Just Another Shopaholic: The Greatest Rolex? A Vote for the Datejust

Rolex is easily the largest, most well known, most successful luxury watch manufacturer in the world. This begs the question: is there one watch that stands above all others as being the greatest Rolex, the one that helped make Rolex a household name? We would submit there is only one serious contender for such honors and it’s called the Rolex Datejust. One clue is provided by the number of Datejusts that come in for "http://www.thewatchbuyersgroup.com/rolex-service-center">rolex repairs. Watchmakers will see more Datejusts come across their bench than all other types combined. There’s a reason for that and it’s called sales volume.

History

The Datejust is the most influential and successful Rolex of all time. There may be other pretenders for the crown of greatest Rolex—the Submariner and Day-Date or “President” come to mind—but the evidence is overwhelmingly on the side of the Datejust.

It was introduced in 1945 as the latest version of the waterproof Oyster series—the watch that originally made the Rolex reputation in the 1930s and early 40s. Rolex stepped up their game significantly with the new Datejust. It was the world’s first watch to have the date displayed through an aperture in the dial. This may not sound like much today, but it was a major coup for Rolex at the time. A new and improved metal bracelet was introduced for the Datejust as well, called the Jubilee in honor of Rolex’s fortieth anniversary. Rolex added the famous “cyclops” date magnifier ten years later. With that final touch Rolex created the single most copied and iconic watch of all time.

The Secret of its Success

Datejusts were worn by both Churchill and Eisenhower and by countless other statesmen and CEOs too numerous to mention. Clint Eastwood wore one in at least one film and in his private life for decades, as have many other movie stars. The Datejust has long been offered in both gents and ladies versions, adding to its popularity. Which brings us to the greatest secret of its phenomenal sales success: versatility. No other watch does so many different things so well. You can wear it to work, hit the gym and even swim with it after work, then wear it to a black tie dinner, and never change your watch. That is a stunning versatility no other watch really matches. Many try, but are actually too big to fit under a shirt cuff without looking a bit oversized. The Datejust pulls off almost any look—or activity—with deft ease. The Datejust is the best-selling Rolex in history for a reason. Gents and ladies models are available in a host of gold, two-tone, and all stainless models and in a bewildering variety of bracelet, bezel, and dial combinations. All Datejusts are great timekeepers and are marked “Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified” on the dial, just as Rolex does for all their chronometer-rated watches. The results are in and the public have voted with their wallets: based on sales alone, the Datejust is the greatest and most popular Rolex ever.