Rolex Datejust 1601

Datejust → 1601

Fratello dates the Datejust 1601 to 1959. It is the fluted-bezel member of the four-digit Datejust generation, with a slow-set date and the Cal. 1565/1575 movement family. The five-digit 16014 brought the quickset date in 1977. The 1601 is usually described as a 36 mm watch, though auction catalogues record 34.5 mm and 35 mm measurements as well.

Core facts

Detail	Evidence
Reference	1601
Family	Datejust
Introduction	Fratello dates the 1601 to 1959. Monochrome gives 1959 or 1960 as its likely introduction and 1981 as its discontinuation date.
Movement	Cal. 1565, followed by Cal. 1575 from 1965 according to Fratello. Auction catalogues identify date-equipped examples as Cal. 1560 or 1570; Monochrome explains that the shared movement plates may retain those numbers on date-equipped movements. Sotheby's lists Cal. 1556 in one 1601; Rolex describes 1556 as a day-and-date caliber.
Date setting	Non-quickset. The date changes by advancing the hands through midnight.
Case	Records show steel cases with white- or yellow-gold fluted bezels, and white-, yellow- and pink-gold cases. Auction catalogues give case diameters from 34.5 to 36 mm.
Bezel	Fluted, described in collector and auction records in white or yellow gold.
Dial	Examples include silver, gray, brown, black lacquer, lapis lazuli and tiger's-eye. A blue mosaic example is seller-described on Rolex Forums; Fratello reports a no-lume example.
Bracelets	Oyster, Jubilee and President examples are documented.

Where it sits in the line

The four-digit Datejust group separates the references by bezel: 1600 is smooth, 1601 fluted and 1603 engine-turned. Monochrome describes early pie-pan dials and later flatter dials, without dating the shift.

The five-digit 16014 kept the fluted bezel and brought the quickset date with Cal. 3035 in 1977, according to Fratello. The 1601's date is set by advancing the hands through midnight.

Production outline

Auction catalogues date individual 1601 examples from circa 1960 through circa 1978. Fratello dates the introduction to 1959; Monochrome gives 1959 or 1960 for the introduction and 1981 for discontinuation.

Movement notes

Fratello dates the change from Cal. 1565 to Cal. 1575 to 1965. It gives beat rates of 18,000 and 19,800 vibrations per hour, respectively. Auction catalogues identify several examples as Cal. 1560 or Cal. 1570: Phillips uses 1560 for its circa-1963 example, while Christie's and Sotheby's list 1570 in later watches. Monochrome explains that shared movement plates can carry 1560 or 1570 engravings on date-equipped movements. Sotheby's lists Cal. 1556 for its circa-1974 Datejust. Rolex's 1978 service manual describes Cal. 1556 as a day-and-date movement, while the Sotheby's watch has a date-only dial. The movement attribution remains a catalogue conflict pending inspection.

The live Movements guide covers the 1565/1575 family and identifies Cal. 1556 as day-and-date.

Dial map

The dial list below is limited to examples documented by the cited sources.

Dial appearance	Record	What it shows
Silvered or gray	Christie's circa-1968 white-gold watch; Sotheby's circa-1966 steel watch	Two light-dial catalogued examples. Sotheby's calls its dial gray; the auction image reads blue-gray under its lighting.
Brown	Christie's circa-1960 steel watch	Christie's describes a brown dial with applied baton numerals.
Black lacquer with brown discoloration	Phillips circa-1963 white-gold watch	Phillips says the lacquer surface is beginning to turn brown. This is a condition note for one dial.
Blue mosaic	Rolex Forums sale post, caseback stamped 1601 III.71	The seller identifies a blue mosaic dial, matching lume on hands and plots, and a Jubilee bracelet.
No-lume dial	Fratello's photographed example	The author reports a dial and handset without tritium and records the collector label "Japan dial."
Lapis lazuli	Sotheby's circa-1974 yellow-gold example	Sotheby's names lapis lazuli; the image shows a blue stone dial.
Tiger's-eye	Sotheby's circa-1976 yellow-gold example	Sotheby's names tiger's-eye; the image shows a brown banded stone dial.

