Searching For That Rolex

[SAA1371]

Gd Day All,

I'm new to this forum and only a 2-day old Rolex owner. I'm hoping someone may be able to shed some light into a Rolex that I've been searching for awhile.

My father bought a Rolex in the mid 1980s (84-85) but some years later had to sell it for financial reasons. He is now in his last years and I thought I would buy him that watch which he was once so fond of. Unfortunately, his memories have faded and he can't remember much. The only information I have are:

- It had a White dial
- Had a leather strap and later he fitted a gold bracelet.
- I still have the box that it came with. Its a brown leather box with a buckle on the side of the lid. Below the box, its stamped "MONTRES ROLEX S.A. - GENEVE SUISSE 56.00.2".

I Googled for a while and am inclined to think it could be a Datejust 16013?

Thanks for reading and would love to hear from you.

[SAA1371]

Latest info is that it had Roman numerals on the dial... Closing the gap folks...

[Damienic]

I think it's a date just 16013. Other experts would like to comment?

[Darkangel]

Gd Day All,

I'm new to this forum and only a 2-day old Rolex owner. I'm hoping someone may be able to shed some light into a Rolex that I've been searching for awhile.

My father bought a Rolex in the mid 1980s (84-85) but some years later had to sell it for financial reasons. He is now in his last years and I thought I would buy him that watch which he was once so fond of. Unfortunately, his memories have faded and he can't remember much. The only information I have are:

- It had a White dial
- Had a leather strap and later he fitted a gold bracelet.
- I still have the box that it came with. Its a brown leather box with a buckle on the side of the lid. Below the box, its stamped "MONTRES ROLEX S.A. - GENEVE SUISSE 56.00.2".

I Googled for a while and am inclined to think it could be a Datejust 16013?

Thanks for reading and would love to hear from you.

Well, brown leather box with buckle on the side is meant for Daydates.

Possibly a 18038

[SAA1371]

Thank you Damienic.

Darkangel: That's interesting. Thank you for that. Trying to figure out how to post a image here.

[Damienic]

Thank you Damienic.

Darkangel: That's interesting. Thank you for that. Trying to figure out how to post a image here.

Looks like I'm still wrong and the experts here were able to make the identification because of the box.

[pegasi]

Doesn't your father at least remember if the watch is half or full gold? It is not impossible that the seller gave the wrong box during those days when people cared more about receipt than the cert and box.

Anyway, it looks like he will never be sure if it is the same model whatever the conclusion of your search, and my guess is, to him it will never be the same. So why not just get one that you think he will like - it could be similar to the one he had, but whatever it is I think he will refer to it as "the Rolex my son bought me" and be very happy and proud about it.

[SAA1371]

Doesn't your father at least remember if the watch is half or full gold? It is not impossible that the seller gave the wrong box during those days when people cared more about receipt than the cert and box.

Anyway, it looks like he will never be sure if it is the same model whatever the conclusion of your search, and my guess is, to him it will never be the same. So why not just get one that you think he will like - it could be similar to the one he had, but whatever it is I think he will refer to it as "the Rolex my son bought me" and be very happy and proud about it.

Pegasi, thank you for that. Not sure if its full or half gold but can rule out daydate as it didn't have the day function. Anyway, you're right. He'd be happy even if I bought a Citizen for him. I just want to get something as close as possible. I'm gonna start doing some searching with 2nd hand dealers to see if they have any 16013.

Thanks everyone!

[Darkangel]

Umm...Possibly a 16013 then fitted with aftermarket Gold president style bracelet. It's quite a common thing back then.

Agreed with Pegasi , I believe he will appreciate it cos it came from you!

[SAA1371]

Umm...Possibly a 16013 then fitted with aftermarket Gold president style bracelet. It's quite a common thing back then.

Agreed with Pegasi , I believe he will appreciate it cos it came from you!

Thanks Darkangel!

[ejong]

You're a good man.

Darkangel is right, lots of the older folks fitted their rolexes with aftermarket bracelets. Maybe you can check out some of the pawnshops etc in Chinatown? They may have.

Best of luck.

[Trinidad]

If he had fitted it with a gold bracelet, it should hv been a full gold watch.
It wouldnt make sense to fit a gold bracelet to a half gold watch.

If it came truly original with a brown leather gold crown buckle box it means it must be a full gold Rolex (not necessarily Daydate although commonly so) but the box reference seems earlier than 80s.

And if TS is sure there was no Day function , then it is likely to be the fullgold Datejust 1601-8
The other possibility i think could be the full gold oysterdate 1501-8

Any more clues?

[Trinidad]

The missing piece to the "mystery" is really on whether it is a full gold or half gold.

Can TS confirm it was bought new from Rolex AD?

If so, the box that came with it originally would confirm that it was indeed a full gold.
Although Rolex may not have a definite box for the datejust, (due to variations), there were definite boxes for full gold watches (especially Daydate)

And 56.00.2 is one of them. However, i understand the 56.00.2 to be a pre 80s box.

[SAA1371]

Thanks guys. Its does make sense that a gold bracelet would be fitted on a full gold watch, if not it would just look weird. But an post from a forum bro was right. It might not matter. My dad would just enjoy this Rolex more than he did his previous one.

Thanks again guys!

[SAA1371]

Thank you all for your advice. I found a 16013 in a rather good condition and still with its acrylic cover. Now its worn on the wrist of my father. I hope now, in his last days, it brings back some good ol memories...