Admin: Create researched Datejust reference 16233

2026-10-24T03:47:26Z

Create researched Datejust reference 16233

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Datejust 16233}}
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|title=Rolex Datejust 16233 — Reference guide | Rolexopedia
|description=The five-digit Yellow Rolesor Datejust 36, with documented production dates, Cal. 3135, bracelet options, dial examples, and Olympic-rings examples.
|keywords=Rolex 16233, Datejust 16233, Yellow Rolesor Datejust, Caliber 3135, Jubilee 62523, Oyster 78363
|image=Ref 16233 hero.webp
|image_alt=Rolex Datejust 16233 with a white Roman-numeral dial, fluted yellow-gold bezel, and Jubilee bracelet
|type=Article
|og_type=article
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}}

<small>Datejust → '''16233'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 16233 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Datejust 16233 with a white Roman-numeral dial, fluted yellow-gold bezel, and Jubilee bracelet|Sotheby's, Fine Watches 2022, lot 144: a circa-1988 example with a white dial described as pyramid.]]
</div>

Reference 16233 is a 36 mm Datejust in steel and 18k yellow gold, with a fluted gold bezel and sapphire crystal. Fratello dates its introduction to 1988, when the Datejust moved from Cal. 3035 to Cal. 3135. Rolex's February 1989 Swiss list gives the 16233 as a 31-jewel chronometer with a Jubilee bracelet; a September 2002 Rolex Italia list includes both Jubilee and Oyster options.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
! detail !! value
|-
| reference || 16233
|-
| family || Datejust 36
|-
| documented dates || Introduction dated to 1988; catalogues disagree whether production ended in 2004 or 2005
|-
| case || 36 mm; stainless steel with 18k yellow-gold bezel and crown
|-
| crystal || Sapphire with date magnifier
|-
| movement || Automatic Cal. 3135; the 1989 Rolex list specifies 31 jewels
|-
| bracelet options || Jubilee 62523; Rolex Italia listed Oyster 78363 as an option by September 2002
|-
| dial variants || See the documented examples below; the factory dial list is not established
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

The 16233 followed the steel-and-yellow-gold ref. 16013. Fratello identifies the main generation changes: the five-digit Datejust received sapphire crystal and Cal. 3135, replacing the preceding generation's acrylic crystal and Cal. 3035. In Rolex's 1989 list, the 16200 is steel with a smooth bezel, the 16233 is Yellow Rolesor with a fluted bezel, and the 16234 pairs steel with a white-gold fluted bezel. The later six-digit 116233 is a separate reference.

The 1989 Swiss list gives a Jubilee bracelet for the 16233. The September 2002 Italian list gives both Jubilee 62523 and Oyster 78363, confirming the Oyster option by that date. The original bracelet on a surviving watch needs watch-specific evidence.

==Production outline==

Fratello and Sotheby's date the 16233's introduction to 1988. Sotheby's circa-1988 example has case L'733'529 and movement 5'366'416. Auction records document individual watches into the mid-2000s. Sotheby's gives 2004 as the production endpoint; Phillips says 2005. Christie's catalogues serial F498277 circa 2004, and Sotheby's dates another watch circa 2005. The endpoint remains unsettled.

==Movement notes==

The reviewed exact-reference catalogues identify automatic Cal. 3135. The 1989 Rolex list and most auction records specify 31 jewels; Phillips lists 33 for its circa-1990 New York example. The available records do not document a separate movement version.

[[File:Ref 16233 movement.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Caliber 3135 inside an Antiquorum-catalogued Datejust 16233|Antiquorum, 2023, lot 18: movement 6,221,314, stamped 3135.]]

==Dial map==

The catalogues use their own names for these dials. The table keeps each description with its documented watch; a complete factory option list is not available in the sources reviewed.

