Rolex Datejust 1601/9 'Red Jasper'

A hard stone dial made out of red Jasper and adorned with silver printing and a white gold coronet: one of the best precious-metal Datejusts in history.

If I would tell you Rolex made many truly unique watches, you would probably think I misused the terminology and would not consider all these thousands “one-off” examples that are, in fact, unique by default. Dials made by the help of mother nature; therefore, al having slightly different structure and patterns.

Rolex started the use of stone dials in their production during the end of the 1960s. Until 1978 these dials were exclusively available for precious metal Datejusts. So the only plexiglass-model stone dials are from the 16xx series. The production turned out to be quite challenging as the minerals could easily break during the process of carving out the date window. This also being the reason why many (especially early examples) do not have any markers. It is a happy coincidence that the aesthetics of this simplicity is so attractive.

The first generation is signed “T Swiss T’. As we know, the “T’s” stand for tritium. An often-made comment is that people question the authenticity since there is no tritium on the dial and usually not in the hands either. However, these stonedials used the same cliché to print the text as a usual dial. Applying of luminous material is the last step in the process anyway. So just like on regular dials from this period where no lume is present, it still reads “T Swiss T” because of a generic tampon lay-out.

The early stone-dial options consisted of Onyx, Tiger Eye, Lapis, Malachite and Jasper. Last mentioned has 3 varieties: green Jasper, "Bloodstone"/ Heliotrope (Green Jasper with red Hematite inclusions) or red Jasper. The tone of red can vary, in this case we have a mesmerising auburn shade with some purplish and orange inclusions. Rolex dropped red Jasper as of 1978 and only very few have ever been produced of this opaque chalcedony variety.

Of the exceedingly small production, most were crafted for the yellow gold Datejust, thus having yellow text and matching coronet. Only a handful are known to have silver printing instead. Additionally we are excited to share the printing is still perfectly present; very vibrant and thick, resulting in a stark contrast with the dark dial. It is paramount, for the durability and value of the dial, that there are no cracks or hairlines. This well-preserved slab of stone luckily only has some surface scratches.

Of lesser importance, but worth mentioning, the white gold case -a rarity in and of itself- is very strong with thick lugs and clearly readable serial and crisp hallmarks. The President bracelet is virtually stretch-free and dates back to the same year as the watch: 1977.