I have spent roughly 14 months studying examples of vintage 1:1 fake Rolex Datejusts from the 1945–1990 era. This was part of an effort to document the rich history of this influential watch. The project resulted in a book, The UK Swiss replica Rolex Datejust buyer’s & collector’s guide, released in the spring of 2022. Here, I will distill the contents of the book down to an accessible starting point for aspiring Datejust owners. Hopefully, I can help you decide which variant is for you and what to look for when chasing one down. For the sake of readability, I will stick to the 36mm full-size super clone watches online for now.
Vintage Rolex Datejust — The early generations
The AAA fake Rolex Datejust story begins in 1945 with the introduction of the ref. 4467. At the time, the Datejust was the flagship within the crowned brand’s lineup. It was only available in precious metals until the Day-Date took over the top spot about a decade later.
Between 1945 and 1959, we see a number of generations under the 44xx, 50xx, and 6xxx reference umbrellas. Although you will find many amazing variants within these generations, they are generally not what the casual wearer is after. These early high quality replica watches tend to be a little too fragile and challenging to service for the average copy Rolex Datejust-buying audience. I will, therefore, not go into these here. If you want to see a dedicated article about this era, let me know in the comments below.
The four-digit, five-digit, and sapphire Datejusts
With the introduction of the 16xx references in 1959, we really start to get into the popular vintage Datejusts. The two following generations bring us all the way up to the mid-2000s. The succeeding 116xxx references brought the cheap fake Rolex Datejust into thoroughly modern Rolex territory.
In short, then, you will most likely be on the lookout for a 16xx, 16xxx, or 162xx Swiss replica Rolex Datejust UK. These are packed with vintage charm. You do not have to worry about wearing them every day either.
Let’s have a look at the differences between these three popular generations of vintage Rolex Datejusts fake for sale.
Fake Rolex Datejust — Four-digit references
The Swiss made replica Rolex 16xx references that debuted in 1959 are commonly referred to as four-digit references. Early examples still came with alpha hands and arrow indices. The early ’60s, however, saw the introduction of the now-familiar baton hands and stick indices.
The most common variants of this generation are the top copy Rolex refs. 1600 (smooth bezel), 1601 (fluted bezel), and 1603 (engine-turned bezel). The fluted bezels are always executed in precious metals. The engine-turned 1603 bezels exist in gold, but in most cases, they are made of stainless steel. As you would expect for this era, these bezels all embraced a tall acrylic crystal.
Two traits are most characteristic of this generation of the perfect replica Rolex Datejust. First, we have a pie-pan dial. The outer perimeter of the dial is slightly lowered, which provides a beautiful sense of depth. Second, Swiss movement fake Rolex fitted these models with the calibers 1565 (18,000vph) or 1575 (19,800vph), both lacking a quickset date. This means you will be setting the date by just turning the hands around the dial in 24-hour cycles. Depending on your watch rotation and habits, this might be a nuisance to you.
The four-digit cheap fake Rolex Datejust came with several bracelet options, the most archetypal of which is the Jubilee. Introduced on the first ref. 4476, it predates the Oyster and President bracelets. The Jubilee was made up of folded steel links until around about 1974. By then, top quality replica Rolex phased in an updated version with solid outer links. As such, you can come across four-digit Datejusts on either style of Jubilee depending on the year of production. The widespread notion that the half-solid Jubilee was introduced alongside the five-digit Rolex Datejust super clone online is a misconception.