For centuries, lapis lazuli was the world’s most coveted blue. Ground to powder, it gave Renaissance painters the pigment they reserved only for divinity itself. Today, it finds its highest expression not in a cathedral, but in a Day-Date.

This reference 18348 from 1988 pairs Rolex’s most regal stone dial with its most decadent case. The 36 mm yellow gold Oyster case, diamond-set bezel, and fully diamond-paved President bracelet form a frame worthy of the dial it carries: a flawless sheet of deep ultramarine lapis, flecked evenly with gold pyrite and entirely free of calcite veins or cracks.

Unlike most stone dials, this example features factory-set diamond hour markers in round settings; an uncommon configuration that gives the dial rhythm without breaking its calm surface. Every stone dial is unique, but few are this clean, this balanced, or this deliberate.

Inside beats the automatic caliber 3155, offering the double quickset function that defined the best Day-Dates of the late ’80s and ’90s. It’s a technical anchor for a piece that otherwise borders on jewelry.

Among stone-dial Day-Dates, lapis sits at the top of the hierarchy; not for rarity alone, but for presence. The kind of blue that never fades, even in a room full of gold.