The classic design of the used Rolex Datejust is also available for women in a smaller size thanks to the Ladies Datejust. This elegant watch offers the same classic features of the men's Datejust, including the date aperture and a reliable, elegant and waterproof design.
The ladies Datejust makes for a stylish accessory to any wardrobe. Be sure to find a matching pair for your significant other by checking out our selection of additional Rolex Datejust watches. If you have a used women's Datejust watch that you would like to trade-in or sell Bob's Watches can help. Please visit our Sell Rolex page to get a fast estimate.
Since its introduction in the 1950s, the collection has grown to become Rolex's best selling model. Similar to the men's model, these timepieces have a date window on the dial at 3 o'clock that is magnified by a Cyclops lens protruding from the crystal. The Ladies' collection are characterized by their smaller case sizes. Two models are classified as women's watches: the Lady-Datejust and the midsize Datejust 31. Historically, these pieces sported 26mm cases. However, in 2015, the brand redesigned the collection whereby Lady-Datejust watches now feature 28mm cases. The midsize watches have always had 31mm cases. Whether a Lady-Datejust or a Datejust 31, women's timepieces within this collection run exclusively on automatic movements. What's more, the precious metal versions are also available with President bracelets—the only other Rolex collection aside from the Day-Date to offer that.
Following the debut of the 36mm Datejust in 1945, Rolex introduced a women's version of the watch called the Lady-Datejust in 1957. From the fluted bezel and waterproof case to the date window and Cyclops magnification lens to the self-winding Perpetual movement, the Lady-Datejust retained all the signature design traits of the men's version but housed in a smaller watch. The model featured a 26mm case, which was 10mm smaller than the men's Datejust watch.
In the 1960s, the midsize version with a 31mm case joined the catalog. Although the Datejust 31 was originally marketed to both men and women, it eventually evolved into a ladies' Datejust watch, sharing several design codes with its smaller sibling, the Lady-Datejust.
The brand evolved the collection over the following decades by introducing new materials, calibers, and design enhancements. The range also expanded significantly with plenty of bezel, dial, bracelet, and metal options. A major mechanical upgrade occurred in the 1980s with the introduction of the quickset date functionality to the Lady-Datejust 26 and the midsize Datejust 31, which now allowed the date to be set independently from the timekeeping hands.
The model underwent a noteworthy design change in 2015 when its case size increased from 26mm to 28mm. Despite ample style options and gradual improvements, the ladies' Datejust has always retained its aesthetic and is unquestionably the most iconic and popular ladies' luxury watch model ever made.
Due to the vast assortment of materials and references, prices of ladies' Rolex Datejust watches vary significantly. Retail prices for current ladies' Rolex Datejust starts at $6,750 for the simplest stainless steel versions and can reach over $51,000 for a Rolex Lady President in platinum with diamonds. However, the secondary market of pre-owned ladies' Datejust watches offers significant savings—particularly for discontinued models such as the Lady-Datejust 26 or older versions of the Datejust 31.
|
Model |
Reference |
Size |
Material |
Retail Price |
Secondhand Price |
|
Lady-Datejust |
279160 |
28mm |
Stainless Steel |
Starting at $6,750 |
Starting at $5,200 |
|
Lady-Datejust |
279174 |
28mm |
Stainless Steel + White Gold Bezel |
Starting at $7,800 |
Starting at $6,300 |
|
Lady-Datejust |
279384RBR |
28mm |
Stainless Steel + White Gold Bezel Set with Diamonds |
Starting at $13,900 |
Starting at $13,500 |
|
Lady-Datejust |
279173 |
28mm |
Two-Tone Stainless Steel + Yellow Gold |
Starting at $9,250 |
Starting at $7,700 |
|
Lady-Datejust |
279383RBR |
28mm |
Two-Tone Stainless Steel + Yellow Gold with Diamond Set Bezel |
Starting at $14,900 |
Starting at $12,000 |
|
Lady-Datejust |
279178 |
28mm |
Yellow Gold |
Starting at $25,250 |
Starting at $18,000 |
|
Midsize Datejust |
278240 |
31mm |
Stainless Steel |
Starting at $6,850 |
N/A |
|
Midsize Datejust |
278274 |
31mm |
Stainless Steel + White Gold Bezel |
Starting at $8,000 |
N/A |
|
Midsize Datejust |
278384RBR |
31mm |
Stainless Steel + White Gold Bezel Set with Diamonds |
Starting at $14,500 |
N/A |
|
Midsize Datejust |
278273 |
31mm |
Two-Tone Stainless Steel + Yellow Gold |
Starting at $10,100 |
$7,500 |
|
Midsize Datejust |
278383RBR |
31mm |
Two-Tone Stainless Steel + Yellow Gold with Diamond Set Bezel |
Starting at $16,450 |
$15,500 |
|
Midsize Datejust |
278278 |
31mm |
Yellow Gold |
Starting at $29,250 |
$24,000 |
As expected, the cost of ladies' Rolex Datejust watches is dependent on factors such as material, reference, size, and age. The addition of diamonds, which can vary from diamond hour markers to diamond-set bezels to full diamond pavé versions, will also impact the value of a women's Datejust watch.
