Rolex Datejust Ref. 16220 - Sunburst Silver 'Tropical' 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 Datejusts was the first series to become available with a myriad of dial colors and case and bracelet materials — something that has stuck with the Datejust name ever since. What the 4-digits watches do lack, is a quickset date — something that was resolved with the introduction of the 5-digit pieces in the late 1970s.

The piece that we have here, a Reference 16220 from circa 1990, comes to us in strong overall condition. The case have been lightly polished at a previous time, and doneso tastefully with respect to the intended proportions. It shows only light signs of wear throughout with a a seemingly unpolished 'engine-turned' steel bezel showing matching wear. The real highlight of this piece, however, is that sunburst silver dial within. Though very versatile, we generally consider silver-dialed Datejusts to be a bit plain or ordinary... This piece, of course, is a clear exception with its stunning and evenly patinated surface. It details vibrant sunburst finishing and fully-intact Tritium plots with a matching handset. It comes fitted to a correct Oyster bracelet with a signed blade clasp.

Of course, this piece also features a handy quickset date function and a sapphire crystal. Neo-vintage at its finest!