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.
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. About →
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 |
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 |
Explorer
| Era | References |
|---|---|
| Vintage 1952–89 |
6150 · 6350 · 6610 · 1016 |
| Modern 1989–2021 |
14270 · 114270 · 214270 |
Explorer II
| Era | References |
|---|---|
| Vintage Freccione 1971–1984 |
1655 |
| Transitional 1985–1989 |
16550 |
| Modern 40mm 1989–2010 |
16570 |
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 |
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 |
Prince
| Era | References |
|---|---|
| Brancard era 1928–mid-1940s |
971 · 1490 · 1491 · 1527 · 1862 · 3361 · 3937 |
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+.