{| class="wikitable"
! catalogue description !! documented example !! record
|-
| Blue sunburst || Circa 1990; 36 mm, Cal. 3135 || Phillips, New York Watch Auction EIGHT, lot 96
|-
| Blue baton with luminous accents || Manufactured in 1993 || Christie's, case X755123
|-
| Blue || Catalogued circa 2004; caliber not specified || Christie's, serial F498277
|-
| Champagne baton || Circa 2000; 35 mm as measured by Christie's || Christie's, case W203811
|-
| White pyramid with Roman numerals || Circa 1988; case L'733'529 || Sotheby's, 2022, lot 144
|-
| Silvered pyramid with gold Roman numerals || Circa 1991; 36 mm || Sotheby's, circa-1991 listing
|-
| Cream pyramid || Circa 1994; case S926280 || Sotheby's, 2023, lot 827
|-
| Black-and-silver || Catalogued circa 2005; 35 mm as measured by Sotheby's || Sotheby's, 2020, lot 68
|-
| Onyx with diamond indexes || Circa 2000 || Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction XII, lot 1089
|-
| Diamond indexes || Ten-index versions listed for the 16233 in Rolex Italia's September 2002 list || Period catalogue option; exact dial colour not stated here
|-
| “Jubilee” || Christie's describes a circa-1996 gilt dial with diamond markers; Antiquorum calls a circa-1995 ivory monogrammed dial “Jubilee” || These are two different catalogue descriptions; “Jubilee” also names a bracelet
|-
| Olympic-rings logo || Three distinct case numbers appear across the auction records; Sotheby's and Monaco Legend each describe an IOC-purchaser guarantee || Sotheby's, 2022–2024; Monaco Legend, 2023; see Special branches
|}

At six, the Sotheby's circa-1988 and circa-1996 examples and Phillips's circa-1990 watch show <code>T SWISS MADE T</code>; the Sotheby's circa-2005 example says <code>SWISS MADE</code>. These photographs record two inscriptions on watches with approximate catalogue dates. They leave the changeover date uncertain, and the lot records do not establish each dial's original fitment.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 16233 dial.webp|Sotheby's, lot 144: white Roman-numeral dial described as pyramid, circa 1988
File:Ref 16233 dial-detail.webp|Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction XII, lot 1089: onyx dial with diamond indexes, circa 2000
File:Ref 16233 dial-variant-blue.webp|Phillips, New York Watch Auction EIGHT, lot 96: blue sunburst dial, circa 1990
File:Ref 16233 dial-variant-jubilee.webp|Antiquorum, 2023, lot 18: ivory monogrammed dial catalogued as “Jubilee,” circa 1995
File:Ref 16233 dial-variant-black-silver.webp|Sotheby's, 2020, lot 68: black-and-silver dial, circa 2005
File:Ref 16233 dial-variant-olympic.webp|Sotheby's, 2023, lot 430: Olympic-rings dial, circa 1996
</gallery>

==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes==

The Rolex lists and exact-reference catalogues describe a steel case with an 18k yellow-gold fluted bezel. Sotheby's lists the early case at 36 mm and with a screw-down back. Christie's describes a magnifying crystal and gold crown on its dated examples. Most reviewed records give 36 mm; Sotheby's 2020 lot 68 gives 35 mm, and Christie's records 35 mm and 35.5 mm for two watches. The reference is catalogued as 36 mm; retain the smaller figures as measurements of those individual lots.

Christie's lot 874547 calls a 16233 “stainless steel and pink gold” and lists a white dial with Roman minute-ring markings. Rolex lists Yellow Rolesor, and the reviewed exact-reference examples pair steel with yellow gold. Christie's images and case number were unavailable for inspection, so its pink-gold wording remains a catalogue anomaly rather than evidence of another material branch.

Both the Phillips circa-1990 and Antiquorum circa-1995 examples show 16200 stamped inside the caseback. Sweetroad describes 16200 as a shared caseback mark across the 162xx Datejust case group, and a Rolex Forums discussion includes 16233 among the references using it. Identify the watch head from its between-lugs reference and other components; the shared inside stamp is one part of that check.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 16233 crown.webp|Sotheby's, lot 144: crown-side case profile and fluted bezel
File:Ref 16233 bezel.webp|Sotheby's, lot 144: opposite case profile and fluted bezel
File:Ref 16233 caseback.webp|Antiquorum, lot 18: inside caseback stamped 16200 on a watch catalogued as ref. 16233
</gallery>

==Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes==

Rolex's February 1989 Swiss list names Jubilee 62523. Its September 2002 Italian list gives Jubilee 62523 and Oyster 78363 options for the 16233. A May 2011 Rolex USA replacement-parts list pairs Jubilee 62523 with end pieces 455B and Oyster 78363 with 458B for refs. 16203, 16233, and 16263. It gives the non-B 455 and 458 end pieces for 16003, 16013, and 16253. Use that 2011 list for replacement-part fitment; the 1989 and 2002 lists document offered configurations. Auction catalogues show individual 16233s on both bracelet styles. The original bracelet on a surviving watch needs watch-specific evidence.

Boxes, guarantees, and booklets vary across catalogued sets. Assess them against the individual watch and its sale record.

