The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust is a self-winding chronometer manufactured by Rolex. Launched in 1945, the Datejust was the first self-winding chronometer wristwatch to indicate the date in a window on the dial. [1] [2] Today, it is available in a variety of sizes from 28mm to 41mm, in stainless steel, two-tone gold, and solid gold versions. [3]
Rolex introduced the original Datejust (reference 4467) in 1945 to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary. [4] It was available only in 18 karat yellow gold and had a small bubble back winder with a domed back. It also featured the company's waterproof Oyster case (first introduced in 1926 [4] ), a fluted bezel, and the new Jubilee bracelet (so named for the occasion). [5] [4]
Over the years, the Datejust saw an expansion of its design options as well as improvements to its movement, from a gradual date change shortly before midnight in the earliest versions to an instantaneous change beginning in 1955. [6]
The Datejust is offered with two Rolex bracelets: the Jubilee and the Oyster. The original Datejust was launched with a case size of 36mm. [7] Subsequently, various sizes including ladies' and mid-sized versions were made available. The Turn-O-Graph model was introduced in 1955 as an award given to US Air Force pilots returning from combat missions. It featured a rotating bezel marked to 60 minutes, which can be used to measure time intervals. Datejust watches of this type have been nicknamed "Thunderbirds". This watch would form the basis for the Rolex Explorer (designed for Sir Edmund Hillary's Mount Everest expedition), the Rolex Submariner, and the Rolex Sea-Dweller. [2]
In 2009, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust II was released. At 41mm in diameter (excluding the crown) its case is bigger than the original Datejust. [8]
In 2016, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust 41 was released. [9] The watch comes in stainless steel, and two-tone stainless steel and 18k yellow or 18k everose gold (Rolex's version of rose gold) bracelets. The 2016 41mm Datejust is on an Oyster or Jubilee bracelet. While the Datejust 41 has a similar-sized 41mm diameter case as the Datejust II, the Datejust 41 has smaller indexes and a thinner bezel compared to the Datejust II. [10]
In this year, Rolex also introduced the new Caliber 3235 movement, which replaces more than 90% of the parts of its predecessor, the Caliber 3135 - Rolex's longest running and most successful movement. Caliber 3235 includes a new escapement, the Chronergy, along with other significant improvements, and provides a 70-hour power reserve while maintaining the same dimensions as its predecessor. [11]
At Baselworld 2015, Rolex announced that the Lady-Datejust 26mm would be replaced by a newer 28mm variant, with a new Caliber 2236 movement, refined lugs and middle case, a broad and clear dial, as well as a President or Jubilee bracelet integrated into the Oyster case. [12]
As of 2019, the Datejust lineup consists of the following sizes: 28mm, 31mm, 34mm, 36mm, 41mm - which come in either full stainless steel, two-tone gold (yellow, Everose or white) and stainless steel, or solid gold (yellow, Everose and white) case and bracelet. [13]
In the book version of American Psycho, Patrick Bateman owns an unspecified Rolex. [14] In the movie version, Bateman (played by Christian Bale) wears a two-tone Seiko 5 that resembles a Rolex Datejust, as Rolex did not want to be associated with the character. [15]
In The Informers some of the cast wear Datejust watches. [16]
Paul Newman wears a full stainless steel 36mm Datejust in The Color of Money . [17]
Alin Busi owns this watch model.
Harrison Ford sports a Datejust 36mm in the 1980s movie Frantic, which featured a white Roman numeral dial, white gold bezel and stainless steel jubilee bracelet and case. [18]
Bill Murray's character wears a Datejust with a black dial in Lost in Translation . [19]
Matthew McConaughey's character in The Wolf of Wall Street wears a 90's Rolesor (two-toned stainless steel and gold) Datejust. [20]
Edie Falco consistently wears a 90s-era women's Datejust in her role as Carmela throughout the run of The Sopranos. [21]
Rolex SA is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered Rolex as the brand name of its watches in 1908 and became Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. in 1915. After World War I, the company moved its base of operations to Geneva because of the unfavorable economy in the United Kingdom. In 1920, Hans Wilsdorf registered Montres Rolex SA in Geneva as the new company name ; it later became Rolex SA. Since 1960, the company has been owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private family trust.
The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is a mechanical chronograph wristwatch designed to meet the needs of racing drivers by measuring elapsed time and calculating average speed. Its name refers to Daytona, Florida, where racing flourished in the early 20th century. It has been manufactured by Rolex since 1963 in four distinct generations ; the second series was introduced in 1988, the third in 2000 and the fourth in 2023. While cosmetically similar, the second series introduced a self-winding movement, and the third series brought manufacture of the movement in-house to Rolex.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date GMT Master is part of the Rolex Professional Watch Collection. Designed in collaboration with the now defunct Pan American Airways of the United States for use by their pilots and navigators, it was launched in 1954.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner is a line of sports watches designed for diving and manufactured by Rolex, resistant to water and corrosion. The first Submariner was introduced to the public in 1954 at the Basel Watch Fair. It was the first watch to be waterproof up to 100 metres (330 ft). The Rolex Submariner is considered "a classic among wristwatches", manufactured by one of the most widely recognized luxury brands in the world. Due to its huge popularity, there are many homage watches by well-established watchmakers, as well as illegal counterfeits. The Rolex Submariner is part of Rolex's Professional line.