Dial of a Datejust 1601 with a Jubilee bracelet — Dial and bezel on Sotheby's circa-1966 example; the catalogue describes the dial as gray.

Collectors call the dial's sloping outer edge "pie-pan." Fratello shows it on an early 1601; Monochrome describes flatter later dials and a move from alpha hands to baton hands and stick indexes, but gives no date for those changes. The mosaic identification comes from a forum seller, and Fratello's no-lume description concerns its photographed watch. Sotheby's text and photos identify the two stone-dial examples.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The records below document steel cases with white- or yellow-gold bezels, plus white-, yellow- and pink-gold cases. Fratello's photographed steel watch has a white-gold bezel; Antiquorum's circa-1978 lot 130 describes steel and 18K yellow gold. Christie's, Phillips and Sotheby's catalogue the precious-metal cases.

Recorded configuration	Example
Stainless-steel case with white-gold fluted bezel	Fratello's photographed example.
Stainless-steel case with yellow-gold fluted bezel	Antiquorum, Geneva, 2024, lot 130; case 5,154,218, catalogued circa 1978.
White-gold case	Phillips, circa-1963 lot 880; Christie's, circa-1968 lot 3.
Yellow-gold case	Sotheby's, circa-1974 lot 130 and circa-1976 lot 44.
Pink-gold case	Sotheby's, circa-1966 lot 620; Christie's, circa-1967 case 1,612,671.

Phillips gives 34.5 mm, Christie's 35 mm and several later listings 36 mm.

Christie's describes undrilled lugs on its 1968 white-gold watch. Monochrome places acrylic crystals on the 160xx generation before the sapphire transition in the 162xx generation. The photographed examples have a Cyclops over the date.

Case and crown profile from Sotheby's lot 694.

Bracelets and clasp notes

Jubilee and Oyster bracelets appear in the catalogues, and Sotheby's records a President bracelet on its circa-1976 yellow-gold example. Phillips lists a white-gold Jubilee on its circa-1963 watch; Christie's describes a steel Oyster bracelet on its circa-1960 example; Sotheby's lists a steel-and-gold Jubilee on its circa-1966 watch. Fratello also notes Jubilee and Oyster examples. The catalogues show what each watch carried at sale; none traces the bracelet to the original delivery.

The Rolex Forums seller dates a blue-mosaic 1601 to 1971 and reports a serial beginning 2.847 million; the same post dates the clasp's K code to 1986. Both dates are seller-reported. The clasp code belongs to the bracelet.

Special branches

Sotheby's catalogued a yellow-gold 1601 with lapis lazuli around 1974 and another with tiger's-eye around 1976. The photographs match the catalogue descriptions.

Sotheby's, circa-1974 yellow-gold 1601 with lapis lazuli dial, lot 130
Sotheby's, circa-1976 yellow-gold 1601 with tiger's-eye dial, lot 44

