Rolex Datejust Ref. 1601/9 White Gold - Black 'Gilt' Dial

Hard to believe - but the Datejust has been around since 1945. It is far older than its bigger and attention-hogging Submariner brethren. The Datejust was Rolex’s idea of the perfect everyday watch. The robustness of the Oyster case, combined with the elegance of an Oyster Perpetual. The ‘4 digit’ series of Datejust are particularly attractive for their pie-pan dials which offer a layer of three-dimensionality to the dials that went away with the advent of quickset date and 5-digit Datejusts. These early Datejusts were available as the 1601, with a fluted white gold bezel, or the 1603, with an engine-turned steel bezel. The 4-Digit Datejusts wear also the first series to become available with a myriad of dial colors and case and bracelet materials.

This particular piece, for starters, is a solid-gold Datejust, which are rare to begin with, full stop. Rolex did not make a lot of these so it didn’t compete with its more expensive sibling, the Day-Date, which were exclusively produced in solid gold.

Dating to circa 1965, this piece comes to us with a fantastic, likely-unpolished case with beautiful thick and symmetrical lugs and normal signs of wear for its age. The characteristic 'fluted' white gold bezel is also in superb unpolished condition. Inside, the black 'gilt' dial is excellent, with a deep glossy surface and only minor wear on the edge of the dial at the 11 o'clock position. The Tritium plots remain fully-intact and are evenly patinated and the correct 'alpha' handset matches beautifully.