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Rolex is one of the most amazing brands when it comes to vintage timepieces. From an early time, they were a very structured and industrialized company focusing on producing the highest possible quality timepieces.
Rolex marked the cases with reference numbers to distinguish their watchmodels. In addition, they introduced a serial number system which helps date your Rolex timepiece.
Last but not least, they also marked the movements with a number, although I am not sure how this number can help collectors to date the movements. Rolex may know something which they do not want to release in this case.
Rolex dates bracelets as well, at least up to the 1970s. They explicitly put the last two digits of the year and the quarter of the year on the clasp. That will be another blog topic soon to come.
| Year | From | To |
| ——— | ——— | ——— |
| 1927 | 20190 | 21691 |
| 1928 | 23969 | 24747 |
| 1929 | 28290 | |
| 1930 | 29312 | |
| 1931 | ||
| 1932 | 29312 | |
| 1933 | 29933 | |
| 1934 | 30823 | |
| 1935 | 34336 | 35365 |
| 1936 | 36856 | 37569 |
| 1937 | 40920 | |
| 1938 | 43793 | |
| 1939 | 71224 | |
| 1940 | 99775 | |
| 1941 | 106047 | |
| 1942 | 143509 | 202026 |
| 1943 | 230878 | |
| 1944 | 269561 | |
| 1945 | 302459 | |
| 1946 | 367946 | 387216 |
| 1947 | 529163 | |
| 1948 | 628840 | |
| 1949 | ||
| 1950 | ||
| 1951 | 709249 | 710776 |
| 1952 | 726639 | 840396 |
| 1953 | 793930 | 973830 |
| 1954 | 976195 | 43325 (Rolex crossed the 1 Million serialnumber in 1954 and reset the numbering to 0) |
| 1955 | 30634 | 1297XX |
| 1956 | 139400 | 217821 |
| 1957 | 216821 | 358XXX |
| 1958 | 353343 | 426510 |
| 1959 | 399XXX | 502683 |
| 1960 | 511687 | 642993 |
| 1961 | 6469XX | 702XXX |
| 1962 | 763663 | 894XXX |
| 1963 | 95XXXX | 1021800 |
| 1964 | 997436 | 1195238 |
| 1965 | 1193XXX | 1259699 |
| 1966 | 1289727 | 1557XXX |
| 1967 | 1554XXX | 186XXXX |
| 1968 | 1720977 | 2477152 |
| 1969 | 2060XXX | 22927XX |
| 1970 | 242XXXX | 2959XXX |
| 1971 | 2728XXX | 3037XXX |
| 1972 | 305XXXX | 3478400 |
| 1973 | 3523678 | 3741300 |
| 1974 | 3761535 | 4194183 |
| 1975 | 3886050 | 4267100 |
| 1976 | 4155863 | 4538000 |
| 1977 | 5008000 | 5367817 |
| 1978 | 5238376 | 5737030 |
| 1979 | 5952834 | 6122790 |
| 1980 | 6434000 | |
| 1981 | 6594XXX | 6910000 |
| 1982 | 7129351 | 7437845 |
| 1983 | 7862000 | 8085072 |
| 1984 | 8338000 | |
| 1985 | 8624000 | 8734XXX |
| 1986 | 9290000 | 9824763 |
| 1987 | 9863279 |
The above list is based on the following website:
http://www.oysterworld.de/production-dates.html
According to a friend and collector who is also a reputable dealer in Switzerland, this is another list with quite different serialnumbers to date your watch. The list starts in 1954. Since Rolex does not reveal any information on dating their watches, all serialnumber lists are based on research, assumptions and experiences by collectors and dealers. None of the lists can claim perfection or absolute knowledge. Here you go:
Year From To
1954 0 49.999
1955 50.000 149.000
1956 150.000 249.999
1957 250.000 349.999
1958 350.000 449.999
1959 450.000 549.999
1960 550.000 649.000
1961 650.000 754.999
1962 755.000 864.999
1963 865.000 999.999
1964 1.000.000 1.104.999
1965 1.105.000 1.274.462
1966 1.274.463 1.486.727
1967 1.486.728 1.707.765
1968 1.707.766 1.944.412
1969 1.944.413 2.241.881
1970 2.241.882 2.589.295
1971 2.589.296 2.890.459
1972 2.890.460 3.200.268
1973 3.200.269 3.567.927
1974 3.567.928 3.862.196
1975 3.862.197 4.115.299
1976 4.115.300 4.259.077
1976 5.000.000 5.084.530
1977 4.259.078 4.275.948
1977 5.084.531 5.431.669
1978 4.275.949 4.302.519
1978 5.431.670 5.864.676
1979 4.302.520 4.328.181
1979 5.864.677 6.206.763
1980 6.206.764 6.558.532
1980 4.328.182 4.353.222
1981 6.558.533 6.769.991
1981 6.770.000 6.775.999
1981 6.780.000 6.780.300
