Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 16253

Datejust → 16253

Two-tone Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph reference 16253 with white dial and yellow-gold rotating bezel — Antiquorum, lot 44: case 8,696,966, catalogued as ref. 16253.

Ref. 16253 is the steel-and-yellow-gold Datejust Turn-O-Graph with a rotating gold bezel and Cal. 3035. Auction catalogues date examples from 1978 to about 1987. Published sources disagree on the production span; catalogue dates place individual watches and leave the factory endpoints unresolved.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	16253
line	Datejust Turn-O-Graph; also catalogued as “Thunderbird”
case	Usually listed as 36 mm; Dorotheum and Christie’s give approximately 37 mm, and Sotheby’s gives 36.5 mm for a disputed listing
material	Stainless steel and yellow gold; Antiquorum specifies an 18k rotating bezel
movement	Cal. 3035 in the reviewed exact-reference auction records
crystal	Descriptions conflict: some examples are listed with acrylic, while Heritage lists sapphire on a circa-1987 watch. The reference-wide transition is unresolved.
bezel	Rotating, graduated yellow-gold bezel
bracelets	Jubilee documented on multiple examples. Rolex's 2011 parts list assigns Oyster 78363/458 as a replacement option; original fitment remains specific to each watch.

Where it sits in the line

Ref. 16253 belongs to the five-digit Cal. 3035 Turn-O-Graph generation. Watch-Wiki dates that generation to 1977–1988, before refs. 16263 and 16264 with Cal. 3135; an R-L-X forum post estimates a start around 1981. These secondary chronologies disagree, and the case-level evidence is summarized below.

“Turn-O-Graph” describes the rotating-bezel model within the Datejust line. Some catalogues and collectors use “Thunderbird” as a nickname for it. Phillips calls its military-crest example a DateJust, while Antiquorum's title uses Datejust Thunderbird.

Production outline

The auction record below ties dates to individual watches. The 1981 date belongs to paperwork for case 6,346,934; the other entries give catalogue dates or estimates. The oldest and newest examples in this sample do not set the production endpoints. Sotheby’s circa-1989 listing is a material outlier: it identifies ref. 16253 but describes stainless steel and a textured bezel, unlike the two-tone examples in other catalogues.

Movement notes

Phillips, Dorotheum, Antiquorum, and Dr. Crott identify Cal. 3035 in separate 16253 watches. The Hong Kong 2022 Antiquorum lot also has a movement photograph engraved 3035. The Vintage Rolex Field Manual gives the caliber's quickset date, 28,800 vph frequency, and 48-hour reserve. See the movement guide for the wider family and exact-reference records.

Calibre 3035 visible inside a two-tone Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 16253 — Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2022, lot 344; case 9,088,460.

Dial map

Auction and dealer records document the following examples. A complete factory dial catalogue remains unavailable in the sources reviewed.

dial description	dated example and source	evidence limit
Blue, applied gold Arabic numerals and luminous dots	1979; case 6,046,368, Antiquorum lot 128	Catalogue prints ref. 16253/16000; its image is below the publication-size minimum.
Blue, ribbed gold baton markers	Circa 1987; case 9,677,855, Heritage lot 60270	Heritage's date and dial details apply to this lot.
Black, raised baton markers	Stock 49332; partial serial 617xxxx, listed as 1979–1980	Dealer's date is approximate; the partial serial gives only a broad period.
Gold-colored dial with hour lines	Circa 1980; case 6,297,120, Dorotheum lot 431	Catalogue description for one example.
Gilt dial; Crott says it originally had luminous dots	Circa 1979; case 6,046,467, Dr. Crott lot 47	The catalogue describes lume on this watch; it gives no reference-wide change date.
White dial with applied gold Arabic numerals	Circa 1987; case 9,088,460, Antiquorum lot 344	Catalogue description for one example.
White dial catalogued as “porcelain,” with Breguet numerals	1985; case 8,696,966, Antiquorum lot 44	“Porcelain” is the auction house's label; no material analysis accompanies it.
White and gilt baton dials	Circa 1986; Christie’s lots 1588321 and 1588050	The accessible listings give no case numbers.
Textured dial	Circa 1985; case 9,020,857, Hindman lot 3	Hindman describes the dial as textured and reports a 16000 inner-caseback stamp; the stamp is separate from its ref. 16253 attribution.
United Arab Emirates Armed Forces crest	1983; case 7,490,117, Phillips lot 32	Phillips documents one watch; the number made and any military issue program remain unknown.

The 2022 and 2025 Antiquorum photographs show “Oyster Perpetual Datejust” on the dial. The catalogues identify the watches as Turn-O-Graphs by reference and bezel. The reviewed records show individual dial and lume examples but provide no dated sequence for hand or lume changes.

Front view of a steel-and-gold Rolex 16253 with a white dial and applied gold Arabic numerals — Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2022, lot 344.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The catalogues describe steel cases with yellow-gold bezels. Antiquorum specifies 18k gold; Phillips records 18k yellow gold and stainless steel. Most list a 36 mm diameter. Dorotheum and Christie’s give approximately 37 mm, while Sotheby’s gives 36.5 mm for the disputed listing. These are catalogue measurements for individual examples.

