Lapis Dial 1601/9 Rolex Datejust, White Gold

Stone dial Datejusts in white gold are all unicorns, same of Day-Dates. White gold, as this example is, took a very particular type of buyer in the 70s. This wasn’t the top of the Rolex catalogue in period, the Day-Date had already emerged. For both a stone dial and precious metal, you were adding a very significant premium to the base model. So much so, in fact, that the retail value of this watch would’ve exceed most standard Day-Dates. In white gold, a client paying far over the odds to have what largely appears to be a steel watch to the masses, with a stone dial. They are rare today simply because that proposition made almost no sense to anyone in period. And it’s hard to argue with. Except that, with hindsight, this is the greatest category of Datejust that’s ever been made.

This is the actual example on market today. Other photography for this Find is of a prior sale, a distinct example, courtesy of Amsterdam Vintage Watches. 

For the 1601/9 (9 for white gold), you’ll largely find stone and wood dials. No one really stepped up to that level of premium without also opting for some more individual dial choice. Most are burlwood, just a handful are lapis. And there are one, maybe two, examples of red jasper dials in white gold cases as well and comparable numbers of onyx. So far, no one knows of a green jasper/bloodstone. I would be surprised if the grand total of all stone dials in white gold cases surviving today exceeds 50 examples, but the truth is no one really knows.

White gold stone dials attract an immense premium, simply because they account for the tiniest fraction of production. For context, the most recent Lapis Datejust to auction in yellow gold was last year, at 57K USD. These are over 200K USD. But then again that multiplier might not seem so extreme when considering these are far more rare than 4x a yellow gold case. Markets always become unintuitive in extreme rarity, but it’s hard to argue with the level of beauty. And, for what it’s worth, this is one of the über-Datejusts of our world.

The example is quite lovely. It has a very strong case and, more importantly, the dial has no hairlines, no causes for concern. Please note the example is different to that pictured, signed Swiss alone, but both are correct. It comes from a well-regarded Malaysian retailer.