Writer Giorgia Mondani spotted wearing a Rolex

Italian watch author, historian, and publisher Giorgia Mondani — founder of Mondani Books, one of the world's most respected Rolex reference libraries — was recently photographed wearing a Rolex Day-Date 36mm in 18K yellow gold, fitted with a vivid green dial and the signature President bracelet. The sighting carries particular resonance: few people on earth understand the nuances of Rolex references more intimately than Mondani herself, making her personal choice of wristwear a statement in its own right.

The watch in question is the Day-Date 36 reference 118238, powered by Rolex's in-house Calibre 3155 automatic movement, offering 48 hours of power reserve, a day display at 12 o'clock, and a date aperture at 3 o'clock framed by the brand's characteristic cyclops lens. The 36mm Oyster case in 18K yellow gold is finished with a fluted bezel, and the dial features applied gold baton hour markers — a clean, classical configuration that defined the Day-Date aesthetic for decades. The President bracelet, exclusive to the Day-Date and the Lady-Datejust in gold, is a three-piece link design patented by Rolex and remains one of the most recognisable bracelets in fine watchmaking.

From a collector's perspective, this reference occupies an interesting position. Rolex has since updated the Day-Date 36 lineup to include diamond hour markers as standard on certain dial configurations, discontinuing the clean baton-index versions like this green dial example. That discontinuation transforms a once-standard catalogue piece into a definite collector target — especially in non-traditional dial colours such as this green, which anticipates the broader 'green dial' wave that swept the luxury watch market in the early 2020s.

Mondani's credentials as a collector are unimpeachable. Her publishing house has produced definitive reference volumes on Rolex sports models, vintage Daytonas, and GMT-Masters, cementing her status as one of Italy's foremost horological authorities. That she chooses to wear a Day-Date — historically the dress watch of presidents and executives — speaks to the model's enduring versatility across contexts.

On the secondary market, clean examples of the 118238 in yellow gold with green dial have appreciated meaningfully since discontinuation. While the last official retail price stood at approximately $31,350, grey-market values for well-preserved examples now consistently exceed that figure, particularly as green-dial Rolex references continue to command premiums among younger collectors entering the market.