Day Date 18038/238 & 118238 link deference?

[robinmgb]

I bought a 1982 Day Date 18038 yesterday on it’s original President bracelet.
There are two spare links that both seem solid gold to me, can someone please explain the difference to the newer 118238 bracelet links?
My understanding was the 18038 and 18238 had hollow centre links and that changed to solid links on the 118238.
I imagined the 18038 links would be completely hollow like the centre links on my old Datejust jubilee bracelet but they certainly aren’t anything like that.

[miamiclay]

The older links are just a bit hollower inside, nothing visible from the outside.

[Zaslice]

I think you’d have to weigh them to compare which is which

[WiseRat]

Originally Posted by miamiclay

The older links are just a bit hollower inside, nothing visible from the outside.

This is correct. The 18038 and 18238 links are hollow internally, but its not visible from the outside. That's why the 118238 weighs more than a 18238.