Green Stella 18038 Rolex Day-Date

What is a summer watch? Prepare yourself, I’m about to move through some contrived tropes. Is it anything on a bracelet, for obvious humidity resistance and cleanliness? No, that level of simplicity is like calling anyone who appears on camera an actor. Jason Derulo is now an avid Tiktokker. He’s not an actor. Or, arguably, musician. Is it vibrant, flamboyant use of color? This is closer, but I still think not. Nomos’ mastery of color is nearly unparalleled. But the Tetra is colorful and yet, too austere to be what I’d call a true summer watch. Put a German in a pink shirt and they’re still reserved, humorless, and schnitzel-loving. Is it design? Studio Underdog’s watermelon makes the strongest case so far here. And yet, no, not alone. A summer watch is a feeling. A summer watch is whatever carefree, relaxed, low-stress aesthetic you personally indulge. Here’s mine.

A summer watch doesn’t have to be a Tudor with a NATO as great as that is. I can also be a Chronomètre Bleu on light grey croc. The 18038, which thankfully has quick-set, is somewhere in the middle. I wouldn’t jump in a pool with it, but everything else about a green Stella dial is sandals and linen. Green is right in the middle in terms of Stella rarity, more common than Lilac or Salmon, harder to find than Oxblood. Plus, it isn’t a green like Oris’s Kermit, the second to last 5711, or even the OP. This is green like the time many years ago I had about a dozen mojitos in Maui and they came back up like the amateur I was. And what’s not summer about that? Everyone reading here will know a Day-Date requires a drink analogy and there’s the least inviting one yet.

But the important thing is that this is a watch which relaxes. Summer is to recharge. There’s a reason why, before a musician goes on stage, the place they hang is called the green room. They are, very literally, green. Green is at the very center of the spectrum of color wavelengths our eyes observe. We evolved differentiating shades of green, those who were less successful were eaten by lions. For these and many other reasons, green has been shown, with proper science, to be the most relaxing of all colors. Fitting, then, that green also befits envy, as with Stella dial values today that’s all my summer opining will sum to. Back to the mojitos for us peasants.

This example is rather incredible. It’s often jokingly said that the only way to tell if a Stella dial is unrestored is if there are cracks in the lacquer. This is hyperbole, it is beautiful to see one without fault, all scripts undamaged, and honey-tritium. Its case is full, and it comes from a well-regarded Miami retailer. Likely won’t hang around, even at this price.