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Latest revision as of 05:30, 17 August 2026

Rolex changed what a wristwatch could do. The Oyster case (1926) made watches waterproof, the Perpetual rotor (1931) made them self-winding, the Prince (1928) built them to chronometer grade. Watchmakers and collectors have spent the decades since cataloguing what changed across each reference. BezelBase tries to store this information in a single place.

Each article documents one Rolex reference: production years, movement, dial variants, case and bracelet details, auction record, and the things to check when authenticating one. Coverage spans the main Rolex lines so the history reads as one connected archive.

Inside one reference, the watch can change a lot. A 5512 from 1962 is not the 5512 from 1978. A pointed-crown-guard 1675 is not the late matte 1675. Generation matters first. About →

From the archive: Explorer 1016

The 1016 is the Explorer that defined the line: a plain black 3-6-9 dial, a 36mm Oyster case, and a 26-year run that moved from gilt gloss to matte to the late Mark dials. It is the reference collectors mean when they talk about the classic Explorer, and its dial chronology is a study in its own right.

Read the full 1016 article →

Submariner

Era	References
Pre-five-digit 1953–90	6204 · 6205 · 6200 · 6536 · 6536/1 · 6538 · 5508 · 5510 · 5512 · 5513 · 5514 · 5517 · 1680
Five-digit 1979–2010	14060 · 14060M · 16800 · 16610 · 16610LV · 16803 · 16808 · 16613 · 16618

→ Full Submariner index

Daytona

Era	References
Manual-wind chronograph 1962–1988	6238 · 6239 · 6240 · 6241 · 6262 · 6263 · 6264 · 6265
Zenith automatic 1988–2000	16520 · 16518 · 16519 · 16523 · 16528
In-house cal 4130 2000–2016	116520 · 116523 · 116528

→ Full Daytona index

Explorer

Era	References
Vintage 1952–89	6150 · 6350 · 6610 · 1016
Modern 1989–2021	14270 · 114270 · 214270

→ Full Explorer index

Explorer II

Era	References
Vintage Freccione 1971–1984	1655
Transitional 1985–1989	16550
Modern 40mm 1989–2010	16570

→ Full Explorer II index

GMT-Master

Era	References
Vintage 1955–99	6542 · 1675 · 16750 · 16753 · 16758 · 16700
GMT-Master II 1983–2007	16760 · 16710 · 16713 · 16718
Ceramic 5-digit 2005–19	116718LN · 116713LN · 116710LN · 116710BLNR · 116719BLRO
Ceramic 6-digit 2018–present	126710BLRO · 126711CHNR · 126715CHNR · 126710BLNR · 126720VTNR · 126713GRNR · 126718GRNR · 126710GRNR

→ Full GMT-Master index

Oyster & Bubbleback

Era	References
Pre-Oyster & Oyster 1922–37	3666 · 2136 · 3003 · 3004
Bubbleback era 1933–45	1858 · 3131 · 3372 · 3525
Datejust / Padellone / Super Oyster 1945–53	4467 · 5030 · 5031 · 6031 · 6075 · 6105 · 8171 · 6098

→ Full Bubbleback index

Day-Date

Era	References
Originals 1956–59	6510 · 6511 · 6611 · 6612 · 6612B
4-digit President 1959–78	1803 · 1804 · 1806 · 1807 · 1811 · 1831
5-digit 1977–2000	18038 · 18028 · 18048 · 18078 · 18238 · 18248 · 18348 · 18208
6-digit Day-Date 36 2000–19	118238 · 118208 · 118235 · 118138
Day-Date II 41mm 2008–15	218238 · 218206
Oysterquartz 1977–2001	19018

→ Full Day-Date index

Air-King

Era	References
Battle of Britain origin 1945–53	4925 · 4365 · 4499
First automatic 1953–57	6552
Long-run mainstay 1957–89	5500 · 5501 · 5502 · 5504 · 5506 · 5520 · 5700 · 5701
Sapphire era 1989–2014	14000 · 14000M · 114200

→ Full Air-King index

Prince

Era	References
Brancard era 1928–mid-1940s	1343 · 971 · 1490 · 1491 · 1527 · 1862 · 3361 · 3937

