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
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.
1963–2016 documented · 37 references
Manual-wind Valjoux chronographs, the Paul Newman exotic dials, the Zenith automatics and the in-house 4130 generation.
1955–2019 documented · 26 references
From the Bakelite-bezel 6542 through the long 1675 run to the ceramic GMT-Master II.
1952–2021 documented · 14 references
The 3-6-9 dial from the 6150 and 6350 to the 26-year 1016 and its sapphire successors.
1971–2010 documented · 5 references
The orange-hand 1655 Freccione, the transitional 16550 and the long-run 16570.
1967–2017 documented · 6 references
COMEX saturation divers: Single Red, Double Red, Great White, Triple Six and the 116600.
1956–2019 documented · 39 references
The President from the 1956 originals through the 1803 era, five-digit sapphire, Day-Date II and Oysterquartz.
1956–2023 documented · 4 references
The anti-magnetic Rolex: lightning-bolt 6541, the CERN 1019 and the green-crystal 116400GV.
1945–2014 documented · 19 references
Battle of Britain origins, the 5500 mainstay that ran for three decades and the sapphire 14000 line.
1950s–2020 documented · 25 references
The plain-dial Oyster: classic four-digit 1002 to 1018, five-digit and the last pre-refresh 116000 generation.
1926–1953 documented · 30 references
The first waterproof Oysters, the domed-caseback automatics, the Padellone and the Oyster Precision manual-winds.
1928–1949 documented · 9 references
Rectangular Art-Deco chronometers: Classic 1343, Brancard 971, Railway and Tigre variants.
From the archive
Sea-Dweller
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
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, end links, clasps
Rivet, folded and solid Oyster, Jubilee and President bracelets, end-link numbers and the clasp date-code key.
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
Manual-wind chronograph1962–1988
Zenith automatic1988–2000
In-house cal 41302000–2016
Ceramic 6-digit2018–present
Vintage Freccione1971–1984
Single Red to Great White1967–1983
Triple Six and 166001978–2008
6-digit Day-Date 362000–19
Original and CERN era1956–1988
Battle of Britain origin1945–53
Classic four-digit1959–1988
Last pre-refresh generation2007–2020
Pre-Oyster and Oyster1922–37
Datejust, Padellone, Super Oyster1945–53
Brancard era1928–mid-1940s
