In recent weeks, I have been mulling a two part question over and over in my head. The first part being what is the most versatile watch that money can buy? And also, what is the ultimate ‘one-watch’ collection? Conveniently, in my eyes certainly; both these questions provide the same answer, and that being, the brilliant Rolex DateJust. Now, if any of you are avid fans like we are here at TYH, of the likes of FredericoTalksWatches, and ASKT&H on youtube, you will be no stranger to the merits of this fantastic little piece.
The current iteration of this fantastic watch, the reference 116200, is an amalgamation if you will of all the good Datejust references from years gone by. It sits in what i consider to be the sweet spot of case sizes, at 36mm. The beauty of this is that you get the vintage size of 36mm, but with all the modern engineering of 21st century Rolex. Which includes, amongst other things, the movement. The Datejust carries the famous Caliber 3135 movement, a stalwart of Rolex’s watchmaking since the late 80’s. This movement is COSC Certified, and comes with a handsome 50 hour power reserve.
But, as the title of the article suggests, my main focus is on the true versatility of this great watch. I believe, if worn correctly, and put on appropriate straps, there is no occasion where this watch could not be worn. On a crocodile strap with black tie, on a jubilee or oyster with a suit, or a nato in the gym, this watch looks great in every occasion, as you can see below.
The other thing that aids the versatility of this watch is the variety of ways in which you can buy it. Due to the seemingly never ending options for bracelet, dial colour and numerals, this watch can be customised to suit you, and therefore makes it even more versatile, as it is tailored to your personal preference. Dials come in a variety of colours of most tones from gold to white, and everything in-between with roman numerals or standard stick markers. This variety in dial options means that the sheer amount of Datejusts out on the market is much more vast than most other watches. As can be seen in the attached photos, with a plain white dial iteration with silver stick markers, white dial with gold stick markers, and a full gold case, dial and stick marker variety.
If any of you, like me, have been reading this article and have fallen in love with this fantastic time piece, here are a few recommendations for websites where you can purchase one, or even just drool over endless variations, as i spend most of my nights in bed doing! The first one is www.alexpig.com, a Hong Kong based dealer who has one of; in my opinion, the best collection of vintage rolex's for sale that I have ever seen, including a wide selection of fantastic vintage DateJusts. Then, as most of you will know, there are the old stalwarts of the second hand watch market, www.Chrono24.com and of course www.Ebay.co.uk.
To summarise, the answers to my two original questions are Datejust and Datejust. For anywhere between £1000 and £2000 second hand, and about £3000 brand new, you can get the only watch you would ever need, if that was what you were after. But, as we all know, catching the bug is something that is hard to avoid once you have bought one, and this particular piece is something that would definitely spark a love of watches. You have been warned.
Felix Arnold
Editor and Co-Founder