→ Full Prince index

Reference guides

Three pages cover material that applies across every Rolex line documented here. Bracelets catalogs bracelet refs, end links, clasps, and link types alongside the clasp date-code key. Movements lists every caliber spanning the manual-wind chronograph, Zenith-driven, and in-house generations. Serial numbers decodes the three Rolex serial systems — numeric pre-1987, letter 1987–2010, and random alphanumeric 2010+.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 <div style="display:none;">{{DISPLAYTITLE:<span style="display:none;">BezelBase</span>}}</div>
 {{#seo:
-|title=BezelBase — Watch Reference Encyclopedia
+|title=Rolex Reference Encyclopedia {{!}} BezelBase
 |description=Encyclopedic reference for Rolex watches. Vintage and discontinued Rolex references documented — specs, dial variants, serial ranges, production history.
-|keywords=watch reference, Rolex, Rolex Submariner, Rolex Explorer, Rolex GMT-Master, Rolex Bubbleback, Oyster, Ovettone, vintage Rolex, collector guide, watch history, production history, dial variants
+|keywords=watch reference, Rolex, Rolex Submariner, Rolex Daytona, Rolex Explorer, Rolex GMT-Master, Rolex Day-Date, President, Rolex Bubbleback, Rolex Prince, Brancard, Oyster, Ovettone, vintage Rolex, collector guide, watch history, production history, dial variants
+|image=Bezelbase_main_poster.webp
+|image_alt=BezelBase — vintage Rolex reference encyclopedia
+|image_width=1280
+|image_height=1280
+|og_type=website
 }}
 <div style="max-width: 720px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 0 1em;">
-<div style="margin: 0.5em 0 1.5em 0; font-size: 110%;">
+<div style="margin: 0.5em 0 1.5em 0;">
-Vintage Rolex is a catalogue problem as much as a collecting one. A single reference can carry a dozen dial variants across a twenty-year production run, with movement and case changes overlapping them, and placing a specific watch in its generation matters before anything else about it does. BezelBase is the archive that answers those questions, reference by reference.
+Rolex changed what a wristwatch could do. The Oyster case (1926) made watches waterproof, the Perpetual rotor (1931) made them self-winding, the Prince (1928) built them to chronometer grade. Watchmakers and collectors have spent the decades since cataloguing what changed across each reference. BezelBase tries to store this information in a single place.
-The archive runs from the 1930s bubbleback Oysters through the five-digit Submariners of the late 2000s — roughly a hundred references, with the working detail that separates an early example from a late one. A 5512 across its 1959–1978 run is four generations of watch, not one. An early Pepsi-bezel 1675 with pointed crown guards is a different animal from a late matte 1675. The archive maps what changed, reference by reference, so a collector can place a specific example in its era. [[BezelBase:About|About →]]
+Each article documents one Rolex reference: production years, movement, dial variants, case and bracelet details, auction record, and the things to check when authenticating one. Coverage spans the main Rolex lines so the history reads as one connected archive.
+Inside one reference, the watch can change a lot. A 5512 from 1962 is not the 5512 from 1978. A pointed-crown-guard 1675 is not the late matte 1675. Generation matters first. [[BezelBase:About|About →]]
 </div>
-<div style="text-align:center; margin:1.5em auto 2em auto;">
+<!-- FEATURED:START -->
-[[File:Bezelbase_main_poster.webp|frameless|320x320px|link=]]
+== From the archive: Explorer 1016 ==
+<div style="display:flex; gap:18px; padding:16px; margin:0 0 2em 0; background:#f8f8f6; border-left:3px solid #555;">
+<div style="flex:0 0 240px; align-self:flex-start;">
+[[File:Ref 1016 hero.webp|frameless|240px|link=Reference:1016]]
+</div>
+<div style="flex:1; min-width:0;">
+The [[Reference:1016|1016]] is the Explorer that defined the line: a plain black 3-6-9 dial, a 36mm Oyster case, and a 26-year run that moved from gilt gloss to matte to the late Mark dials. It is the reference collectors mean when they talk about the classic Explorer, and its dial chronology is a study in its own right.
+'''[[Reference:1016|Read the full 1016 article →]]'''
+</div>
 </div>
+<!-- FEATURED:END -->
+<!-- RECENT:START -->
+== Recently updated ==
+* '''17 August 2026''' — [[Reference:19019|19019]] (Day-Date) · [[Reference:19018|19018]] (Day-Date) · [[Reference:118139|118139]] (Day-Date) · [[Reference:1016|1016]] (Explorer)
+* '''16 August 2026''' — [[Reference:1002|1002]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:3348|3348]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:3548|3548]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:3064|3064]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:3353|3353]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:3696|3696]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:2490|2490]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:116000|116000]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:176200|176200]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:177200|177200]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:5015|5015]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:3725|3725]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:3130|3130]] (Oyster Perpetual)