Yet, unlike many other Rolex watches, discontinued or pre-owned women's Datejust watches in the secondary market are almost always cheaper than retail. For instance, whether the Lady-Datejust 26 or the midsize Datejust 31, it's not uncommon to find used ladies' Datejust watches in steel starting under $3,000 and secondhand ladies' Datejust watches in two-tone steel and gold starting under $4,000. Pre-owned full gold ladies' Datejust watches can be found for less than $10,000, which is about 60% less expensive than the retail price of current equivalents.
Rolex has been making women's versions of the Datejust for well over six decades, progressing each generation with subtle yet meaningful improvements. Each generation of the ladies' Rolex Datejust is categorized by reference number families, with numbers that evolved from four-digits to five-digits to six-digits. Below is an overview of the Lady-Datejust and Midsize Datejust reference numbers.
|
Model |
Reference |
Circa |
Crystal |
Movement |
|
Lady-Datejust 26 |
65xx |
Late-1950s – Early-1970s |
Acrylic |
Caliber 1135 then Caliber 1166 Non-Quickset |
|
Lady-Datejust 26 |
69xx |
Early-1970s – Mid-1980s |
Acrylic |
Caliber 2035 Non-Quickset |
|
Midsize Datejust 31 |
68xx |
Mid-1970s – Mid-1980s |
Acrylic |
Caliber 2035 Non-Quickset |
|
Lady-Datejust 26 |
69xxx |
Mid-1980s – Late-1990s |
Sapphire |
Caliber 2135 Quickset |
|
Midsize Datejust 31 |
68xxx |
Mid-1980s – Late-1990s |
Sapphire |
Caliber 2135 Quickset |
|
Lady-Datejust 26 |
79xxx |
Late-1990s – Mid-2000s |
Sapphire |
Caliber 2235 Quickset |
|
Midsize Datejust 31 |
78xxx |
Late-1990s – Mid-2000s |
Sapphire |
Caliber 2235 Quickset |
|
Lady-Datejust 26 |
179xxx |
Mid-2000s – Mid-2010s |
Sapphire |
Caliber 2235 Quickset |
|
Midsize Datejust 31 |
178xxx |
Mid-2000s – 2020 |
Sapphire |
Caliber 2235 Quickset |
|
Lady-Datejust 28 |
279xxx |
2015 – Present |
Sapphire |
Caliber 2236 Quickset |
|
Midsize Datejust 31 |
278xxx |
2018 – Present |
Sapphire |
Caliber 2236 Quickset |
Ladies Datejust models are the most varied in terms of material choices—they are available in almost every metal combination Rolex uses. If you look at the last digit of the five- and six-digit reference numbers of Lady-Datejust and Datejust 31, it will tell you what material the watch is made of.
Furthermore, diamond setting, whether on the dial, bezel, case, or bracelet, are widely available within the ladies' Datejust collection.
Similar to the men's model watches, the women's collection frequently come with the choice of an Oyster bracelet or a Jubilee bracelet. The Oyster bracelet has a three-link configuration with flat links while the Jubilee bracelet features a five-link configuration with semi-circular links.
However, the Lady-Datejust and the Datejust 31 also offers the option of the President bracelet, characterized by a three-link configuration with semi-circular links. While the President bracelet is mostly associated with the Day-Date, which is also known as the Rolex President watch, select women's Datejust watches also come fitted with President bracelets. These models are sometimes referred to as the Lady Rolex President watches and are exclusively fashioned from 18k gold or 950 platinum.
