31 (278xxx series). One size up, at 31mm. Rolex introduced the current 278xxx generation in 2018, and it also runs the caliber 2236 with the Syloxi hairspring and the same 100 meters of water resistance. The 31 wears larger and reads more clearly across a room. It has become the size a lot of buyers land on once they try both on, because 28mm can feel delicate on anything but a slim wrist.

Lady-Datejust 26mm (179xxx series), discontinued. The predecessor, retired when the 28mm arrived. The final six-digit generation, the 179xxx references, ran the caliber 2235 with roughly 48 hours of reserve, produced from about 2006 into the mid-2010s. It is chronometer-certified and, in the trade, treated as a dependable workhorse. It is the value entry into a genuine gold-and-steel Lady-Datejust, and we see steady demand for clean examples.

The practical takeaway: 28mm and 31mm are both current, both share the modern 2236 movement, and the choice between them is wrist size and presence, not mechanics. The 26mm is the used-market play when budget leads the decision.

President versus Jubilee: the bracelet decides the watch

This is where buyers get the most confused, so we keep it blunt.

The Jubilee is the five-piece-link bracelet Rolex designed in 1945 for the Datejust. It is the everyday ladies' Rolex bracelet. You find it on steel and on two-tone (Rolesor) references, and it is the look most people already associate with a Datejust. Comfortable, dressy-casual, appropriate anywhere.

The President is a different bracelet entirely: the semicircular three-piece link Rolex reserves for its precious-metal watches. On the ladies' side, the President shows up on solid-gold Datejust 31 and Lady-Datejust references, not on steel and not on two-tone. When someone says "a Lady President," they mean a solid 18k gold ladies' Datejust on the President bracelet. It is the top of the range.

So the bracelet is a proxy for material and price. Jubilee reads steel or two-tone and lives in the four-figure-to-low-five-figure world. President reads solid gold and lives in the mid-five figures and up. If a listing offers you a "steel President," be careful; that combination does not come from Rolex on these references.

Dials: where a few thousand dollars hides

On a Datejust, the dial is the biggest swing factor after material. Two watches with the same reference number can be thousands of dollars apart because of what is on the face.

Index or baton dials in silver, white, black, blue, or the current mint and green tones are the baseline. Clean, legible, easiest to resell.
Roman and Arabic numeral dials sit in the same general range, a matter of taste more than money.
Mother-of-pearl dials carry a premium. No two are identical, which is exactly the point, and buyers pay for it.
Diamond-set dials, where diamonds replace the hour markers, add real cost and vary with the stone count and quality.
Fully diamond-paved dials and factory diamond bezels are a different price tier entirely and can double or more the cost of the base reference.

A word from the buy side: factory-set stones from Rolex hold value in a way aftermarket diamond work does not. Aftermarket bezels and dials tank resale and complicate authentication. When we write a check, factory versus aftermarket is one of the first things we verify, and it should be the first thing you verify too.

Two-tone pricing, from someone who writes the checks

Two-tone, which Rolex calls Rolesor, is Oystersteel combined with 18k gold. It is the sweet spot for a lot of ladies' buyers: real gold on the wrist, real presence, without the full solid-gold price.

Here is roughly where the market sits as of mid-2026, and these are trading ranges we see in the room, not sticker fantasy:

Lady-Datejust 28mm, Yellow Rolesor (ref. 279173), steel and 18k yellow gold on a Jubilee: pre-owned examples generally run about $10,500 to $15,000 depending on dial, condition, and whether it comes with box and papers.
Lady-Datejust 28mm, steel with white gold fluted bezel (ref. 279174): commonly around $10,000, with the spread running roughly $7,800 to $14,000 by dial and condition.
Lady-Datejust 28mm, steel and white gold with factory diamond bezel (ref. 279384): the diamond bezel pushes these toward the mid-$20,000s, around $25,000-plus for the right configuration.

Steel-only 28mm sits below two-tone. Solid gold sits well above it. Two-tone is the middle lane, and it is the most liquid part of the ladies' market, which is why we keep it stocked.

Where the Datejust 31 lands

Step up to 31mm and the same logic scales:

Datejust 31 in Oystersteel (ref. 278240), domed or fluted bezel, on Jubilee or Oyster: current 2025 to 2026 examples trade roughly $10,800 to $13,000 depending on dial and bezel, with the green and mint dials and diamond-marker configurations at the upper end.
Datejust 31 in solid 18k rose gold on the President (ref. 278275): Rolex retail is $40,800; secondary examples with mother-of-pearl and diamond dials trade near the high $30,000s to $40,000s.
Datejust 31 in solid 18k yellow gold on the President (ref. 278288, diamond-set RBR variants): Rolex retail on the diamond-bezel 278288RBR is $45,200, and the secondary market tracks close to that.

For context on the whole market: Rolex raised retail prices roughly 7 percent in January 2026, which pulled secondary values up with it. That matters if you are buying, and it matters more if you are selling, because a watch you bought three or four years ago may be worth more today than the day it left the boutique.

What we keep in stock for this exact search

We stock the ladies' range around what actually sells on 47th Street:

Steel and two-tone Lady-Datejust 28mm in the common index, Roman, and mother-of-pearl dials, on Jubilee.
Datejust 31 in Oystersteel and in two-tone, in current and recent dial colors, on Jubilee and Oyster.
Solid-gold Lady President pieces, 28mm and 31mm, when the right dial and condition come through the door.
Clean discontinued 26mm Lady-Datejust (179xxx) two-tone examples for buyers who want the gold-and-steel look at the used entry price.

Inventory turns constantly, so the honest answer to "do you have X in stock" is: tell us the size, the material, and the dial you want, and we will tell you what we have on hand today or can source this week. We have been doing exactly this since 1959.

How to buy well, and how to sell well

If you are buying: decide size first (try 28mm and 31mm on the same wrist before anything else), then material, then dial. Insist on factory-original bezel and dial, and buy the best condition you can with box and papers when possible. Papers are not everything, but on ladies' pieces they tighten resale.

If you are selling a ladies' Rolex you already own: the market has moved up, and a two-tone or gold Datejust bought years ago is often worth real money today. We buy these outright, no consignment games, and we pay from the same buy side we have run for decades. Bring it in and we will make you a number on the spot.

Either way, the next step is simple. Bring your watch to 19 West 47th Street, call us, or request an offer online. Tell us the size, the color, and whether you are buying or selling, and you will get a straight answer from someone who trades these every week.

Ultimate Diamond, 19 West 47th Street, New York City. Family-owned since 1959. We buy and sell Rolex. Prices cited reflect the 2026 market and move with it; contact us for a current, watch-specific number.