When Less is More: The DateJust Monologues

[TeeJay]

We've all done it: Declared our favorite watch our beater, only for it to be superceded by the latest purchase.  I'm certainly guilty of having done so. Tastes in watches are a very individual thing, as are an individual's requirements in a watch.  Do they need it to be functional?  Do they want to convey a particular image?  Do they want to fly under the radar and not have anyone notice?  

 

I think that the Rolex DateJust might just be the ultimate Everyman Beater:  Clear dial, slimline case, understate elegance, the DateJust has it all.  And it's not just one model either...  There are variations in dial color, different bezel and bracelet options, varied styles of dial markers.  It all just depends on one's personal tastes. The fluted bezel and jubilee bracelet are immediately recognizable as Rolex-styled.  The jubilee is in my opinion, the most comfortable of the Rolex bracelets: It is the most light weight, and most flexible, so gives the best conformity to the wrist.  It is the style worn by the likes of John James Preston and Patrick Bateman.  It is what I call the Executive Model.  Sure, it can be worn with things other than a business suit, but it never stops being an 'upper-tier' watch, it never loses that razors edge.  Then there is the smooth bezel and oyster bracelet...  This is what I would consider the 'work horse' of the DateJust line.  Less eye-catching, more subdued, but by no means the 'poor cousin'...  This is a piece worn by the Rupert Campbell-Blacks and the Lysander Hawkleys of the world.  The men who make husbands jealous...  The guy you don't trust around your wife or your teenage daughter, because even though he's your best friend, you know that given the opportunity, he'd do them both. At the same time.  This is an aesthetic combination which works just as well in casual or formal attire...  In the office, it's slim enough to glide under a cuff without snagging and still looks efficient and elegant, something that the Submariner-wearing Desk Divers can never aspire to.  On the polo field or golf course, it looks fine with short sleeves, still functional, still classy, but tough enough to take whatever the game throws at it.  Combining the smooth bezel with the jubilee bracelet creates another option:  Still clean and elegant, but somehow 'richer', more matured.  Still as good for play as for work, but probably better suited to the boardroom than the squash court, or more accurately, the watch which the guy in today's boardroom  wore on the squash courts in his youth:  The smooth/oyster is timeless, the fluted/jubilee is very much the watch of the 80s...

 

Is the DateJust a model which a man only receives as a gift from a woman in his life, be it his wife, his mother or his mistress, or is it a piece he buys for himself?  I can't answer for everyone, but have both received a DateJust as a gift, and bought one for myself.  Do I wear the Oyster more than the Jubilee because it was a gift from my mother, or do I wear it more because aesthetically, if fits my wardrobe and lifestyle better?  To be honest, it's the latter option...  Sentiment takes second place to practicality for me in this instance, even though by description, both watches are identical: Stainless Steel cases with silver sunburst dials with stick markers. The Oyster just fits better with casual clothes, so it sees more wrist time.  If the wardrobe drops to a certain level of casualness, then it's time for something else, but for the most part, it is appropriate, and dresses up with a suit without being too ostentatious.  

 

That's not to say that the DateJust is a watch fit for all needs...  If you need a rotating bezel to time something, this is not the watch for you.  If you need a watch you can wear to the ocean floor, this is not the watch for you.  If you need to tell the time half-way round the world, guess what?  This is not the watch for you either.  For all those needs, Rolex provides models better suited, such as the Explorer I, the GMT Master and the Submariner.  That's not to say that a DateJust is a poor watch because it cannot do those things, it just means that it knows its place, and excels at it.  During the day, the dial is clear, clean, and easy to read, but at night, the DateJust employs design wizardry:  Reflecting light from small luminous dots against the rehaut to create a glow almost as large as the daytime markers and thus readable.  Genius.  While this may not be a watch for all eventualities, it is certainly a watch which should be in every collection, and even though everyone's aesthetics are different, there is indeed a DateJust for every taste.  

[panerai153]

Great monologue. For a lot of folks the Datejust is their introductory watches to Rolex.my first was and Airking, but couldn't abide the lack of a date function. I only kept it a few months and traded it for a all S/S Datejust. I wore that watch through thicck and thin for several years, and finally after about 4-5 years, I traded it for my first sub. That was my first and only Datejust. I agree they are great watches, obviously shown by their great popularity over the years.

[TeeJay]

Teejay great write up but where the hell are the pics????!!!! I was looking foward to seeing some datejust love.

Glad you enjoyed it  It was written pretty much on the fly before watching a program, so I didn't have time for photos, but if I can find my camera tomorrow, I'll try and post some shots of the twins

[TeeJay]

Great monologue. For a lot of folks the Datejust is their introductory watches to Rolex.my first was and Airking, but couldn't abide the lack of a date function. I only kept it a few months and traded it for a all S/S Datejust. I wore that watch through thicck and thin for several years, and finally after about 4-5 years, I traded it for my first sub. That was my first and only Datejust. I agree they are great watches, obviously shown by their great popularity over the years.

Thanks  I agree they could very much be considered an 'entry level' watch, maybe because of how the DateJust strikes me as a watch that someone might be gifted, maybe as a birthday or graduation present, rather than a personal purchase, but I think they do have a ubiquity which attracts a collector to purchase for them self, possibly as a reward for getting that first Big Job...  Ironically, I purchased my jubilee DateJust not only as a birthday present to myself, but also as a piece for an 80s costume, and I don't wear it very often, where the oyster DateJust my mother got me (albeit by making me order it myself and picking up the tab) is the more universally wearable and now seldom leaves my wrist.  Have you ever thought about picking up another?  I used to like the +40mm watches, but have come to appreciate the subtlety of a DateJust, even though they are not as easily readable as say the Omega Planet Ocean or even a Submariner...

