Rolex ladies’ watches are probably the most popular among ladies’ watches, much like Rolex men’s watches. Looking back though, it seems it was only around the mid-century when the ladies’ collection started turning towards sports and ‘tool’ watches with the introduction of the Rolex Lady-Datejust. Let’s take a look back at Rolex’s history with their women’s line…
1920s Rolex ladies’ watch / Credit: Griffin Jewellers
Rolex itself only got started in the early 20th century and so their history with ladies’ watches starts around that time, with a focus on traditional women’s dress watches and a ‘jewelry’ style. Art Deco was a theme Rolex followed in the 1920s with the 1930s seeing more particular models like the Rolex Queen take the scene.
1932 Rolex Queen poster
The Rolex Queen was a manual winding ladies’ dress watch that came in steel, 9k, and 18k gold. It was sold in the early/mid-1930s and came in references 503, 504, and 505 – among others.
Another aspect of Rolex’s history with women’s watches can be said to be Mercedes Gleitze’s legendary crossing of the English Channel, while wearing a Rolex ‘Oyster’-cased watch around her neck in 1927.
Now, while the Rolex Lady-Datejust was created in 1945, even after WWII – in the 1950s – Rolex continued to produce many classic ladies dress watches. This is notable as today you don’t see these in their lineup at all, with only the Pearlmaster and the Datejust/Day-Date/Oyster Perpetual available.
Below is an example of the kinds of women’s watches produced in the mid-20th century:
1950s Rolex platinum/diamond ladies bracelet watch, sold for $68,750 in 2014 / Credit: Christie’s
I would accredit the 1957 Lady-Datejust release for the shift from ladies’ dress watches to sports/casual watches in the Rolex collection. Since the collection has shifted away from leather straps or bracelets and more towards the bulkier Jubilee and Oyster bracelets. This culminated in the introduction of the Rolex Pearlmaster in 1992, most notable for its use of precious stones and metals…
As such, today the Rolex ladies’ collection is solely larger, bulkier sports watches with not even a Cellini available for women! Effectively women are forced to look for vintage Rolex if they want a traditional dress watch – both a blessing and a curse, perhaps?
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
“Mercedes Gleitze.” International Swimming Hall of Fame, https://ishof.org/mercedes-gleitze-(gbr).html.
“Lady Datejust.” Rolex, https://www.rolex.com/watches/lady-datejust.html.
“1953-1967 Pioneering Exploits.” Rolex, https://www.rolex.com/about-rolex-watches/1953-1967.html.
Callan, Andy, “A Brief History of the Rolex Pearlmaster.” Becker Time, May 15th, 2019, https://beckertime.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-rolex-pearlmaster/.