==Special branches==

Auction records show Olympic-rings dials on three 16233s with different case numbers. Sotheby's says the guarantee for its circa-1996 example, case T'112'567, names the International Olympic Committee as purchaser; its 2022 and 2023 listings describe the same watch. Monaco Legend makes a similar guarantee claim for case S976159. Its catalogue dates the watch to circa 1994, the warranty to 1995, and its presentation to 1996. Sotheby's catalogued a third watch, case R'799'188, without papers. The records establish three examples; they leave the scale of any IOC delivery program undocumented.

==Auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
! record !! catalogue details !! what it establishes
|-
| [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/fine-watches-3/datejust-pyramid-dial-reference-16233-montre Sotheby's, 2022, lot 144] || Circa 1988; case L'733'529; Cal. 3135/31 jewels; white pyramid dial; Jubilee bracelet || Early serial-numbered example; Sotheby's states 1988–2004
|-
| [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/_rolex-pyramid-datejust-two-tone-8763 Sotheby's, circa-1991 listing] || Case X'628'182; silvered pyramid dial with gold Roman numerals; Cal. 3135/31 jewels || One documented dial and case configuration
|-
| [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/fine-watches-6/datejust-reference-16233-a-yellow-gold-and Sotheby's, 2023, lot 827] || Circa 1994; case S926280; cream pyramid dial; Cal. 3135 || Separate cream-dial example
|-
| [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/184159 Phillips, New York Watch Auction EIGHT, lot 96] || Circa 1990; blue sunburst dial; Cal. 3135 listed with 33 jewels; Jubilee 62523 H 18/455B || Jewel-count outlier and an individual bracelet configuration
|-
| [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5309200 Christie's, case X755123] || Manufactured 1993; blue baton dial; Cal. 3135/31 jewels; guarantee dated 15 September 1993 || Dated watch and paperwork
|-
| [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-16233-datejust-lot-361-18 Antiquorum, 2023, lot 18] || Circa 1995; ivory monogrammed dial called “Jubilee”; Cal. 3135; Jubilee 62523H-18/455B || One dial and bracelet combination
|-
| [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/fine-watches-3/datejust-reference-16233-montre-bracelet-en-acier Sotheby's, 2022, lot 142; relisted as 2023, lot 430] || Same case T'112'567 and movement 7'238'451; circa 1996; Olympic-rings dial; guarantee names the IOC as purchaser || One watch listed twice
|-
| [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/important-watches-part-ii/datejust-olympic-games-reference-16233-a-stainless Sotheby's, 2024, lot 206] || Case R'799'188; circa 1988; Olympic-rings dial; no papers || Separate case number; no guarantee or delivery evidence
|-
| [https://www.monacolegendauctions.com/auction/exclusive-timepieces-31/lot-34 Monaco Legend, 2023, lot 34] || Case S976159; circa 1994 in lot details; warranty said to be dated 1995; catalogue narrative says presented in 1996 || Separate case number; catalogue dates conflict
|-
| [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/152997 Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction XII, lot 1089] || Circa 2000; onyx dial with diamond indexes; Cal. 3135/31 jewels; Jubilee bracelet || One dial configuration with case, movement, end-link, and clasp details
|-
| [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/watches-online-new-york-edit/rolex-ref-16233-datejust-fine-steel-18k-yellow-gold-wristwatch-date-213/172314 Christie's, serial F498277] || Catalogued circa 2004; blue dial || Example near the reported endpoint
|-
| [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/watches-online/rolex-ref-16233-datejust-a-yellow-gold-and Sotheby's, 2020, lot 68] || Catalogued circa 2005; black-and-silver dial; Cal. 3135; Oyster bracelet || Latest dated example in this review
|}

