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rapperSpotted May 2023

Rapper SCH spotted wearing a Rolex

rapper SCH spotted wearing a Rolex
Who & what: Rolex Day-Date 36 Yellow Gold Champagne Dial – Reference 18038 or 18238 Spotted on French Rapper SCH

French rapper SCH — born Julien Schwarzer, one of the most critically respected voices in contemporary French rap — was recently photographed sporting a Rolex Day-Date 36 in 18k yellow gold with a champagne dial. The sighting, casual and unforced, sees the watch sitting naturally on his wrist alongside substantial gold rings, consistent with his reputation for low-key but deliberate luxury.

The watch in question appears to be a Day-Date 36 — the original 36mm 'President' — in 18k yellow gold, displaying the full Day-Date configuration: day spelled out in full at 12 o'clock and a date aperture at 3 o'clock with a cyclops lens. The champagne dial features applied index hour markers with baton hands in yellow gold, and the fluted bezel visible on this reference adds further refinement. Text on the dial reads 'Oyster Perpetual Day-Date' and 'Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified,' confirming Rolex Calibre 3155 movement (or 3055/3055 in earlier iterations) — a self-winding movement with a 48-hour power reserve offering day-correction via the crown.

The Day-Date 36 was introduced in 1956 as Rolex's first wristwatch to display the day of the week in full, and it has never been produced in anything other than precious metal — 18k gold or platinum. That exclusivity is baked into its DNA. The President bracelet, introduced simultaneously, remains one of the most copied bracelet designs in watchmaking history yet still looks entirely at home only on the original.

For collectors, a vintage or near-vintage Day-Date 36 in yellow gold with a champagne dial represents one of the most archetypal configurations: neither flashy nor understated, simply authoritative. The reference appears consistent with the 18038 (fluted bezel, circa 1977–1990) or the transitional 18238 that followed, both sharing the same 36mm case architecture.

SCH's choice of this piece speaks to a collector sensibility rather than trend-following — the Day-Date 36 has surged in grey-market value as younger buyers rediscover its historical weight. On the secondary market, clean examples in yellow gold regularly trade well above retail, reflecting both scarcity and renewed cultural appetite.

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