Checking of date series of manufacturer

[P1723]

Hi all,new to rolex and would like to ask if there is any official chart or guideline to check the "age" of the watch?
I looked into rolex website but there is none.
Google only more on advice on how they relate but not exactly detailed.
For example,when was the G series?2010?

[profzhu]

There is an estimate. Can take it as a reference. The new random AN serial number cannot tell anymore. You can go to VRF and check out their dial and serial number archive submitted by vintage rolex owners. A very very useful source.


Serial # ........................Date

20000 .............................1927
22500 .............................1928
25000 .............................1929
26500 .............................1930
28000 .............................1931
28500 .............................1932
29000 .............................1933
32000 .............................1934
35000 .............................1935
37000 .............................1936
40000 .............................1937
55000 .............................1938
71000 .............................1939
90000 .............................1940
106000 .............................1941
150000 .............................1942
230000 .............................1943
270000 .............................1944
302000 .............................1945
400000 .............................1946
529000 .............................1947
570000 .............................1948
600000 .............................1949
650000 .............................1950
700000 .............................1951
800000 .............................1952
900000 ...........................1953
10000 to 300000 .........1953 to 1957
(At this time Rolex started the numbering system back at 10000. This time period also saw the start of the "Roman Numeral" dating system explained above.)
350000 .............................1958
400000 ...........................1959
550000 .............................1960
700000 ...........................1961
800000 .............................1962
900000 ...........................1963
1000000 .............................1964
1200000 ...........................1965
1400000 .............................1966
1600000 ...........................1967
1850000 .............................1968
2300000 ...........................1969
2500000 .............................1970
2900000 ...........................1971
3300000 .............................1972
3750000 ...........................1973
3900000 .............................1974
4250000 ...........................1975
4500000 .............................1976
5000000 .........................1977
5400000 .............................1978
5950000 .........................1979
6400000 .............................1980
7000000 .........................1981
7350000 .............................1982
7750000 .........................1983
8100000 .............................1984
8600000 .........................1985
9000000 .............................1986
9500000 ..........................1987
(Start of the letter prefix system.)
R000001 .........................1987
L000001 .........................1989
E000001 .........................1990
X000001 .........................1991
N000001 .........................1991
C000001 .........................1992
S000001 .........................1993
W000001 .........................1994
T000001 .........................1996
U000001 .........................1997
A000001 .........................1998
P000001 .........................2000
K000001 .........................2001
Y000001 .........................2002
F000001 .........................2003
Also started engraving the serial number inside the bezel (under the crystal)

D000001 .........................2005
Z000001 ..........................2006
M000001 ..........................2007
V000001 ..........................2008
G000001 ...................Mid 2010
Random Numbers ....Late 2010 to present

[P1723]

Thanks for the info...
Or alternatively is by the balance of years in the warranty?

[Ryuden]

The letters in the beginning of all Rolexes serial numbers are an indication of when was the watch cased. The parts could have been produced way before that.

For instance, G series, means that that particular watch was cased in 2010. But once cased up, that watch could have sat in the inventory for a while before it was dispatch out to the dealers and again could have sat in the dealer's stock for another period of time. That's why at times you can get a brand new G series in 2013/2014 cause it was in "transition" for a long time. Thus the reason why it's best to base on the date of warranty instead of series. The alphabets are just internet hype.

And it doesn't benefit Rolex because... when presented with the same model but different series, buyers tend to chose the "newer" ones base on the series. Example, a 116710 at the same price, but one is a V series and one G series, surely buyers will take the G series as its the "latest". Then what happen to the old stock unsold 116710? Dealers got stuck with "old" series.

So...what then? Rolex change their serial numbers to be random alpha numeric. There's no way you can now know when was your Rolex cased. You could have purchased an alpha numeric series brand new in 2015 but it was cased 3 years ago back in 2012. And there's no way you can now know as there is no table or references to refer to. And it helps Rolex to clear their backlog...at least for some not so popular models.