Sell your Datejust · South Florida · by appointment
Sell your Datejust to a dealer who prices every variable.
Six case sizes, four bezels, three bracelets, three metals, and more dials than any other Rolex. Send photos and I reply within 1 business day with an offer and the reasons for it.
- Size, bezel, bracelet, and metal read from the reference between the lugs
- Factory diamonds and aftermarket stones told apart before the number
- Prepaid insured FedEx label, or an appointment in your county
Who this page is for
The Datejust is the Rolex most people inherit.
This page is for the owner of a Datejust who wants to know whether theirs is worth selling and what the offer turns on. Many were gifts or came from a parent, and a marketplace listing for a different size or metal is not a useful guide.
No other Rolex has as many variables. The case runs from 26 mm to 41 mm. The bezel is smooth, fluted, engine-turned, or diamond. The bracelet is Jubilee, Oyster, or President. The metal is steel, Rolesor, or full gold. The dial can be one of dozens, and its stones may or may not have been set by Rolex.
Serial eras, card versus papers, polishing, and service parts are explained on the Rolex page. Here I cover only the Datejust: which family yours belongs to, what each variable does to the offer, and what must be in your photos.
Selling a Datejust to a private dealer
What a Datejust buyer does differently.
Size and metal read from the reference
The reference between the lugs tells me the case size, bezel, and metal before I see the dial. A 16233 and a 16234 look alike in a photo and are not priced alike.
Factory stones told from aftermarket
Rolex-set diamonds raise the offer. Stones added later, on the dial or on a steel bezel, lower it. I tell you which you have and why.
A stretched Jubilee is priced, not refused
Older hollow-link Jubilee bracelets stretch. I note it and price it. You do not need to replace the bracelet before you sell.
Paid within 24 hours of inspection
Wire or check within 24 hours of the in-person inspection. You choose the method before the watch ships.
What I check on a Datejust
Six things that move a Datejust offer.
Each is specific to the Datejust. Papers, polish, and service history are on the Rolex page.
Case size
26, 28, 31, 34, 36, or 41 mm. The 36 is the deepest market. The 26 and 28 trade on their own terms, and the 41 splits into Datejust II and Datejust 41.
Bezel
Smooth, fluted, engine-turned, or diamond. On a steel watch a fluted bezel is white gold. Engine-turned bezels are no longer made and have their own following.
Bracelet
Jubilee, Oyster, or President. Older Jubilee bracelets have hollow links that stretch; newer ones are solid. The clasp should match the age of the watch.
Metal
Steel, yellow or Everose Rolesor, or full gold. Full gold is priced partly on the metal, two-tone and steel almost entirely on the reference and condition.
Dial
Wimbledon, palm, fluted motif, mother of pearl, diamond markers, a vintage Buckley. A rare factory dial lifts the offer; a refinished or aftermarket dial lowers it.
Factory or aftermarket stones
Rolex sets diamonds in gold and notes them on the papers. Stones set later into a steel bezel or dial mark the watch as modified and lower the offer.
How it works
Four steps, Datejust photos in the first.
01
Get an offer
Submit the appraisal form with photos of the dial in daylight, the bezel from above, the bracelet laid flat with the clasp open, the case back, the reference between the lugs, and the card or papers. If there are diamonds, a close photo of the setting. I reply personally within 1 business day.
02
Ship or meet
Take the prepaid, fully insured FedEx label, or book an appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach.
03
Inspect and confirm
I open the box on camera and check the reference, bezel, bracelet, dial, stones, serial, and papers. If the watch matches the photos, the offer stands.
04
Get paid
Wire or check within 24 hours of inspection. If we do not agree, the watch goes back to you, insured, at my cost.
36 against 41
The two sizes most sellers ask about.
Neither is simply worth more. They have different buyers.
| Criteria | Datejust 36 | Datejust II and Datejust 41 |
|---|---|---|
| References | 1601 and 1603, 16014, 16234, 116234, 126234, and their smooth and two-tone siblings | Datejust II 116300 and 116334 (2009 to 2016); Datejust 41 126300 and 126334 (from 2016) |
| Case | 36 mm, unchanged in proportion for decades | 41 mm; the Datejust II is thicker with a wider bezel, the Datejust 41 is slimmer |
| Bracelet | Jubilee or Oyster; President on gold | Jubilee or Oyster |
| Who buys it | The widest pool of Rolex buyers, vintage and modern | Buyers who want a larger modern watch; the Datejust 41 is preferred over the II |
| What lowers the offer | Stretched hollow Jubilee, aftermarket stones, a refinished dial, a polished fluted bezel | A Datejust II mistaken for a 41 in the listing, missing links, a chipped bezel edge |
| What I need in photos | The reference, the bracelet code on the clasp, the dial in daylight | The reference, to separate 1163xx from 1263xx, and the dial |
These are directions, not figures. I show which rows moved your number, and by how much, in the reply.
The detail
What moves a Datejust offer, variable by variable.
Six sizes, and which family yours belongs to
The Lady-Datejust is 26 mm, and 28 mm from 2015. The 31 mm sits between the ladies' and men's lines. The 34 mm is the Oyster Perpetual Date, which most people call a Datejust 34. The 36 mm is the Datejust proper and the deepest market. The 41 mm came as the Datejust II in 2009 and the Datejust 41 in 2016. The first digits of the reference place the watch in its family, so send a clear photo of the engraving between the lugs at twelve o'clock.
