1989 Datejust updates desired

[Scottac8de]

I just got my old 1989 2-tone Datejust back from Rolex service in Texas; S/N 9492477. I'm considering having two aftermarket changes made.

I've had it since it was new and have kept up on the service. I had the face changed once from blue to black by Rolex probably 15 years ago as I got tired of the blue face. I still have the blue face of course. Other than this, it is still all original and all OE parts. I'm considering having two things done to it, which I know one of is strictly aftermarket.

• Change the acrylic crystal to sapphire, which is aftermarket. I see a lot of vintage Rolex's from big aftermarket resellers that have already had this done, so it is clearly common to have this done on a vintage Rolex, but of course, Rolex will not do this according to my dealer. Any caveats to having this done? I'm kinda tired of having to get out the Dremel and polish the crystal every time I accidentally rub it up against something. Granted, it's not difficult to do, but my other watches with sapphire crystals don't have this annoyance. Making this change appears to make the crystal face flat, as opposed to the slightly domed shape of the original crystal.
• Another face change. I'd like to get a bright red face. My Rolex dealer has no idea what can be gotten for new face colors on this old watch. They just seem to be annoyed by such requests, as Rolex has certainly shied away from such requests these days seemingly due to becoming overly popular compared to 20 years ago. Good for them financially; bad for customer retention. I saw one on a used Rolex once on a gold Datejust, but I don't know what vintage that one was. I'd like to get an OE Rolex red face, if one is/was made, but I'm willing to go aftermarket if it is of high quality made to near original standards.

Suggestions?

[pk552502]

I wouldn't change the crystal. I wouldn't buy a modified rolex like that- keep yours original. I wouldn't change the dial either for an aftermarket one- just source a used dial on ebay but one that is correct for your piece.

[77T]

It's your watch - you should do what you'd like to see done. Just keep the original parts so you can have it returned to "original" before the next trip to the RSC for service. Otherwise they will reject your submission.


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[padi56]

Originally Posted by Scottac8de

I just got my old 1989 2-tone Datejust back from Rolex service in Texas; S/N 9492477. I'm considering having two aftermarket changes made.

I've had it since it was new and have kept up on the service. I had the face changed once from blue to black by Rolex probably 15 years ago as I got tired of the blue face. I still have the blue face of course. Other than this, it is still all original and all OE parts. I'm considering having two things done to it, which I know one of is strictly aftermarket.

• Change the acrylic crystal to sapphire, which is aftermarket. I see a lot of vintage Rolex's from big aftermarket resellers that have already had this done, so it is clearly common to have this done on a vintage Rolex, but of course, Rolex will not do this according to my dealer. Any caveats to having this done? I'm kinda tired of having to get out the Dremel and polish the crystal every time I accidentally rub it up against something. Granted, it's not difficult to do, but my other watches with sapphire crystals don't have this annoyance. Making this change appears to make the crystal face flat, as opposed to the slightly domed shape of the original crystal.
• Another face change. I'd like to get a bright red face. My Rolex dealer has no idea what can be gotten for new face colors on this old watch. They just seem to be annoyed by such requests, as Rolex has certainly shied away from such requests these days seemingly due to becoming overly popular compared to 20 years ago. Good for them financially; bad for customer retention. I saw one on a used Rolex once on a gold Datejust, but I don't know what vintage that one was. I'd like to get an OE Rolex red face, if one is/was made, but I'm willing to go aftermarket if it is of high quality made to near original standards.

Suggestions?

Leave it well alone a acrylic crystal Rolex watch is designed for a acrylic crystal.And acrilic crystals are a lot cheaper than sapphire and all watches with acrylic crystals they are always changed as part of normal routine RSC service.If you have scratches on the crystal products like Polywatch and Autosolve metal polish in tubes will easily remove them..And any watch that has been converted to sapphire Rolex would not service unless put back to original and sapphire is a different fitting to acrylic doubt if you could guarantee its W/R.

[Marcjvr]

I would keep your watch original and add a new date just

Then you will have the best of both old and new worlds

Good luck!!

[brandrea]

It’s your watch so obviously you can do with it what you want.

I’d leave it be

EDIT: welcome to the forum

[Scottac8de]

Fair enough. I'll leave it be. A correction to my original post - I didn't realize that my watch is actually a 1987, not 1989. I discovered this yesterday when I looked up the serial number in the database. I bought this back in the day when there wasn't a heavy demand and the dealer I bought it from had probably 100+ Rolex's for sale in the display cases. So they clearly had this for over a year before they sold it to me.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Scottac8de

Fair enough. I'll leave it be. A correction to my original post - I didn't realize that my watch is actually a 1987, not 1989. I discovered this yesterday when I looked up the serial number in the database. I bought this back in the day when there wasn't a heavy demand and the dealer I bought it from had probably 100+ Rolex's for sale in the display cases. So they clearly had this for over a year before they sold it to me.

No internet chart can give a exact date when any Rolex watch was made.Only a approx date when the case or clasp was stamped between X&Y years and many serials overlap a year or so.

[Norbert]

The acrylic is taller than a sapphire, right? That's a classic Rolex look from the 80s!

