The everywatch — the first self-winding chronometer with a date, and the Wimbledon and Rolesor variations.
Introduced
1945
Family
Datejust
Current ref.
126234
Calibre
3235
The Datejust is the template for the modern dress-sport watch. Its defining touches — the date at three o'clock under a Cyclops lens, the fluted white-gold bezel, the five-link Jubilee bracelet made for its 1945 debut — have barely changed in principle for eighty years.
Because nearly every combination of size, metal, bezel, dial, and bracelet exists, the Datejust is less a single watch than a system. The current 41 mm references run calibre 3235.
History
Launched for Rolex's 40th anniversary in 1945, the Datejust paired the waterproof Oyster case with the Perpetual rotor and an instantaneous date. The Cyclops magnifier arrived in the 1950s to make that date easier to read.
For decades the Datejust was 36 mm; the 41 mm Datejust II (2009) and the cleaner Datejust 41 (2016) answered demand for a larger case. The slate dial with green-accented Roman numerals became known as the “Wimbledon.”
Reference table
A selective map of the references collectors ask about most — not every variant, but the ones that anchor the line.
| Reference | Years | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1601 | 1959–1977 | 36 mm, fluted | The vintage Datejust archetype |
| 16014/16234 | 1977–2000s | 36 mm, sapphire | Long-running modern 36 mm |
| 116234 | 2006–2018 | 36 mm | White-gold fluted bezel, calibre 3135 |
| 126334 | 2016–present | 41 mm, fluted | Wimbledon dial available, calibre 3235 |
| 126300 | 2016–present | 41 mm, smooth | Smooth-bezel Datejust 41 |
| 126234 | 2018–present | 36 mm | Current 36 mm, calibre 3235 |
Years are approximate production windows. Verify the reference and serial against the watch in hand before relying on any figure.
Nicknames
Each nickname maps to a reference and a story. Tap through for the Naples reference guide on each.
In Naples
Naples is a settled, well-travelled collector town, and the Datejust fits a Gulf-coast life of flights, boats, and Fifth Avenue South dinners. We are a reference, not a dealer — this is context for buyers, not a storefront.
Datejust FAQ
The name marks its 1945 breakthrough: a self-winding wristwatch that showed the date in a window and changed it precisely at midnight — “just” on time. It was the first wristwatch chronometer to do so.
The Wimbledon is a Datejust with a slate-grey dial and green-accented Roman numerals (commonly the 126234 or 126334). The green-and-grey palette echoes the tennis championship's colours, hence the collector nickname.
Only the case size and proportionate bracelet. The 36 mm is the classic dimension; the 41 mm wears larger and more contemporary. Both share bezels, dials, and the calibre 3235 movement.