Two relatives are priced as separate cases: the Turn-O-Graph, with a rotating bezel, and the Oysterquartz, with a quartz movement and an angular case. If yours is one of these, say so.
The 36 mm generations: 1601 to 126234
The 1601 (fluted), 1603 (engine-turned), and 1600 (smooth) ran through the 1960s and 1970s with an acrylic crystal and a date that is set by winding the hands through midnight. The 16014, 16030, and 16000 arrived around 1977 with a sapphire crystal, quickset date, and calibre 3035. The 16234, 16220, and 16200, with the two-tone 16233, followed from the late 1980s on calibre 3135.
The 116234 family, from the mid-2000s, brought solid end links and a sturdier clasp. The 126234 family, from 2018, moved to calibre 3235 with a longer power reserve. A 16234 and a 116234 look nearly identical from across a room and are not priced the same.
Datejust II and Datejust 41 are not the same watch
Both are 41 mm. The Datejust II, 116300 and 116334, was made from 2009 to 2016 on calibre 3136, with a thicker case and a wider bezel. The Datejust 41, 126300 and 126334, replaced it in 2016 on calibre 3235, with slimmer proportions. Buyers prefer the 41, and listings often blur the two. The reference settles it.
Bezels: smooth, fluted, engine-turned, diamond
On a steel Datejust the fluted bezel is white gold, which is why Rolex calls that watch white Rolesor. The smooth bezel is steel. The engine-turned bezel was dropped in the 2000s and has a following of its own. A factory diamond bezel comes on gold or Rolesor cases. A fluted bezel that has been polished loses the sharp edges of its flutes, and I can see that in a photo from above.
Jubilee, Oyster, President, and bracelet stretch
The five-link Jubilee was made for the Datejust. Older Jubilee bracelets have hollow centre links that stretch with wear, and a bracelet that droops when held by the clasp is priced as stretched. Jubilee bracelets from the 116234 generation onward have solid links. The three-link Oyster stretches less. The President appears on gold Datejusts and Lady-Datejusts. Do not replace a stretched bracelet before selling; the cost rarely comes back in the offer.
Metal: steel, Rolesor, full gold
A steel Datejust is priced on reference, condition, and set. Two-tone Rolesor, yellow or Everose gold with steel, currently trades close to steel for many references. Full gold is priced partly on the weight of the metal, so a worn gold Datejust has a floor that a worn steel one does not.
Dials, and factory versus aftermarket stones
Rolex has made dozens of Datejust dials. The slate Wimbledon dial with green Roman numerals, the palm and fluted motif dials from 2021, mother of pearl, and factory diamond markers are all documented and raise interest. On a vintage 1601 or 1603 a Buckley dial with painted Roman numerals is its own market. A dial that has been refinished reads flat under a loupe and lowers the offer.
Factory diamonds are set by Rolex into gold, and the warranty card or papers describe them. Aftermarket stones are usually set into a steel bezel or dial, with a different cut and setting quality, and they mark the watch as modified. They lower the offer below a plain example of the same reference. Do not have them removed before selling; the drilling is already done, and the original bezel is usually gone. Sell it as it is and I will price it honestly.
When selling to me is not the right call
If the Datejust was a parent's and you are undecided, keep it; the choice can wait. If you have a rare factory dial or an unusual vintage reference, an auction may reach a collector I cannot, and I will say so after inspection. If you want a clean, insured sale with one person inspecting the watch and payment within 24 hours of that inspection, this is the right page.
How to prepare your Datejust submission
- The dial straight on in daylight, close enough to read the text and see every marker.
- The bezel from directly above, so flutes, engine-turning, or stones read clearly.
- The bracelet laid flat, and held by the clasp if it is a Jubilee, so stretch shows.
- The clasp open, with the bracelet code and clasp code visible.
- The reference between the lugs, the case back, and the warranty card or papers beside the watch.
- A close photo of any diamonds, and whether you know who set them.
Questions, answered
Before you send a Datejust
My Datejust has aftermarket diamonds. Do you still buy it?
Yes. The offer sits below a plain example of the same reference, because the stones mark the watch as modified. Do not have them removed first; sell it as it is.
Is a two-tone Datejust worth less than steel?
Not as a rule. For many references two-tone trades close to steel. Reference, condition, dial, and set decide it.
The Jubilee bracelet is loose. Does that lower the offer?
A stretched hollow-link Jubilee lowers the offer somewhat, and I price it rather than refuse it. Replacing the bracelet first rarely pays back.
Is a 36 or a 41 worth more?
Neither by default. The 36 has the widest pool of buyers. Among the 41s, the Datejust 41 from 2016 is preferred to the Datejust II that came before it.
Do you buy Lady-Datejust models?
Yes, 26, 28, and 31 mm, in steel, Rolesor, and gold. Gold examples on a President bracelet carry a metal floor; steel ones are priced on reference and condition.
Sell your Datejust
A real number on your Datejust, in 1 business day.
Send the dial, bezel, bracelet, and card photos listed above. I reply personally with an offer and the variables behind it. Insured shipping is on me. Payout within 24 hours of inspection.