Black Gilt Dial 1600 Rolex Datejust

Normally when talking about Datejusts, adjectives like humble and simple get thrown in. There’s nothing humble about this 1600 though, it’s downright nobility. 1600 is a bit of an unusual flavor, as it ditches the fluting for a sterile, smooth bezel. Some adore this, some hate it. Regardless of preference, it absolutely brings the case close to a tool watch aesthetic. That aesthetic is matched perfectly in this example by a black gilt dial, a dial that was made to tug on the heartstrings of all vintage lovers.

The 1600 mirrors the 18XX series of Day-Date in the sense that this too has a pie-pan dial edge. That depth here hides a gilt track. Now what’s so great about gilt? What even is gilt? Technically, gilt is anything covered in a layer of gold. But here, it references a style of dial production, as you’ll find gilt dials with silver text as well. They simply are the warmest, most radiant dials Rolex has made. The process was also a touch more involved as it involved electroplating and etching to reveal the gold through black paint or lacquer. It would then be given a final gloss lacquer. Peak Datejust is generally regarded to be stone dials today, but, in terms of standard production Datejust dials, this is surely near the top.

Interestingly, this example dates to 1966 but was originally sold in Spain in 1972 a long six years later. The 1600 ended production in 1976, that’s more than half of the life cycle to create a sale. The Rolex market was a very different place back then, imagine any inventory sitting from 2019 until today at your AD. Facts like this make it understandable how we see so few gilt Datejust or Day-Date from this time and far fewer well-preserved. Even more unbelievably, it’s stayed with that same original purchaser with its set until coming to market now, again in Spain. Not all Datejusts are created equal, far from it. Nobility, indeed.

This example has what's described as a professionally polished case which I leave to you to assess. It's sharp, that's for sure. The dial, importantly, is as great as it could be. Clean, clear, even light patina. Looks like there's a tiny bit of partial loss on the 11 pip but that's very normal and it's not remotely a problem. It comes from a well-regarded Barcelona retailer, full set and all.