Fresh from the showroom here at SwissWatchExpo, we are talking this morning about the Rolex
Day-Date President.
Creed, they've made a whole lot of different versions of this over the years, it's kind
of hard to keep track of what the changes were isn't it?
That's right.
There's the standard set which you have to roll the hands backwards and forwards to set
the day and the date.
There's the QuickSet which sets just the date only.
And then there's the Double QuickSet, which sets the day and the date very quickly.
One of my favorites is this one here.
This one was made in 1958.
It was the second generation, if you will, of the Day-Date.
The first one came out in ’57, but that one didn't last very long.
It had a few issues that Rolex wanted to iron out.
So this was considered the first successful Day-Date.
It's interesting the hands are the Alpha style, they're not the bar style that most of the
Presidents had later.
It's a pipe hand dial; it's beveled down at the edges, really beautiful.
And this one is the first one that said “superlative chronometer officially certified” on the
dial, which almost every Rolex since then has said, but this was the first one to do
it.
So it's a really interesting collector piece with the different hands, different dial,
and being the first one that really was the successful first Day-Date.
This one had the illuminated hands as well originally, at some point, with the illumination
dots - of course they no longer work, they've long since chemically deteriorated.
This one's also kind of got an interesting dial because it's got a 3D effect on each
one of the markers for the hours.
So this is not quite a baton, this is more like a hybrid between a Baton and a Wide Boy.
It's a very unique and interesting dial.
It's very 3D it's got an acrylic crystal too; I think people should know that.
In the early days they were all acrylic crystal they were not sapphire crystals.
Right.
Now it came out I think the early 80s, ‘82 I think, was when they switched over to sapphire
on the President.
1978.
Oh really?
Even earlier than I thought.
Yeah, and technically they said ’77 but I don't think they appeared on the market
until ‘78.
Okay.
Yeah.
So one of the other things about this watch that's interesting is that this is the very
first one that you see in what will now be known later as the President series was not
at this time.
And in order to set the time you have to run the hand obviously, I'm sorry - set the date
- you have to run the hands clockwise.
In order to set the day you have to run it counter-clockwise.
Wow.
So there's a lot of twisting and turning going on this particular watch set things if it
gets out of whack.
So you mentioned the difference between calling them President and Day-Date.
If I'm not mistaken it's the bracelet that’s actually what is called the President and
the watch is always the Day-Date.
We refer to them generally, among Rolex lovers, we just call the whole series the President.
But it's actually this bracelet with the wide center links that's the President, the watch
is always a Day-Date.
Right.
So the president was most associated with the first American president that wore the
watch.
Then it subsequently became known as the President for that reason.
It's very simple routine.
Okay.
Yeah.
So what are the different styles you've got out here?
What is that one over there?
So this is a quartz known as the Oysterquartz, and this is not of course known as a President,
it's just the Oysterquartz Day-Date.
Why?
Because it doesn't have the original President bracelet on it.
Interestingly enough though, if you look at how close - it’s a flattened out version
of the President bracelet.
Definitely.
A little bit wider, a little bit more modern if you will.
Of course it didn't debut until the late 1970s, in around 1977-1978.
Interestingly enough, this is a QuickSet dial only, that it only quick sets the date - you
still have to run the hands counterclockwise in order to set the day - so Monday through
Friday.
One of the interesting things about this particular watch is that it's in Italian, so all the
days are in Italian.
Interesting.
Yeah it's really cool.
It definitely has that retro 70's look to it.
To make a note about that quick Double QuickSet or single QuickSet on the day and the date,
realize that if you wear the watch all the time and it stays running, or if you use a
winding box - obviously not on the Oysterquartz because it'll stay running regardless with
the battery power – but the day of the week doesn't change.
So you would only really move the date forward at the end of months that have less than 31
days.
You really don't have to do anything with the day, so it's not really a big issue.
Right, and you better speak Italian if you wanna have this watch.
Right.
I didn't realize how many different languages that Rolex would produce the date dial in.
Most of the Germanic and Latin and English is what you will see on these particular items.
So, we're gonna move on a little bit to the Platinum Series.
Now, I'm gonna talk a little bit in a minute about what differentiates the difference between
this QuickSet, then the double QuickSet versus the non QuickSet at all.
Okay.
But first what I want to do is talk about what happens between white gold and platinum.
It's very difficult to tell, I mean no matter what lights you're in, it's difficult to tell
which one is which.
The Platinum is always the most heavy.
Just by picking up and feeling them, you can feel a significant difference in them.
But these two happen to be the double quickset, so what happens is whenever you go to set
this watch, it's a very quick forward and backward movement.