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 16233 hero.webp|Sotheby's, lot 144: full view, circa-1988 white pyramid-dial example
File:Ref 16233 dial.webp|Sotheby's, lot 144: three-quarter view
File:Ref 16233 dial-variant-blue.webp|Phillips, lot 96: circa-1990 blue sunburst dial
File:Ref 16233 dial-variant-jubilee.webp|Antiquorum, lot 18: circa-1995 ivory monogrammed dial catalogued as “Jubilee”
File:Ref 16233 dial-variant-black-silver.webp|Sotheby's, lot 68: circa-2005 black-and-silver dial
File:Ref 16233 dial-variant-olympic.webp|Sotheby's, lot 430: circa-1996 Olympic-rings dial
File:Ref 16233 dial-detail.webp|Phillips, lot 1089: onyx dial with diamond indexes
File:Ref 16233 caseback.webp|Antiquorum, lot 18: inside caseback stamped 16200
File:Ref 16233 movement.webp|Antiquorum, lot 18: caliber 3135, movement 6,221,314
File:Ref 16233 crown.webp|Sotheby's, lot 144: crown-side case profile
File:Ref 16233 bezel.webp|Sotheby's, lot 144: opposite case profile
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://www.fratellowatches.com/buying-guide-the-best-rolex-watches-from-the-1980s/ Jorg Weppelink, "Buying Guide: The Best Rolex Watches From The 1980s", Fratello Watches, 2021-07-10]
* [https://www.r-l-x.de/forum/showthread.php/24091-Die-gro%C3%9Fe-Referenzumstellung-1988-89-und-eine-interessante-Preisliste%E2%80%A6%E2%80%A6 Prof. Rolex, "R-L-X Forum, January 2006 — February 1989 Swiss Rolex price list images", R-L-X Das Forum, 2006-01-26]
* [https://www.orologiko.it/ebayjpg/listini/listino-rolex1.pdf "Rolex Italia, September 2002 price list — Datejust ref. 16233", Rolex Italia S.p.A. (scan reproduced by Orologiko), 2002-09]
* [https://www.thewatch.co.il/image/users/190146/ftp/my_files/ROLEX/Rolex-Price-List%20--2011%20-usa.pdf?id=13123755 Rolex USA, "Rolex USA Price List, effective 10 May 2011 — bracelet replacement parts", Rolex USA, 2011-05-10]
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/152997 "Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XII, lot 1089 — Datejust ref. 16233", Phillips]
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/184159 "Phillips New York Watch Auction: EIGHT — Datejust ref. 16233, lot 96", Phillips]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/fine-watches-3/datejust-pyramid-dial-reference-16233-montre "Sotheby's Fine Watches 2022, lot 144 — Datejust ref. 16233, circa 1988", Sotheby's]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/_rolex-pyramid-datejust-two-tone-8763 "Sotheby's, Datejust ref. 16233 with silver pyramid dial, circa 1991", Sotheby's]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/fine-watches-6/datejust-reference-16233-a-yellow-gold-and "Sotheby's Fine Watches 2023, lot 827 — Datejust ref. 16233 with cream pyramid dial", Sotheby's]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5309200 "Christie's, Datejust ref. 16233, case X755123, manufactured 1993", Christie's]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5569807 "Christie's, Datejust ref. 16233, case W203811, circa 2000", Christie's]
* [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/watches-online-new-york-edit/rolex-ref-16233-datejust-fine-steel-18k-yellow-gold-wristwatch-date-213/172314 "Christie's Watches Online, ref. 16233, circa 2004, serial F498277", Christie's]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5274919 "Christie's, Datejust ref. 16233, case T619148, circa 1996", Christie's]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-16233-datejust-lot-361-18 "Antiquorum, Datejust ref. 16233, case W106360, circa 1995", Antiquorum Genève SA, 2023-06-13]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/fine-watches-2/reference-16233-datejust-a-stainless-steel-and "Sotheby's Fine Watches 2023, lot 430 — Datejust ref. 16233 Olympic-logo dial", Sotheby's]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/fine-watches-3/datejust-reference-16233-montre-bracelet-en-acier "Sotheby's Paris, 30 September 2022, lot 142 — Datejust ref. 16233 Olympic-logo dial", Sotheby's, 2022-09-30]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/important-watches-part-ii/datejust-olympic-games-reference-16233-a-stainless "Sotheby's Geneva, 15 May 2024, lot 206 — Datejust ref. 16233 with Olympic-logo dial", Sotheby's, 2024-05-15]
* [https://www.monacolegendauctions.com/auction/exclusive-timepieces-31/lot-34 "Monaco Legend Auctions, 22 April 2023, lot 34 — Datejust ref. 16233 Olympic-logo dial", Monaco Legend Auctions, 2023-04-22]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/watches-online/rolex-ref-16233-datejust-a-yellow-gold-and "Sotheby's Watches Online, lot 68 — Datejust ref. 16233, circa 2005", Sotheby's]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-874547 "Christie's, ref. 16233 catalogue description of a pink-gold case, lot 874547", Christie's]
* [https://www.sweetroad.com/view/item/000000019618 "Rolex Datejust ref. 16234, 1989–90 example, Sweetroad", Sweetroad]
* [https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=285552 "Rolex Forums discussion of the shared 16200 Datejust caseback stamp", Rolex Forums, 2013-03-12]

[[Category:Datejust]]

Reference:16233 - Revision history

Admin: Create researched Datejust reference 16233