Rolex Lady-Datejust
The very first wristwatches made by Rolex, known as Wilsdorf and Davis at the time, were created for women. In the early 20th century men preferred pocket watches or fob watches; delicate wristwatches were predominantly for women right up until the mid-1930s. This means that many of the earliest Rolex wristwatches (usually marked W & D as it was prior to the registration of the Rolex brand), are lady’s watches. There were many custom-made and highly adorned lady’s watches created right up until the early 70s and many of these vintage lady’s Rolex watches are highly collectable.
Condition is the most important factor when looking at the value of a lady’s Rolex. These are designed and intended to be enthralling pieces that were created to be noticed, and thus the condition must be near perfect to attract the best prices.
Rolex Princess
The Princess is a high-end lady’s watch created by Rolex as the female equivalent of the popular Prince model. They achieved one of the highest accuracy certifications of the time. It was also one of the most expensive watches sold by Rolex at the time, up to 30% more expensive than the men’s equivalent.
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Lady’s Oyster
The first Lady’s Oyster was not particular successful when it was released, even after being redesigned to appear more feminine. This means that the earliest Lady’s Oyster models are actually very rare and therefore quite attractive to collectors.
Lady’s Perpetual
Introduced for Rolex’s 40th Anniversary along with the Datejust Jubilee, the Rolex Lady’s Jubilee was the first Perpetual Lady’s watch. It wasn’t an Oyster design but was a fine lady’s dress watch.
The First Lady’s Oyster Perpetual Chronometer
Introduced at the same watch fair as the Explorer, Turn-O-Graph and Submariner in the mid-50s, it is no wonder that the first Lady’s Oyster Perpetual Chronometer was somewhat overlooked. This is where we see lady’s watches start to become delicate versions of the men’s watches. The craftmanship required to create the same accuracy in a smaller scale was highly impressive at the time.
Lady’s Datejust
The Lady’s Datejust was introduced in the late 1950s, combining the ethos and elegance of the iconic Datejust into a slender 26mm case. Over the years it has been available in an almost infinite combination of face, hand and hour marker styles, as well as the different bracelet styles, materials and options for precious gems, the Lady Datejust is a feminine classic. The iconic bi-colour steel and gold bracelet was introduced on the Datejust models and is one of the most recognisable and popular Rolex bracelets ever.
Modern versions of the Lady Datejust were introduced with 28mm and 31mm cases, mirroring the similar increases seen in the men\’s Datejust models.
Lady’s dress watches in the 50s & 60s
That isn’t to say that extravagant lady’s dress-watches were to disappear, quite the contrary, at the end of the 1950s and throughout the 60’s lady’s dress watches got more and more elaborate and customisable. Some of the most expensive Rolex’s ever made were produced at this time.
With its easy to change strap, the Rolex Chameleon was a concept easily recognisable in today’s market but revolutionary at the time. The Chameleon\’s distinctively styled strap could be exchanged at ease to match your current outfit. The Chameleon was a hit at the time but went on to be made for less than 2 decades.
At the other end of the market, in a world that was rapidly recovering after the war, were the women who wanted a watch for every outfit – or certainly a watch that would outshine every outfit. These watches were adorned with enough diamonds and precious stones to fund a small household for years. The movement itself was obscured by a levered cover in order to give a larger surface area for encrusting diamonds, resulting in a watch that was more bracelet than convenient timepiece. Generally custom-made by jewellers with Rolex movements these are extravagant statement pieces that are a unique insight into the world at the time they were created.
The Rolex Lady’s watches are somewhat underrated when you consider their history and the craftmanship needed to produce such accuracy at a much smaller scale than their standard men\’s watches. There is not the same demand for vintage lady’s watches as for the men’s equivalents, but in good condition or an unusual model can command interest from collectors. On the other hand this does mean that if you are looking for a vintage watch and don\’t mind a smaller size you can find a lady\’s model in a lower price bracket than the men\’s equivalent.
