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A
Brief Explanation of the Rolex
Serial Numbering System
In 1927, Rolex began issuing
every Rolex Oyster case a unique
serial number to distinguish
them from one another. Around
1953, the numbers reached the
999,999 mark, at which time
Rolex decided against adding a 7th
digit, thus continuing into the
"millions"--Instead, they
started the sequence aver at
100,001.
Around the same time, Rolex had
initiated another dating
system--They stamped the inside of
the case back with a code consisting
of a Roman numeral and two numbers.
The Roman numerals were I, II, III,
IV, which represented which quarter
of the year the watch was produced.
The numbers simply represented the
two-digit year in which the watch
was produced. Therefore, the code
III 53 would represent the 3rd
quarter (i.e. July-September) of
1953--this code continued until
around 1970.
In
the early 1960s, Rolex once again
reached the 999,999 mark, but this
time added a 7th digit
and continued until mid 1987, when
the numbering reached 9,999,999. At
this time, Rolex elected to start
numbering with a letter prefix (e.g.
R000001).
The
system started with the letter "R",
which was then subsequently followed
by L-E-X. Thus spelling out the word
"ROLEX" with the "O" being omitted,
to help avert any possible confusion
with the number "0". This sequence
continued through November 1991,
when a new numbering system
was introduced utilizing the letters
N, C and S, which took them through
1993. In 1994, Rolex started yet
another sequence with the letters:
W, T and U, then A, P, and K in
subsequent years.
To
add to the confusion, many of these
prefixes have run concurrently over
the past few years, giving the
appearance of a random
numbering system. Therefore, only
Rolex knows exactly when any
particular watch was made and they
aren't talking.
The following list is comprised of
known serial numbers for the years
listed. By checking a particular
serial number against this list you
should be able to date a watch with
reasonable accuracy. However, it is
no guarantee as to when your watch
was shipped from the factory.
Furthermore, this list only applies
to Rolex Oyster-cased watches, and
should NOT be used for Tudor, or
vintage non-Oyster Rolex watches.
(Please Note: According to Jeffrey
P. Hess, co-author of The Best of
Time, Rolex Wristwatches, there are
a number of books in print
[as well as ebooks and websites]
which list 'incorrect' (or
"outdated") serial number dates. The
following list was reprinted, with
permission, directly from the
aforementioned book, and updated
with new serial number "prefixes" as
they are introduced.)
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