Historical market and auction record

Sale record	Catalogue description
Christie's, Fine Jewellery and Watches, lot 206	Circa 1960; stainless steel; brown dial; 26-jewel movement; Oyster bracelet; 35 mm.
Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction: FOUR, lot 880	Circa 1963; 18K white gold; Cal. 1560; black lacquer dial described as turning brown; white-gold Jubilee; 34.5 mm. Sold for HK$175,000.
Sotheby's, Fine Watches 2025, lot 694	Circa 1966; stainless-steel case; Cal. 1570; gray dial; steel-and-gold Jubilee; 36 mm.
Sotheby's, Fine Watches 2024, lot 620	Circa 1966; 18K pink-gold case, case 1,512,334; Cal. 1570; pink-gold Jubilee; 36 mm.
Christie's, lot 6067466	Circa 1967; 18K pink-gold case, case 1,612,671; Cal. 1570; silvered wide-boy dial; 36 mm.
Christie's Watches Online, lot 3	Circa 1968; 18K white gold; Cal. 1570; silvered dial; 36 mm.
Sotheby's, Important Watches 2024, lot 130	Circa 1974; yellow gold; lapis lazuli dial; 36 mm. Sotheby's lists Cal. 1556, a day-and-date caliber per Rolex's service manual; the lot shows a date-only dial, so its movement attribution is unresolved.
Sotheby's, Important Watches 2020, lot 44	Circa 1976; yellow gold; Cal. 1570; tiger's-eye dial; President bracelet; 36 mm.
Antiquorum, Geneva, 2024, lot 130	Circa 1978; stainless steel and 18K yellow gold; case 5,154,218; Cal. 1570; steel-and-gold Jubilee; 36 mm. Sold for CHF 4,032.

Exterior caseback of a Datejust 1601 — Caseback of the same Sotheby's lot; the catalogue lists case number 1,267,924.

Sotheby's lot 694, circa 1966
Dial and fluted bezel, same lot
Case and crown profile, same lot
Caseback, same lot

Selected Antiquorum records

Antiquorum lists about 60 ref. 1601 lots; this table keeps the stone, retailer, crest and tropical dials and the highest results, as printed in the lot pages. Results are in the currency shown on each page; the fee basis is not stated consistently. The sample is small and mixed in currency, year and condition, so it supports no price rule.

Sale	Lot	Case (catalogue date)	Description	Result
Monaco, 25 July 2023	55	4061268 (1975)	18K yellow gold; lapis lazuli dial with Khanjar crest	EUR 96,200 (estimate EUR 80,000-120,000)
Monaco, 25 July 2023	51	3726222 (circa 1974)	18K yellow gold; jasper stone dial	EUR 52,000 (estimate EUR 15,400-25,600)
Geneva, 7 November 2021	518	2350196 (circa 1969)	18K white gold; tropical black-brown dial with baguette diamond indexes	CHF 46,250 (estimate CHF 35,000-55,000)
Geneva, 4-5 November 2023	376	2335374 (circa 1970)	18K yellow gold; obsidian dial	CHF 40,000 (estimate CHF 15,000-25,000)
Geneva, 11-12 May 2024	191	5061062 (circa 1977)	18K yellow gold; obsidian dial	CHF 33,750 (estimate CHF 15,000-25,000)
Geneva, 4-5 November 2023	377	2017074 (circa 1969)	18K yellow gold; malachite dial	CHF 32,500 (estimate CHF 15,000-25,000)
Hong Kong, 25 November 2022	193	4201349 (circa 1974)	18K yellow gold; tiger's-eye stone dial	HKD 312,500 (estimate HKD 240,000-340,000)
Geneva, 9-10 November 2024	471	2089544 (circa 1969)	14K white gold; blue "Buckley" dial	CHF 30,000 (estimate CHF 8,000-12,000)
Geneva, 4-5 November 2023	375	2381764 (circa 1970)	18K yellow gold; lapis dial	CHF 28,750 (estimate CHF 15,000-25,000)
Geneva, 11-12 May 2024	192	3217552 (circa 1973)	18K yellow gold; jasper dial	CHF 25,000 (estimate CHF 15,000-25,000)
Monaco, 19 July 2022	68	3345182 (circa 1970-1980)	18K yellow gold; black "starry" dial; Jubilee bracelet	EUR 16,900 (estimate EUR 10,000-15,000)
Geneva, 10 May 2025	761	1806914 (sold December 1972)	Steel; gilt "sloping" index black dial; original box, warranty, COSC	CHF 11,250 (estimate CHF 4,000-7,000)
Hong Kong, 5 December 2021	310	2933656 (circa 1972)	Steel; linen dial stamped with the UAE desert eagle logo	HKD 60,000 (estimate HKD 20,000-30,000)

Related references

Sources

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