Antiquorum describes the bezel as revolving and shows its numbered minute scale. Crystal descriptions split by specimen: Stockholms calls its circa-1984 example plastic, and Vintage-Oyster describes acrylic on a 1979 watch. A parts listing pairs acrylic 25-135 with case 16253. Heritage lists sapphire on a circa-1987 example. These conflicting descriptions leave original fitment and any changeover date unresolved. Crott describes a screw-down Twinlock crown on its 1978 and circa-1979 watches.

Oblique view of the 16253 rotating bezel and case — Antiquorum, Monaco, 2025, lot 44, case 8,696,966.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging

Phillips records a Jubilee bracelet with end link 455 on case 7,490,117. Crott lists Jubilee 62523H.14 bracelets with end link 455 on its 1978 and 1979 watches; the latter has clasp E6 dated June 1980. Antiquorum lists Jubilee 62523H-18 with end links 455 on case 8,696,966, and the image shows the stamp. Stockholms describes a Jubilee bracelet as original on its circa-1984 example. Each originality statement applies to that watch alone.

Rolex USA's 2011 replacement-parts list assigns Jubilee 62523/455 and Oyster 78363/458 to ref. 16253. This documents later replacement availability; the auction examples independently document Jubilee bracelets on individual watches.

Antiquorum lists a box, booklet, punched paper, and calendar with its 1985 example. The later-sale catalogue records the items together; their original delivery with the watch is unverified.

Antiquorum, Monaco, 2025, lot 44: bracelet and end link 455.
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2022, lot 344: caseback marked 16000 and case number 9,088,460.

Special examples

Phillips describes case 7,490,117 as made for the UAE Armed Forces and shows its crest dial. The catalogue documents one watch; the number made and any formal issue program remain unknown. A 2019 Rolex Forums thread also reports a 16253-marked watch with a fixed fluted bezel and service papers. The owner’s watch and papers were not independently examined, leaving the reported configuration unverified as a factory branch.

Auction record

date assigned to watch	catalogue	lot	case or movement number	recorded details
1978	Dr. Crott, 105th auction (2021)	27	case 5,905,044; movement 0363325	Cal. 3035; 36 mm; steel and gold; revolving 18k gold bezel; Jubilee 62523H.14/455; clasp E6.
1979	Antiquorum, Geneva (2017)	128	case 6,046,368	Catalogue identifies ref. 16253/16000; Cal. 3035, 27 jewels; blue dial with applied gold Arabic numerals; 36 mm.
circa 1979	Dr. Crott, 112th auction (2025)	47	case 6,046,467; movement 0257078	Cal. 3035; 36 mm; gilt dial; steel/gold Jubilee 62523H.14/455; clasp E6 dated June 1980.
circa 1980	Dorotheum, Vienna (2018)	431	case 6,297,120; movement 0347736	Cal. 3035; gold-colored dial; steel and gold; rotating bezel; approximately 36 mm.
1981	Dorotheum, Vienna (2016)	303-710644/0001	case 6,346,934	Paperwork dated June 1981; Cal. 3035; gold-colored dial; approximately 37 mm.
1983	Phillips, Hong Kong (2016)	32	case 7,490,117	Cal. 3035; 36 mm; UAE Armed Forces crest dial; Jubilee 455.
circa 1984	Stockholms Auktionsverk archive	archived listing	serial 8,302,590	Cal. 3035; plastic crystal; Jubilee bracelet described as original. Sale date not recorded.
1985	Antiquorum, Monaco (2025)	44	case 8,696,966; movement 1,271,670	Cal. 3035; 36 mm; white dial catalogued as porcelain; Jubilee 62523H-18/455.
circa 1985	Hindman, Watches sale 2056 (2024)	3	case 9,020,857; movement 1,426,418	Textured dial; receipt dated 1985; two-tone Jubilee; inner caseback marked 16000.
circa 1986	Christie’s archived listings	1588321; 1588050	not stated	Separate white and gilt baton-dial descriptions; 36 mm and approximately 37 mm measurements; no case numbers in the accessible text.
circa 1987	Antiquorum, Hong Kong (2022)	344	case 9,088,460; movement 1,583,636	Cal. 3035; 36 mm; white dial; Jubilee 62523H/455; punched guarantee.
circa 1987	Heritage Auctions, New York (2011)	60270	case 9,677,855	Cal. 3035; blue dial with gold baton markers; Jubilee 62523H; sapphire crystal listed in condition report; 37 mm.
circa 1989 (conflicting description)	Sotheby’s, Hong Kong (2014)	682	case R399399; inner caseback marked 16000	Sotheby’s identifies ref. 16253 but describes a stainless-steel case and textured bezel. The stamp also appears on other auction-identified 16253 cases; material and bezel details remain unresolved.

Antiquorum, lot 44: case 8,696,966, catalogued as ref. 16253.
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2022, lot 344: white dial with applied gold Arabic numerals.
Oblique view of the bezel and case on the same lot.
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2022, lot 344: movement engraved 3035.
Antiquorum, Monaco, 2025, lot 44: bracelet end link 455.
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 2022, lot 344: caseback marked 16000.

Sources