A diving watch, also commonly referred to as a diver's or dive watch, is a watch designed for underwater diving that features, as a minimum, a water resistance greater than 1.1 MPa (11 atm), the equivalent of 100 m (330 ft). The typical diver's watch will have a water resistance of around 200 to 300 m, though modern technology allows the creation of diving watches that can go much deeper. A true contemporary diver's watch is in accordance with the ISO 6425 standard, which defines test standards and features for watches suitable for diving with underwater breathing apparatus in depths of 100 m (330 ft) or more. Watches conforming to ISO 6425 are marked with the word DIVER'S to distinguish ISO 6425 conformant diving watches from watches that might not be suitable for actual scuba diving.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Sea-Dweller is a line of diver's watches manufactured by Rolex, with an underwater diving depth rating of 1,220 meters and up to 3,900 metres (12,800 ft) for the Sea-Dweller Deepsea variant. In 2022 the dimensionally large Deepsea Challenge Sea-Dweller variant with an official depth rating of 11,000 metres (36,090 ft) was added to the line. The Rolex Sea-Dweller is part of Rolex's Professional line.
The J12 is a line of Swiss made luxury watches introduced in 1999 by French haute couture house Chanel. The J12 was launched in 1999 and is considered as a unisex watch. The watch was designed by the artistic director of the house, Jacques Hélleu, who found inspiration in the two worlds he loved most: automobiles and sailing. Chanel uses highly scratch-resistant ceramic for the watch's case and bracelet. Other materials are used as well, such as titanium and for one of the house's limited edition watches, sapphires were used to create the entirety of the bracelet and case.
The Rolex Yacht-Master is a luxury sports watch manufactured by Rolex and first introduced in 1992 as Reference 16628 in 18-karat yellow gold. In 1994, Rolex released a lady's model (69628) and a mid-size model (68628) at 35mm, marking the first time in Rolex history that a professional series watch was available in smaller than the standard size case. In 1996, Rolex introduced two-tone to the lady's and mid-size line.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Milgauss is a wristwatch model introduced by Rolex in 1956 with model number 6541. The Milgauss was advertised as “designed to meet the demands of the scientific community working around electromagnetic fields”. The first of its kind, it is capable of withstanding magnetic fields of up to 1,000 gauss and became known for being worn by scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. Its resistance to magnetic interference stems from a shield inside the case made of ferromagnetic alloys, which protects the movement. This shield consists of two components, one screwed to the movement and the other to the case. In addition, its Caliber 3131 movement includes paramagnetic materials.
The Omega Seamaster 200 Omegamatic is a midsize automatic quartz watch that Omega produced from 1997 until 2000. It has stainless steel case and bracelet, screw-in crown and caseback, engraved with the Omega Hippocamp logo, 200 meters water resistant, unidirectional bezel, silver or black dial with orange accents, sapphire crystal (anti-reflective) with magnifying (cyclops) date window, case diameter 36mm, 2.4V capacitor, rotor charging micro generator, quartz controlled stepper motor and quickset date function.
Gérald Charles Genta was a Swiss watchmaker and artist. He is known for his eponymous lines of timepieces, such as Gerald Genta and Gerald Charles, as well as his design work with other high-end watch manufacturers, including IWC, Omega, Universal Genève, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. Genta created the Patek Phillipe Nautilus and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, to date the best-selling models of both houses. He is regarded as one of the most influential people in the history of horology.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date is a COSC certified, self-winding chronometer manufactured by Rolex. Initially presented in 1956, the Day-Date was the first watch to display the date as well as the day, spelled in full. The calendar display is offered in 26 languages.
The Omega Seamaster is a line of automatic winding mechanical diving watches from Omega with a history that can be traced back to the original water-resistant dress-style watch released in 1948. The Seamaster collection is perhaps best known today for the Seamaster Diver Professional 300m model that has been worn in the James Bond movie franchise since 1995. Originally conceived as a dressy, water-resistant timepiece, the Omega Seamaster has evolved to a robust sports watch line, typically with a stainless steel case, robust water resistance, and an official chronometer-certified movement within. The Diver Professional 300m is most famous for its "train-track" five link steel bracelet, its helium release valve at the 10:00 position, the wave pattern dial on certain model generations, and the skeletonized handset.
The Rolex Oysterquartz was a quartz watch made by Rolex.
The Rolex Yacht-Master II is a sport watch made by Rolex, unveiled in 2007 and first introduced in March 2010 with the models 116688 and 116689. One year later, in 2011, Rolex introduced the model 116681 which was made from steel and everose gold. At Baselworld 2013, the watch was available for the first time in 904L steel, the model 116680, fitted with a Cerachrom bezel insert in blue ceramic. Originally, the Yacht-Master II used Rolex's 4160 movement but with the introduction of the model 116680 in 2013, the movement was updated to the 4161 movement specifically designed for the Yacht-Master II. All Yacht-Master II watches have a case size of 44mm.
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The TX Watch Company was launched in 2006 by the Timex Group, an international holding group and corporate parent of global watchmaking companies, including Timex Group USA, Inc., TMX Philippines, Inc., and Timex Group India Ltd.
Montres Tudor SA, or simply Tudor, is a Swiss watchmaker based in Geneva, Switzerland. Registered in 1926 by Hans Wilsdorf, founder of Rolex, the brand remains a sister company to Rolex; both companies are owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation. Tudor was initially known for watches produced for the military and professional divers. From the 1960s to 1980s, several navies issued Tudor Submariners to their divers, including the US Navy SEALs and the French Marine Nationale.
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