The women's Datejust lineup includes several bezel styles. There are the smooth domed bezels, which can be made in steel, gold, or platinum. There's also the choice of smooth domed bezels dotted with different sized diamonds.
Fluted bezels are exclusively made in 18k gold, either yellow, white, or rose gold. There are also some fluted bezels decorated with diamonds.
Finally, a popular style is the full-diamond set bezel, which can be paired with every metal option (steel, gold, platinum, Rolesor) within the women's Datejust lineup.
The ladies' Datejust collection features a vast array of dial options, ranging from classic shades and vibrant hues to exotic materials and diamond setting. Women's Datejust watches with precious stone dials, such as malachite or lapis lazuli have proved to quite collectible over the decades. Mother-of-pearl dials are always popular and meteorite dials fashioned from space rocks are an intriguing material to use on a watch.
There are also the Jubilee dials, characterized by a repeated ROLEX pattern, available within the lineup. In recent years, Rolex has produced some highly decorative dials for the ladies' Datejust watches that showcase floral motifs and butterflies.
Along with the dial background material and color, there are also plenty of hour marker styles, available within the Lady-Datejust and Datejust 31 collections. For instance, some hour marker choices include Roman numerals, Arabic numerals, batons, and of course, diamonds.
Like the men's Datejust watches, women's Datejust watches run on chronometer-certified self-winding movements. And Lady-Datejust watches and midsize Datejust watches have always shared the same caliber, built to fit into these smaller case sizes.
There have been five different calibers at the heart of ladies' Datejust watches throughout the history of the model, each providing improvements over the last generation. The biggest improvement occurred in 1983 with the introduction of Caliber 2135, which featured a quickset date. This meant that the date windows could now be set independently from the timekeeping hands.
Due to their similar case sizes, Lady-Datejust and midsize Datejust models share the same self-winding movements. It began with Caliber 1135 in 1957, which was replaced by Caliber 1166 in 1967. In 1970, Rolex began fitting the two smaller models with the then-new Caliber 2035.
In 2014, Rolex debuted Caliber 2236 (which has an antimagnetic Syloxi hairspring and an improved power reserve rating of 55 hours) in the Pearlmaster collection. The following year, Rolex fitted the then-new Lady-Datejust 28 watches with Caliber 2236. When Rolex began rolling out the new-generation Datejust 31 models in 2018, the new watches also housed Caliber 2236. As of 2020, all current Lady-Datejust 28 and Datejust 31 watches are equipped with Caliber 2236.
Timeline
Rolex released the Lady-Datejust in 1957 and a few years later, the midsize Datejust joined the lineup. Today, this pair of ladies' Datejust watches continue to be a mainstay in Rolex's catalog.
As the most famous women's luxury watch ever made, it's only natural that ladies' Datejust watches are a favorite among celebrities. Here are just some of the famous names that have been spotted with a women's Datejust on their wrists.
The least expensive ladies' Rolex Datejust watch in the current catalog is the Lady-Datejust 28 ref. 279160 with a stainless steel 28mm case and Oyster bracelet, which retails for $6,750. The same reference with a Jubilee bracelet is marginally more expensive at $7,000. The Datejust 31 ref. 278240 with stainless steel 31mm case is priced at $6,850 at retail with an Oyster bracelet or $7,100 with a Jubilee bracelet.
However, pre-owned ladies' Rolex Datejust watches can be purchased at much cheaper prices in the secondary market, starting around $2,000.
Just like men's Datejust watches, ladies' Rolex Datejust watches are water-resistant to 100 meters deep. This is thanks in part to the architecture of the Oyster case, which includes a screw-down winding crown and screw-down caseback to maintain a hermetic seal.
However, it's important to note that vintage watches should never be submerged in water since they can no longer guarantee water-resistance.
Rolex manufactures plenty of watches for women, including the sporty Yacht-Master, the ultra-lavish Pearlmaster, and of course, the iconic Datejust. Many agree that the best Rolex for a lady would be a Datejust given the sheer variety of the collection.
From understated Datejust watches in stainless steel to classic two-tone variations to opulent gem-set versions, there's a ladies' Rolex Datejust to suit just about every taste and budget.
The most popular is the Datejust. In fact, it has been widely reported (although never confirmed by the brand) that this collection is among the best-selling Rolex models of all time.