+* '''15 August 2026''' — [[Reference:3133|3133]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:114300|114300]] (Oyster Perpetual)
+* '''14 August 2026''' — [[Reference:1003|1003]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:1005|1005]] (Oyster Perpetual) · [[Reference:6429|6429]] (Explorer)
+<!-- RECENT:END -->
 == Submariner ==
-{| style="width:100%; font-size:85%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
 |-
 ! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
@@ Line 37: / Line 63: @@
 == Daytona ==
-{| style="width:100%; font-size:85%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
 |-
 ! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
@@ Line 56: / Line 82: @@
 == Explorer ==
-{| style="width:100%; font-size:85%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
 |-
 ! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
@@ Line 72: / Line 98: @@
 == Explorer II ==
-{| style="width:100%; font-size:85%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
 |-
 ! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
@@ Line 88: / Line 114: @@
 '''[[Reference:explorer-ii|→ Full Explorer II index]]'''
 == GMT-Master ==
-{| style="width:100%; font-size:85%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
 |-
 ! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
@@ Line 114: / Line 139: @@
 == Oyster & Bubbleback ==
-{| style="width:100%; font-size:85%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
 |-
 ! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
@@ Line 130: / Line 155: @@
 '''[[Reference:bubbleback|→ Full Bubbleback index]]'''
+== Day-Date ==
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+|-
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px;" | References
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | Originals<br/><small>1956–59</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:6510|6510]] · [[Reference:6511|6511]] · [[Reference:6611|6611]] · [[Reference:6612|6612]] · [[Reference:6612B|6612B]]
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | 4-digit President<br/><small>1959–78</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:1803|1803]] · [[Reference:1804|1804]] · [[Reference:1806|1806]] · [[Reference:1807|1807]] · [[Reference:1811|1811]] · [[Reference:1831|1831]]
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | 5-digit<br/><small>1977–2000</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:18038|18038]] · [[Reference:18028|18028]] · [[Reference:18048|18048]] · [[Reference:18078|18078]] · [[Reference:18238|18238]] · [[Reference:18248|18248]] · [[Reference:18348|18348]] · [[Reference:18208|18208]]
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | 6-digit Day-Date 36<br/><small>2000–19</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:118238|118238]] · [[Reference:118208|118208]] · [[Reference:118235|118235]] · [[Reference:118138|118138]]
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | Day-Date II 41mm<br/><small>2008–15</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:218238|218238]] · [[Reference:218206|218206]]
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | Oysterquartz<br/><small>1977–2001</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:19018|19018]]
+|}
+'''[[Reference:day-date|→ Full Day-Date index]]'''
+== Air-King ==
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+|-
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px;" | References
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | Battle of Britain origin<br/><small>1945–53</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:4925|4925]] · [[Reference:4365|4365]] · [[Reference:4499|4499]]
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | First automatic<br/><small>1953–57</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:6552|6552]]
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | Long-run mainstay<br/><small>1957–89</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:5500|5500]] · [[Reference:5501|5501]] · [[Reference:5502|5502]] · [[Reference:5504|5504]] · [[Reference:5506|5506]] · [[Reference:5520|5520]] · [[Reference:5700|5700]] · [[Reference:5701|5701]]
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | Sapphire era<br/><small>1989–2014</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:14000|14000]] · [[Reference:14000M|14000M]] · [[Reference:114200|114200]]
+|}
+'''[[Reference:air-king|→ Full Air-King index]]'''
+== Prince ==
+{| style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em; table-layout:fixed; line-height:1.35;"
+|-
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px; width:150px;" | Era
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 3px;" | References
+|-
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold;" | Brancard era<br/><small>1928–mid-1940s</small>
+| style="padding:3px 4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:1343|1343]] · [[Reference:971|971]] · [[Reference:1490|1490]] · [[Reference:1491|1491]] · [[Reference:1527|1527]] · [[Reference:1862|1862]] · [[Reference:3361|3361]] · [[Reference:3937|3937]]
+|}
+'''[[Reference:prince|→ Full Prince index]]'''
 == Reference guides ==