Rolex Oyster Perpetual 1023

A checked version of this page, approved on 9 October 2026, was based on this revision.

The 1023 is a mid-size, no-date Oyster Perpetual listed by Colin A. White. White describes its bezel as fluted. Sale records reviewed here describe gold-cased watches, with bezel labels including textured, Florentine, and bark; the terms do not establish separate factory options. Several records identify Cal. 1570 on individual watches, but their date clues conflict. The reference’s production span and full factory specification remain unknown.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	1023
family	Oyster Perpetual, no date
size	White classifies it as mid-size; several listings report 34 mm
case material	Records describe 14K and 18K gold examples; the usual alloy is not established
bezel	White lists fluted; catalogues and sellers variously describe bark, Florentine, paille/straw, or textured finishes
movement	Cal. 1570 is photographed or identified in several individual records; no reference-specific changeover is established
crystal	Acrylic is reported in individual listings
date	None

Where it sits in the line

White places the 1023 in the Oyster Perpetual table as a mid-size model with a fluted bezel. His table leaves the caliber and date fields blank. Later auction and dealer records add gold cases and textured bezels, using terms that differ from White’s entry. These records describe individual watches; they do not amount to a complete factory specification.

Production outline

The records located so far date individual watches to around 1964, 1966, and 1969; they leave the reference’s production start and end unestablished. The 2025 Hess catalogue calls its watch a 1966 example, while the photographed guarantee appears to carry a handwritten date of 1/6/68. That later date may reflect sale or guarantee timing rather than manufacture. Watch-Wiki lists Cal. 1570 for ref. 1022 over 1965–1974; Waddington’s dates its 1023/8B, serial 902827, to circa 1964 and also identifies Cal. 1570. Pergola places that serial in its 1962 band. These source estimates leave the Waddington’s date unresolved and do not establish early Cal. 1570 fitment. A dealer archive dates a 1023 with serial 2186xxx to 1969, matching Pergola’s 1969 band. These are estimates for individual watches, not reference-wide boundaries.

The serial examples leave the 1023 run incomplete. Serial-number dating can narrow the date of a case; compare it with the catalogue date and any paperwork for that watch.

Movement notes

Several records identify Cal. 1570 on individual 1023 watches. The 2022 Rolex Forums photographs show a rotor marked 1570 in an outer case stamped 1023. Waddington’s circa-1964 date for its Cal. 1570 example is in tension with the Watch-Wiki and serial-chart estimates above. White’s reference table leaves the caliber blank, and the available records do not establish first fitment or a changeover. The movement reference documents Cal. 1570 across the Rolex line.

Dial map

The reviewed examples include a silver dial with baton markers in Hess Fine Auctions’ 2025 photographs and a champagne-colored dial with applied gold markers in a 2020 dealer archive. These two watches do not establish a full dial range.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The records describe both 14K and 18K gold cases. Hess’s 2025 lot is catalogued in 14K gold; Waddington’s 1023/8B and a Watch.de archive listing are described as 18K. These are separate watches, and the material descriptions do not establish one standard alloy. Several listings give a 34 mm diameter; White gives only the mid-size classification.

Bezel names vary. White calls the bezel fluted. Hess describes a textured bezel, Waddington’s calls its bezel Florentine-finished, and Watch.de uses the German term “Rindengravur” (bark engraving). A 2022 collector listing uses “paille” for its watch, a term repeated by a dealer article that credits the collector’s photograph. These labels belong to individual records; no reviewed source maps them to separate factory options or gives Rolex’s own name for the finishes.

Hess’s catalogue specifies an acrylic crystal. Watch.de also describes Plexiglas on its listed watch. A reference-wide crystal or crown specification remains unclear.

Hess Fine Auctions, lot 12570.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Hess photographed a 14K gold brick-link bracelet and folding clasp with its 2025 watch. A Rolex Forums seller described a separate 14K example on a riveted Oyster bracelet; Watch.de showed its 18K example on leather. These records document different sale-time configurations, while the original bracelet delivery for each watch remains unknown. The Hess lot also included a Rolex box and papers; they may date to the set rather than the watch’s original delivery.

Gold brick-link bracelet and folding clasp shown with a Rolex Oyster Perpetual 1023 — Hess Fine Auctions, lot 12570.

Special branches

The 2022 forum photos show a 14K watch whose outer case is stamped 1023, whose rotor is marked 1570, and whose inner caseback is stamped 1005. A separate Watch.de listing identifies a watch as ref. 1023 and shows an inner caseback stamped 1005 beside 18K hallmarks. The repeated mismatch is a useful identification caution: read an inner caseback stamp alongside the outer reference and the watch’s other evidence.

A 2024 sale review calls a steel watch an “Air-King model 1023,” with a serial and guarantee date. The review supplies no close-up of the watch or papers, so the attribution remains unverified and is not treated here as a documented steel or Air-King branch.

Auction record

sale date	record	catalogued watch	result
12 June 2018	Waddington’s Toronto, lot 134	1023/8B, serial 902827, 18K gold, Cal. 1570; the catalogue calls the bezel Florentine-finished	Result not available in the mirrored record
6 December 2025	Hess Fine Auctions, lot 12570	1023, serial 1382519, 14K gold, Cal. 1570, brick-link bracelet, box and papers; catalogue date 1966	US$8,450 hammer; EveryWatch reports US$10,309 including the 22% buyer’s premium

The Hess lot’s paperwork appears to show a 1968 date, later than the catalogue’s 1966 attribution. Its photographs also show an inner caseback stamped 1005. Both details belong to that watch and should be weighed alongside the outer case, movement, and papers.