 

Of course, I'm talking solely about reps rather than gens, but I figure for the purposes of my musing, the aesthetics were more important than the purchase price

[alligoat]

 

Sometimes it's even more- like when you put it on a president's bracelet

 

other times it's just subtle,

 

 

or maybe elegant,

 

 

even a workhorse,

 

 

It is the most popular watch in the Rolex line up.

[panerai153]

You can never tell, I might get another one at some point. Right now, I am thinking my Rolex/Tudor collection is pretty complete. I have 10 of which 3 are genuine. I pretty much have one of each model that really strikes my fancy. So for the time being, I'm done. i have a couple of things to get done to one or two, and then I an good.

 

I do like datejusts however, and I completely agree with you that they are probably the quinessential "Occasion" watch. College Graduation, Wedding gift from the bride to the groom,etc. They are also the favorite of organizations/businesses to give as Awards. look at the genuine "Dominos Pizza, Cotton Bowl, various and sundry other companies,which gave these as 25 year awards, retirement awards.etc.

[jmb]

If you need a rotating bezel to time something, this is not the watch for you...

Great lecture on watch psyche 101!    But, don't forget a Turn-O-Graph is actually a DJ.

 

I share TeeJay's feelings about the often overlooked DJ.  In my "poor hick" opinion the DJ is just classy...

[relaxman]

Out if all the watches I've bought and sold gen and rep this DateJust has always and will always stay with me. Presenting my 1984 DateJust bought by me @ 1990 ..

[TeeJay]

 

Sometimes it's even more- like when you put it on a president's bracelet

 

other times it's just subtle,

 

 

or maybe elegant,

 

 

even a workhorse,

 

 

It is the most popular watch in the Rolex line up.

Fantastic watches, I think you've illustrated perfectly that there is indeed a DateJust for every taste

[TeeJay]

You can never tell, I might get another one at some point. Right now, I am thinking my Rolex/Tudor collection is pretty complete. I have 10 of which 3 are genuine. I pretty much have one of each model that really strikes my fancy. So for the time being, I'm done. i have a couple of things to get done to one or two, and then I an good.

 

I do like datejusts however, and I completely agree with you that they are probably the quinessential "Occasion" watch. College Graduation, Wedding gift from the bride to the groom,etc. They are also the favorite of organizations/businesses to give as Awards. look at the genuine "Dominos Pizza, Cotton Bowl, various and sundry other companies,which gave these as 25 year awards, retirement awards.etc.

It definitely sounds like your collection is complete, in which case, a DateJust might be redundant...  My jubilee DateJust rarely sees wrist time, as I can't shake the feeling that it's a bit 'showy' for my everyday style, where although I originally thought I would reserve the oyster DateJust for 'shirt and suit' wear, it has become a firm favorite, and I have to dress very casually before I feel it is too much...  Equally, while they are indeed occasion watches as gifts, they also make great watches to wear for occasions like weddings etc, where they will look smart, but not overpowering

[TeeJay]

Great lecture on watch psyche 101!    But, don't forget a Turn-O-Graph is actually a DJ.

 

I share TeeJay's feelings about the often overlooked DJ.  In my "poor hick" opinion the DJ is just classy...

I don't know why, but there's something about the Turn-O-Graph, which I just can't seem to take to...  If I really had to think and give an answer, I would say it's because (in my mind at least), fluted bezel and jubilee means Executive Suite, cigars and brandy, but the feature of a timing bezel is 100% tool watch functionality...  But what does the Executive actually need to time? For me, that incongruity between the two areas of use sets up a kind of mental block...  I know it's just my own issue about the watch, but like the DSSD, it just doesn't quite do it for me

[TeeJay]

Out if all the watches I've bought and sold gen and rep this DateJust has always and will always stay with me. Presenting my 1984 DateJust bought by me @ 1990 ..

Wow, that really is a beauty, I can see why it holds a permanent place in your collection

[TeeJay]

As promised, here're some pictures of the Twins... Sadly, I can't seem to find my camera, so only a couple of quick and dirty iPhone snaps, I'll post some better pics when the camera turns up

 

The Executive:

 

 

The Playboy:

 

The Pair:

[mymanmatt]

Of all the datejust I build, the classic, as I call it, is my favorite. Gen dial and crystal, makes it

[atomic_doug]

@matt

 

That's the quintessential DJ, right there.  Silver face, stick dial, SS/WG, Jubilee.

 

I had a boss many years ago who wore one just like that constantly since he'd purchased it in the early 70's.  He subjected it to abuse that I would balk at putting a G-Shock through and it just looked tougher for it.  Marine Recon in Vietnam.  He was an avid rock climber into his sixties. 

 

That watch was like a really well-dressed old man with tanned, leathery skin and a giant scar on his neck partially hidden by his collar: well-dressed and old, but you'd have to bring a lot of friends if you ever wanted to mess with him....wait, that was my boss.  The watch was totally like that too, though.

Edited March 6, 2013 by atomic_doug

[mymanmatt]

Your correct. The old datejust were meant to be daily beaters. Ive seen them so beat up, you could hardley tell it was rolex, yet still keeping time. Remember rolex was trying to keep pace with timex. Remember their old saying in their comercials. "Timex, it can take a licking, and keep on ticking", they sold millions. I loved the comercial with the guy using a jack hammer, then he would show his timex still ticking, LOL it was great. Thus the recreation of the basic dependable datejust. It to could take a licking and keep on ticking, although it may start to loose 4 or 5 mins a day LOL