Rolex Datejust: every generation, both sizes, and which one to buy

A date window at three o'clock, a Cyclops lens over it and a Jubilee bracelet: Rolex calls these the Datejust's emblematic features². This page maps every men's generation in 36 and 41 mm, how the sizes compare, what they cost and which one might suit you. Our pages on the 126334, 126300, 126233 and 16233 hold the detail.

Eighty-one years, two sizes

The first Datejust, ref. 4467 of 1945, was a gold watch, and the Jubilee bracelet was made for its launch^19,20,24. The Cyclops lens followed in 1953^20,25. The 16xx series of 1959 to 1977 offered three bezels side by side, smooth (1600), fluted white gold (1601) and engine-turned (1603), and the 160xx series of 1977 added calibre 3035 and a quickset date^3,20,26.

The modern Datejust starts in 1988, when the 162xx series, the 16233 among it, brought calibre 3135 and made sapphire standard^3,27,28. Around 2004 or 2005 the six-digit 1162xx series added solid bracelet links and broader polished lugs^20,29,30,31.

The 41 mm size arrived in 2009 with the Datejust II and calibre 3136^32,33,34. The Datejust 41 replaced it in 2016, first in yellow and Everose Rolesor; the steel 126300 and 126334 followed in 2017^35,36,37. The Datejust 36 got calibre 3235 in 2018, again in yellow and Everose Rolesor first, and Monochrome reported the White Rolesor 126234 and the all-steel 126200 in 2019^38,39,40. Rolex still listed both in October 2026^41,42.

Datejust 36 vs Datejust 41

The two sizes share calibre 3235 with about 70 hours of power reserve, and water resistance to 100 metres^4,5. WatchGuys says the choice comes down to preference and wrist size³.

The 36 mm has 20 mm between the lugs; Rolex's page data gives the 41 mm bracelets 21 mm^5,6,22,43. The Datejust 41 also wears smaller than the Datejust II at the same diameter, with slimmer lugs and a thinner bezel^8,37,44. Rolex also makes a 31 mm Datejust and the 28 mm Lady-Datejust^1,2,3; this page sticks to 36 and 41.

Smooth vs fluted, steel vs gold

Rolex makes fluted bezels only in 18 ct gold or platinum, so a fluted steel Datejust is White Rolesor: steel with a white gold bezel^7,8. A smooth bezel keeps it all steel. On the Yellow Rolesor 126233 the gold forms the bezel, the crown and parts of the bracelet^4,45.

In Rolex's specification the 126300 and the 126334 differ only in the bezel^8,46. On 11 October 2026 that cost USD 2,700 in the US, about 30 per cent, on an Oyster with a silver dial (USD 8,950 against USD 11,650)^22,23.

Five-digit vs six-digit, Datejust II vs Datejust 41

The 16233 and the 116233 both run calibre 3135. The 116233 has thicker polished lugs, solid end and centre links and, on most examples, ROLEX engraved around the inner ring; the 16233 has slimmer lugs, hollow links and a plain ring^29,30,47. The 126233 of 2018 brought calibre 3235, about 70 hours against roughly 48, and slimmer lugs^4,27,38.

At 41 mm, the Datejust II has a broader bezel, thicker lugs and calibre 3136 with about 48 hours; the Datejust 41 is slimmer, runs calibre 3235 with about 70 and offers a Jubilee as well as an Oyster^{5,33,48,49,50}.

Which one should you buy?

For a first Rolex to wear every day, the steel 126300 is the plainest modern answer: 41 mm, a smooth bezel, Oyster or Jubilee^22,51. For the fluted bezel without yellow gold, the 126334 is the same watch with white gold on top^8,46; in 36 mm that recipe is the 126234^52,53.

For the classic two-tone, the 126233 is the current 36 mm version⁶. The 16233 is the same idea from 1988 to about 2005; being old, it should be bought on condition, starting with bracelet stretch^3,27. Almost everything before 1988 has an acrylic crystal, and nothing before 1977 has a quickset date^20,26,54.

What they cost

The table repeats the prices from our reference pages, each with its own date. List prices are Rolex's recommended retail prices; the Chrono24 figures are our median of the first page of listings, which mixes new and used watches, and asking prices are not sale prices^4,5,13,22.

Over roughly a year Rolex's list prices rose in the US, the UK and Germany: the 126233 on a Jubilee by 7.3 to 10.4 per cent from October 2025, the 126300 on an Oyster by 2.4 to 5.3 per cent from prices seen between September and December 2025^{4,22,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65}.

Telling the generations apart

The reference number is engraved between the lugs at twelve o'clock, under the bracelet^9,10. Four digits mean vintage, five neo-vintage, six modern³. Most Rolex models made since about 2002 have a tiny crown etched into the crystal at six o'clock, and the engraved ROLEX inner ring arrived during the 116233 generation^10,47,66.

None of this proves a watch is genuine. Rolex's own answer is to buy from a jeweller in its retail network, which Rolex says guarantees authenticity⁶⁷; our guide to telling whether a Rolex is real explains the limits.

How many were made

Nobody outside Rolex knows. Rolex publishes no production figures, for the company or for any model. The only numbers are analyst estimates: Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult estimate that Rolex sold about 1.15 million watches in 2025⁶⁸, and say their figures were not provided by the brands⁶⁹. That covers every model, and none of it is broken down by reference.

The dubious part

The Datejust is the Rolex people buy to be sensible. Sensible people, it turns out, tend to own two: one in 36 mm, and one to prove they tried the 41.