So when you pull the crown out one spot, you will be able to set the date by turning the
crown towards the six and the date by turning the crown towards the 12.
So it's a really quick - one out click, move it forward, move it backward, and you're adjusting
the date, and of course for the second click is the time.
So this is a very easy watch, this is the Double QuickSet, both of these models are
Double QuickSet.
The double QuickSet appeared in 1988.
Okay.
Yeah, so approximately 11 years after the original QuickSet date is when the Double
QuickSet appeared.
Also in 1977, the sapphire crystal appeared with the QuickSet date as well.
So moving on, with this particular model - this is one of the Wide Boys.
Okay.
This one has the wide hands, the wide markers on the dial.
This is not a QuickSet at all.
This is still run it forward, run it backwards.
And it’s the acrylic crystal stuff.
It is still the acrylic crystal, and they’re beautiful watches.
Now one of the things - these are, particularly the Wide Boy, is my favorite.
I find that that particular dial over the years is the best.
It's just the most appealing visually.
Now what the other thing that I wanted to show everybody is the Datejust.
This is the solid white gold Datejust.
It is a QuickSet and a lot of people confuse this with the Day-Date model.
They also confuse it with the President model.
So this particular watch will not come with the President bracelet, it's just the Datejust
bracelet.
Okay.
However the differences between these models, this one actually can be bought with a strap
versus a bracelet.
Whereas the original, what we've noticed, the Presidents only came on a bracelet.
This is one of the more updated versions too, because it's got the new updated, most updated
clasp.
Very pretty watch, beautiful.
Yeah that blue dial with that alligator, that brown alligator, that caramel look is an awesome
combination.
It just sparkles and shines too.
I mean that blue dial on the sun gets amazing.
Now let's talk a minute about what differentiates all these watches.
The number set - if it's four numbers, it's a Non-QuickSet watch.
So for example when you start out with - I'm gonna pull this one, the Wide Boy out - so
this one is an 1803, four numbers no QuickSet.
Then you move on to a Single QuickSet, there are five numbers and you get to what we know
as the one-eight-zero (180).
When you get into the Double QuickSet, you get into the six digit.
So you go from four to five to six.
Also, not only that, but in the early days the number set was one-eight-two (182), 2
being Double QuickSet versus 180, if that makes sense.
Okay, that does make sense.
It took me a long time to learn that nomenclature.
So, four numbers – Non-QuickSet, five numbers with a zero (0) - Single QuickSet, five numbers
with a two (182), Double QuickSet, and that's how it works.
Now when you go into the six digits, things change drastically.
This happened in 2000.
This watch got a solid gold bracelet, a heavier case - the watch feels more significant and
more heavy.
It doesn't ding in the center as much as the old ones - the old ones were hollow if you
hit them hard enough.
Right.
You'll find that on some of the old ones.
And then on top of that, the new ones have new ceramic pins through them so they're a
lot more durable, and you don't get - there's like virtually no flex from the very beginning.
You can see that.
Now just because you have a little bit of flex, and I want to make this extraordinarily
clear, just because you have a little bit of flex in the old ones doesn't mean that
it's not a wearable watch.
It also doesn't mean that it's in bad shape.
It actually is in great shape.
These had a little bit of a flex, just from the very beginning because they were hollow
and they didn't want them to kink or bend.
They would actually physically break the pins out of them if they didn't have a little bit
of flex.
So when everybody asks how much flex does it have, this is virtually the same as when
it was brand new.
Having a little bit of flex is absolutely fine.
I think people need to understand that.
All the blogs get caught up in this whole, “Oh how much flex does it have,” and “It
can't be good if it's certain...”
“How much percentage is it?”
Listen, if this thing goes down and it looks like you can tie it in a knot, we have a problem.
Right?
Right.
But if it has some sort of flex in it, it's not a problem at all.
And here at SwissWatchExpo, we really don't deal in the ones that are a problem.
That's right.
We only deal in the best examples.
So anything from us, it's going to have decades of life still.
Absolutely.
Probably if anybody wants to put a percentage on it, everything that we have is more like
80% and above.
Right.
So, save your questions about the bracelets.
It's fine.
Does it have a lot more flex than another one?
Perfectly understandable question.
But for the most part we're never gonna sell you a bracelet that you can't use for life
for years to come.
Sounds good.
Yeah.
So that's a lot about the Day-Date, the President, and the Datejust that people need to know.
Sounds good.
Well thanks for clearing all that up.
I do appreciate the decoding of the mystery of the Rolex numbering system.
That will help a lot going forward.
And a great collection of watches this morning.
It is, it's beautiful.