The storyWhy this reference matters
Rolex built the reference 1601 from 1959 to 1977, when the 16014 replaced it with a quickset date and a sapphire crystal. It was the fluted-bezel member of the four-digit family: the 1600 had a smooth bezel and the 1603 an engine-turned one, and all three shared the 36 mm Oyster case, the acrylic crystal with its cyclops and the same movement.
Two calibres served inside. Until 1965 the 1565, at 18,000 vibrations per hour; from then on the 1575, at 19,800, which gained hacking seconds around 1972 so the watch could be set to the second. Rolex engraved the plates with the number of the no-date version, 1560 and 1570, so a 1601 with "1570" on the movement is correct, not a replacement.
There is no quickset date: to change it you turn the hands through midnight. It is the daily-use quirk that most surprises anyone coming from a modern watch, and the reason so many show the wrong date in sale photographs. None of that dented its popularity: for two decades this was the Rolex dress watch.
SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table
| Brand | Rolex |
|---|---|
| Family | Datejust |
| Reference | 1601 |
| Years made | 1959–1977 |
| Calibre | Rolex 1565 / 1575 |
| Movement | Automático |
| Frequency | 18.000 alt/h (1565) · 19.800 alt/h (1575) |
| Power reserve | 42-48 h |
| Jewels | 26 |
| Complications | Fecha con lupa cíclope |
| Diameter | 36 mm |
| Lug width | 20 mm |
| Case | Acero Oyster con bisel estriado de oro blanco (también bicolor y oro) |
| Crystal | Plexiglás con lupa cíclope |
| Water resistance | 50 m (165 ft) |
IdentificationHow to tell it apart
The dial of the first two decades is the "pie pan": a flat centre and an outer edge, carrying the minute track and the tritium plots, that slopes downwards. Until 1963 the luminous material was radium and the dial reads only "SWISS"; then comes tritium, marked "T SWISS T". The 1970s bring the "sigma" dials, with a σ either side of that marking to show solid gold markers and hands.
On a steel watch the fluted bezel is white gold, not steel, and the two-tone versions pair steel with yellow or pink gold (reference 1601/3); solid gold examples carry the suffix /8. The period Jubilee bracelet, references 6251H and 62510H, has folded links: it jingles and stretches with the years. A tight one with the correct 20 mm end links is worth a good deal on its own.
The reference is engraved between the lugs at 12 and the serial number between the lugs at 6, and the serial dates the watch to within months. If serial and dial disagree — a sigma dial on a 1961 watch, say — the dial has been changed, even if it is a genuine Rolex part.
CollectingWhat collectors check
On a 1601 the value sits in the dial. Silver and champagne are the everyday ones; black, blue and grey carry a premium, and an example with an untouched original dial is worth more than a flawless one with a refinished dial. A refinished dial gives itself away with print that is too crisp and too even for the age of the case.
Look at the lugs in profile: on an unpolished 1601 the edges stay sharp and the flanks flat. Heavy polishing rounds and thins them, and it cannot be undone. A 1965 watch with an "as new" case has lost metal in somebody's workshop.
And give the box and papers their due: the same watch with its period box and original guarantee costs noticeably more, because they are the only way to know that the dial and bracelet are the ones it left the factory with.
Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference
How long was the Datejust 1601 in production?
From 1959 to 1977, about eighteen years. It was replaced by the reference 16014, which brought the quickset date and the sapphire crystal.
What is the difference between the 1600, 1601 and 1603?
Only the bezel: smooth on the 1600, fluted on the 1601 and engine-turned on the 1603. Case, crystal and movement are the same.
Why does my 1601 have a calibre 1570 and not a 1575?
Because Rolex engraved the plates with the number of the no-date version. The 1575 is the 1570 with a calendar module, and "1570" is what the movement normally reads.
Does it have a quickset date?
No. You turn the hands through midnight each time you want to move the date forward a day. The quickset arrived with the 16014 in 1977.
Keep readingWhere to go from here
Close relativesThe ones it gets confused with
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