1981 6.900.000 6.905.164
1981 7.000.001 7.127.159
1981 4.353.223 4.372.001
1982 6.905.165 6.924.253
1982 7.127.150 7.598.372
1983 6.924.467 6.942.320
1983 7.598.373 7.658.554
1983 7.660.000 7.663.770
1983 8.000.000 8.374.314
1984 7.658.555 7.659.592
1984 6.942.321 6.947.518
1984 8.374.315 8.785.124
1985 8.785.125 9.154.160
1985 6.947.519 6.947.552
1985 6.947.560 6.947.802
1986 9.154.161 9.861.146
I know that there are a lot of times when the numbering system is incongruent. Many questions are still open, and we may never fully know how to date your Rolex exactly. These lists are just a tool to help you get an idea, and most likely your watch was produced at least within a year or so of the mentioned lists). I have a list which I may not publish, however, this list is very close to the above list. Could be a good sign.
Rolex changed the numbering system by including a letter in front of the serialnumber in 1987:
1987 9.861.147 9.899.999
1987 R 200.000 R 644.815
—
1988 R 644.816 R 999.999
1988 S 100.000 S 102.241
1988 L 200.000 L 213.780
1989 L 213.781 L 826.652
1990 L 826.653 L 999.999
1990 E 100.000 E 465.654
1991 E 465.655 E 999.999
1991 X 100.000 X 163.441
1992 N 100.000 N 119.463
1993 X
1994 N + S
1995 S + W
1996 T
1997 U Aug.
1998 A Nov.
1999 A (Around 1999 Rolex stopped using Tritium on their dials as luminous and introduced Superluminva, there are watches
known from 1998 using Superluminova as well, and there are dials which still have the Tritiumm designation at 6 o’clock
yet are using Superluminova)
2000 P Jan.
2001 K Sept.
2002 Y Sept.
2003 F Sept.
2004 F
2005 D April
2006 Z Mai
Starting 1987, Rolex changed their numbering system by adding letters in the first position, this is a simplified list while the above list is more “accurate” I would believe:
| Letter | Started in: |
| R | 1987 |
| L | 1988 |
| E | 1990 |
| X | 1991 |
| N | 1991 (possibly November) |
| C | 1992 |
| S | 1993 |
| W | 1995 |
| T | 1996 |
| U | 1997 (August) |
| A | 1998 (November) |
| P | 2000 (January) |
| K | 2001 (September) |
| Y | 2002 (September) |
| F | 2003 (September) |
| D | 2005 (April) |
| Z | 2006 (May) |
| M | 2007 (August) |
| V | 2008 (August) |
| G | 2010 (June) |
There are two kinds of serialnumbers known to represent a servicecase: 4.4 million and 4.7 million. So please do not use serialnumbers starting with these numbers to date your Rolex. These are watches where the case was replaced. This does not make them bad watches, however, for collectors it plays a role in the valuation of the watch.
After 2010, Rolex again changed their system. This time, they are using eight digits instead of 7 digits. In addition, the new numbering system does not allow you to date your watch anymore. The numbers and letters are generated by accident and have no meaning any more, at least not for us collectors. I am sure Rolex knows more, but nothing has been revealed to anyone sofar.
———————
Looking around with the help of Google, you will find many more lists, and some have completely different serial numbers for the years they date the watch. I do not know how these lists come together and what they are ultimately based on, however, I want to share everything I can find with you so you can base your best decision on the information provided.
Other websites talking about dating your Rolex based on serial numbering:
http://www.qualitytyme.net/pages/numbers.html
https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-serial-numbers
Same list as above: https://www.watches.co.uk/rolex-serial-numbers/
https://beckertime.com/lookup-rolex-serial-by-year/
https://www.bernardwatch.com/Rolex-Serial-Numbers
I will make this blogpost a continuing project, and if you can contribute anything, or have suggestions or corrections, please contact me on my email: info(at)watchesandart.com