Everything Tomorrow

How to Buy a Vintage Rolex Datejust (Lifestyle)

July 8, 2024

The Rolex Datejust has an aesthetic that fits the middle ground between dressy but not overly formal, making it an easy daily wearer. It’s pretty versatile and comes in an endless array of styles, which makes it easier to find something unique.

There are a ton of vintage Datejusts out in the market with tons of options for dials, bezels, hour markers, and tons of other options. Here are some of the options I ended up going with.

• Quickset and flat dial. This meant that I was going for a 5-digit reference rather than a 4-digit (i.e. 16014 vs 1601). Quickset is a feature that I wanted as a convince, and I preferred the look of a flat dial over the pie-pan dial on the 1601 references.
• Fluted bezel. This meant that I wanted a 16014 rather than the engine-turned bezel on a 16030. I prefer the look of the fluted bezel, which also happens to be in white gold. The pricing is pretty even with the two options, so this was a purely aesthetic decision.
• Open 6 and 9. This was super specific, but I preferred the look of Rolex’s older date fonts. Rolex date rings have had different fonts over the years, and some vintage models feature “open” sixes and nines, where there’s an empty space at the edge of the numbers.
• Jubilee bracelet. The jubilee bracelet goes along with the Datejust, and gives it a more dressier look. I wanted to make sure my bracelet was in good condition without too much stretch.

The search for a silver vintage 16104 Datejust was pretty simple, it’s the most basic Datejust so there are a ton out in the market for sale, but I wanted a good deal and didn’t want to pay over market value. Watch Exchange on Reddit was where I checked on a daily basis for a few months, and I eventually pulled the trigger and bought the watch I was looking for. It felt pretty sketchy wiring a complete stranger across the country a large sum of money, but he was professional during the process and had positive business reviews on his profile. Just make sure you’re buying from a reputable source.

Overall thoughts on the watch: It’s cool and I’ve always wanted one being inspired by pro tennis players and rappers from a young age. At the end of the day it’s just a watch, I wear a sweater most of the time so the watch is covered 90% of the time. If I’m being completely honest I still use my phone to check the time.