Is a Vintage Rolex DateJust Still Worth Buying in 2021? 

I've owned one since 1974 Two Tone Rolex Datejust with a silver linen Dial paid $350 great watch !

I love the engine turned bezels and jubilee bracelets offered on vintage pieces. I chose my newer black DJ 36mm 126200 on oyster due to the movement and updated materials though. If I plan to keep it and hand it down, I prefer it’s not already 50+ years old to begin with.

Definitely enjoyed this video. I have a 1603 DJ with the 1570 caliber (I don't mind having to turn the hands to change the date), and a silver sigma pie pan dial, which I understand is unique in that they only produced the sigma dials, which have white gold hands and indices for a short period. A real collectors watch that will never go out of style. Rolex may make changes to size and materials of the DJ, but I doubt they will ever change the style and looks of this icon.

Great video Guy. I've got the impression from other videos on your channel that you're quite cautious about vintage watches, so good to see such a positive video & I think a vintage Datejust or OP is still a great way to get into vintage generally Rolex for that matter. Unfortunately I think in the comments you will get some negativity as there is a lot of hate around for Rolex in general at the moment!

Out of all Rolex watches old and new that would be my pick. Even the dial color is it. I had one of these back in the eighties and nineties and regretfully sold.

Another excellent and informative video Guy.

Great video guy lovely piece as well

Stunning lugs .. so elegant, but I'm going with the Explorer 36mm for not much more than $6k

What watch collectors don't get is owning a Rolex is an earned event in their lives. Handed down from father to son, mother to daughter, grandfather to grandkids. I have 3 datejust watches and each one means something special. I think flipping watches are a short term fad. Rolex will get caught up and that market will dry up. Rolex sitting in a safe unworn is a true waste. Wearing a watch that only 1% of people have any idea what you are wearing is a waste in my opinion. Wear it, tell it's story, pass it down, enjoy the work of art they are. Great video.

Love mine; a gift from my dad, it's older than me and still going strong!

Had a date just, stainless steel version, bought in 1979, my first real personal reward from some business accomplishments, well in 1986, I left it in a gym locker and I was only gone 10 minutes and someone took it, to this day, I miss that watch, BYW, insurance cover the costs,

I paid 2500 for my 1601 two tone, now worth easily 6000 (it’s in exceptional condition).

Fantastic video. I recently picked up a 1601 silver dial for 4K on the dot. I truly believe these will be sitting between 6K-8K over the next 3-5 years. Rolex supply is just too limited and the demand is only rising. Thanks for your fabulous reviews!

Thanks for the video! This watch looks like a very nice example. It appears that the owner(s) really took care of the appearance of the watch. The only thing that really gives away its age is the polishing of the engine turned bezel and the ground down lugs - a lot of parts look to be to be modern replacements (including the beautiful pie pan dial.) This isn't really a criticism, I'll bet it was cared for by RSCs (Rolex Service Centers), at least in its last service. The only thing I really don't like (and this gives away that the last service was probably by a RSC) is the crown tube - it's too long! My 1601 from 1972 recently came back from their service looking magnificent except for this problem. No real gripe though, Rolex said that this replacement part only comes this way. Maybe on its next service I'll ask if it can be ground down so that the crown meets the case when screwed down. You were spot on about the size of the watch. These days, my beater is an SKX (on strapcode "oyster") and recently I dug out my datejust and slapped it on my wrist (6.5 inch) just for kicks. It looked like a woman's watch, even on my puny wrist!

I have an Oyster with the dark blue dal face which was purchased in the late sixties or early seventies It was my father's watch that he wore daily. I still wear it and it still runs great. It has been cleaned a couple of times but no real work was done. I have a very narrow wrist and it suits me fine. It's has been running for a little more than fifty years at my age I will never need another watch. Happily, hat collecting is cheaper than watch collecting. 😄

White dials sell for more than black dials. Jubilee rim is practical for scratch prevention. 36 size is nice in that it is unisex.

There is something cool about a vintage date just, I just don’t think I could spend so much given the pressed steel clasp and end links. Vintage look great on leather but I am a huge fan of the modern Rolex bracelet. It’s a work of marvel with the machining involved. Plus the 5 year warranty and a 10 year service interval and knowing the history of the watch with it not having any. Record the passage of time with the watch having only been on your wrist, wait long enough and you will be wearing a vintage rolex

I love my engine turned bezel and blue dial with Roman numerals.

What's the difference between the 1603 and 1601?

At $5k definitely not. When the modern iteration is so much better in every department, for what 40% more. You can't even say the case design as they slimmed the whole lineup in 2019.

36mm is perfect size and I have a 7.75 wrist

I believe that the older pie pan dialed Datejusts look classier that what is offered today. I can't stand their name emblazoned around the perimeter of the dial. It just looks unseemly.

Def not the original bracelet. But cool watch. I have a two tone 72.

Better looking than the modern datejust

really nice dial. Hurts my soul to see the condition of the lugs though. The spring bars are poking out of the holes :'( I know its an old watch from a different era, but still pains me XD

Great looking watch, but hands and dial seem to have been replaced. Maybe not the fairest representation of what a 1603 would look like. But at least the over-polished lugs are aligned with what you can expect hehe.. Jokes aside. Good video, currently looking to purchase a DJ myself.

Man... The future is so tough on these. I grabbed an 1999 16234 for 3k and it's referenced up to 7.5k now. I mean... Yeah! Ha!

Rolex quero compra um

its a classic... i like it..... just to small for me........ cheers

Hell there still worth buying 😊

Real

It’s a cool watch and this example looks almost new, to my eyes anyway. I also much prefer a machine turned bezel on a steel Datejust to a fluted one. But no way would I pay 5 grand for this! After all It’s still just a 70s era jingly jangly vintage Rolex with inferior build quality and reliability as compared to their more contemporary models. I think it’s worth at a maximum…from 2 to 3 grand, nominally under 2. But because it’s “Rolex” that’s not what they go for anymore 😒

Thats a frankenwatch, the dial has been changed.

I find those DJ so boring... Like you said, the Rolex for everybody

Beutiful

For the record, NO Rolex watches are worth buying in 2021. New or used (excuse me, I meant vintage). They are all over priced and have been for the better part of 15 years. You get better value for your money elsewhere in Watch World. Resale value you say? Are you into watches or into Rolex?