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The Rolex reference encyclopedia

Rolex changed what a wristwatch could do. The Oyster case (1926) made watches waterproof, the Perpetual rotor (1931) made them self-winding, the Prince (1928) built them to chronometer grade. Watchmakers and collectors have spent the decades since cataloguing what changed across each reference. Rolexopedia stores that record in one place.

Each article documents one reference: production years, movement, dial variants, case and bracelet details, auction record, and what to check when authenticating one. Inside one reference the watch can change a lot. A 5512 from 1962 is not the 5512 from 1978. Generation matters first. About the project →

252reference articles

12families

1,136photographs

1926–2020years covered

Browse by family

Submariner

1953–2010 documented · 33 references

The dive watch that became the template. Big Crowns, gilt 5512 and 5513 runs, the Red Sub, and the five-digit sapphire era.

Daytona

1963–2016 documented · 37 references

Manual-wind Valjoux chronographs, the Paul Newman exotic dials, the Zenith automatics and the in-house 4130 generation.

GMT-Master

1955–2019 documented · 26 references

From the Bakelite-bezel 6542 through the long 1675 run to the ceramic GMT-Master II.

Explorer

1952–2021 documented · 14 references

The 3-6-9 dial from the 6150 and 6350 to the 26-year 1016 and its sapphire successors.

Explorer II

1971–2010 documented · 5 references

The orange-hand 1655 Freccione, the transitional 16550 and the long-run 16570.

Sea-Dweller

1967–2017 documented · 6 references

COMEX saturation divers: Single Red, Double Red, Great White, Triple Six and the 116600.

Day-Date

1956–2019 documented · 39 references

The President from the 1956 originals through the 1803 era, five-digit sapphire, Day-Date II and Oysterquartz.

Milgauss

1956–2023 documented · 4 references

The anti-magnetic Rolex: lightning-bolt 6541, the CERN 1019 and the green-crystal 116400GV.

Air-King

1945–2014 documented · 19 references

Battle of Britain origins, the 5500 mainstay that ran for three decades and the sapphire 14000 line.

Oyster Perpetual

1950s–2020 documented · 25 references

The plain-dial Oyster: classic four-digit 1002 to 1018, five-digit and the last pre-refresh 116000 generation.

Bubbleback and early Oyster

1926–1953 documented · 30 references

The first waterproof Oysters, the domed-caseback automatics, the Padellone and the Oyster Precision manual-winds.

Prince

1928–1949 documented · 9 references

Rectangular Art-Deco chronometers: Classic 1343, Brancard 971, Railway and Tigre variants.

From the archive

Sea-Dweller

Sea-Dweller 1665

The 1665 is the original Sea-Dweller, the deep-saturation diver built with a helium escape valve for COMEX saturation work. Its Single Red and Double Red dials and its patent-pending caseback make it one of the most documented and most faked references in the catalogue.

Read the 1665 article →

Reference guides

Serial numbers

Date any Rolex from its serial

Decodes the three Rolex serial systems: numeric before 1987, letter prefixes 1987–2010, and random alphanumeric from 2010.

Bracelets

Bracelets, end links, clasps

Rivet, folded and solid Oyster, Jubilee and President bracelets, end-link numbers and the clasp date-code key.

Movements

Every caliber, cross-family

From the early manual-wind Oyster calibers through the 1500 and 3000 series to the Zenith and in-house chronographs.

Every reference, by era

Submariner

Full Submariner index →

Pre-five-digit1953–90

6204 6205 6200 6536 6536/1 6538 5508 5510 5512 5513 5514 5517 1680

Five-digit1979–2010

14060 14060M 16800 16610 16610LV 16803 16808 16613 16618

Daytona

Full Daytona index →

Manual-wind chronograph1962–1988

6238 6239 6240 6241 6262 6263 6264 6265

Zenith automatic1988–2000

16520 16518 16519 16523 16528

In-house cal 41302000–2016

116520 116523 116528

GMT-Master

Full GMT-Master index →

Vintage1955–99

6542 1675 16750 16753 16758 16700

GMT-Master II1983–2007

16760 16710 16713 16718

Ceramic 5-digit2005–19

116718LN 116713LN 116710LN 116710BLNR 116719BLRO

Ceramic 6-digit2018–present

126710BLRO 126711CHNR 126715CHNR 126710BLNR 126720VTNR 126713GRNR 126718GRNR 126710GRNR

Explorer

Full Explorer index →

Vintage1952–89

6150 6350 6610 1016

Modern1989–2021

14270 114270 214270

Explorer II

Full Explorer II index →

Vintage Freccione1971–1984

1655

Transitional1985–1989

16550

Modern 40mm1989–2010

16570

Sea-Dweller

Full Sea-Dweller index →

Single Red to Great White1967–1983

1665

Triple Six and 166001978–2008

16660 16600

Ceramic2008–2017

116600

Day-Date

Full Day-Date index →

Originals1956–59

6510 6511 6611 6612 6612B

4-digit President1959–78

1803 1804 1806 1807 1811 1831

5-digit1977–2000

18038 18028 18048 18078 18238 18248 18348 18208

6-digit Day-Date 362000–19

118238 118208 118235 118138

Day-Date II 41mm2008–15

218238 218206

Oysterquartz1977–2001

19018

Milgauss

Full Milgauss index →

Original and CERN era1956–1988

6541 1019

Modern2007–2023

116400

Air-King

Full Air-King index →

Battle of Britain origin1945–53

4925 4365 4499

First automatic1953–57

6552

Long-run mainstay1957–89

5500 5501 5502 5504 5506 5520 5700 5701

Sapphire era1989–2014

14000 14000M 114200

Oyster Perpetual

Full Oyster Perpetual index →

Classic four-digit1959–1988

1002 1003 1005 1007 1018

Last pre-refresh generation2007–2020

116000 114300 177200 176200

Bubbleback and early Oyster

Full Bubbleback and early Oyster index →

Pre-Oyster and Oyster1922–37

3666 2136 3003 3004

Bubbleback era1933–45

1858 3131 3372 3525

Datejust, Padellone, Super Oyster1945–53

4467 5030 5031 6031 6075 6105 8171 6098

Prince

Full Prince index →

Brancard era1928–mid-1940s

1343 971 1490 1491 1527 1862 3361 3937

Recently updated

• 23 August 2026 — 3009 (Oyster) · 2784 (Oyster) · 1873 (Oyster) · 2765 (Oyster) · 2240 (Bubbleback) · 2136 (Oyster) · 3139 (Oyster) · 3131 (Bubbleback) · 3065 (Bubbleback) · 3595 (Bubbleback) · 3003 (Precision) · 6694 (Precision) · 3135 (Bubbleback) · 3359 (Oyster) · 3599 (Bubbleback) · 3134 (Bubbleback)
• 18 August 2026 — 1018 (Oyster Perpetual) · 116520 (Daytona) · 16528 (Daytona) · 116503 (Daytona) · 18238 (Day-Date)
• 17 August 2026 — 19019 (Day-Date)

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