[darthgman]

Would love to see a picture. Also consider removing the serial number from your post

[georgekart]

If you do go through with the modification, keep the original crystal (or seeing as it's acrylic, just buy a new one and keep it stored just in case they stop making them at a later date) and dial (despite it being a service dial, which may or may not differ from the factory dial it's still better than an aftermarket dial). So worst case scenario, you can put it back to the same state it is in now.

[Murphtimes]

It sounds like you really care for your Datejust, keeping it in top shape with those service updates and changes. Switching to a sapphire crystal could be a game-changer, especially for that durability. As for the red face, it could add a cool, unique touch! Aftermarket options might offer more flexibility. Have you checked out any specific options for the red face yet?

[MovieGuy]

I don't recall any red dials being available for a steel and gold Datejust from that era. The Day-Dates have had red/reddish dials but I don't think Datejusts did. You can probably find a non-Rolex dial but as others have said, Rolex will either refuse service or require you to purchase/replace any aftermarket parts before they'll service it.

Guessing since you bought it new you probably don't want to part with it but you could always search for Datejusts from around that year and add another to your collection. They'll be significantly less expensive than any newer Datejust with a sapphire crystal, solid center links, etc.

[Scottac8de]

Originally Posted by Norbert

The acrylic is taller than a sapphire, right? That's a classic Rolex look from the 80s!

Correct. It is slightly domed VS the flatter sapphire crystals on more modern Rolex's.

[Scottac8de]

Originally Posted by darthgman

Would love to see a picture. Also consider removing the serial number from your post

I'll post a picture when I get a moment to take a photo. Why remove the S/N from the post? I guess there must be something I'm not considering.

[Scottac8de]

Originally Posted by georgekart

If you do go through with the modification, keep the original crystal (or seeing as it's acrylic, just buy a new one and keep it stored just in case they stop making them at a later date) and dial (despite it being a service dial, which may or may not differ from the factory dial it's still better than an aftermarket dial). So worst case scenario, you can put it back to the same state it is in now.

All sage advice. The crystal in it right now is new as I had them replace it when I had it serviced. It had been buffed out too many times. I still have the original blue face that came in it as well.

[georgekart]

Originally Posted by Scottac8de

All sage advice. The crystal in it right now is new as I had them replace it when I had it serviced. It had been buffed out too many times. I still have the original blue face that came in it as well.

Well, there you go. Keeping the original dial is even better.

[ArtNouveau]

I’m a little curious about your watch’s vintage. My first Rolex was a SS Datejust in 1984 and it had an acrylic crystal. I traded it in for a tutone DJ in 1986 which had a sapphire crystal and also the gold was 18K versus the previous 14K. My guess is your watch was manufactured earlier than you think, not unusual for one to sit in a dealer’s case that long back then.
As far as a red dial I can’t think of one ever coming on a Datejust. The Stella dials back in that day were all on DayDates AFAIK.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by Scottac8de

I'll post a picture when I get a moment to take a photo. Why remove the S/N from the post? I guess there must be something I'm not considering.

It can be used by thieves and villains for nefarious purposes.

[georgekart]

Originally Posted by ArtNouveau

I’m a little curious about your watch’s vintage. My first Rolex was a SS Datejust in 1984 and it had an acrylic crystal. I traded it in for a tutone DJ in 1986 which had a sapphire crystal and also the gold was 18K versus the previous 14K. My guess is your watch was manufactured earlier than you think, not unusual for one to sit in a dealer’s case that long back then.
As far as a red dial I can’t think of one ever coming on a Datejust. The Stella dials back in that day were all on DayDates AFAIK.

Based on the serial he provided (9.4M) sounds like it's a 1987 watch. But that shouldn't really matter. It's the reference number that decides the watch specs, not the year of production (and models can and do sometimes overlap).

[Scottac8de]

Originally Posted by Murphtimes

It sounds like you really care for your Datejust, keeping it in top shape with those service updates and changes. Switching to a sapphire crystal could be a game-changer, especially for that durability. As for the red face, it could add a cool, unique touch! Aftermarket options might offer more flexibility. Have you checked out any specific options for the red face yet?

It would be a face for a 16013 style. I've looked on fleabay and I found one red one that I would call red "sunburst". It is supposedly an original "refurbished" face located in Vietnam, but the printing didn't look correct nor were the markers quite placed properly, so I suspect it is a fake at at least a bad refurbish job. And it's condition was "OK" at best. The other faces I've seen in the right vintage seem to have all the gold off the back of them, which seems weird. The back of my original blue face and the replacement black face (both Rolex OE) are clearly gold plated on the back.

Most of the red knock-off faces I've seen are entirely too gaudy for a 16013. Big Roman numeral indicators, diamond indicators that are entirely too large, etc. I was hoping to find a simple stick indicators on a red brushed metallic face. I have seen such a red face on a bit more modern Datejust that I thought looked really nice. The original blue face was in that that brushed metallic look as well. The black face in it now is just a plain black face with typical stick indicators.

In the end, this was just an idea for the old girl as I thought it might bring occasion to wear it more by giving it a bit more pop without making it look cheap. At the end of the day, it'll be just one more watch handed down to one of my sons anyway. 2 of my 3 sons seem to appreciate timepieces. But they all understand the value involved.

[Scottac8de]

Originally Posted by ArtNouveau

I’m a little curious about your watch’s vintage. My first Rolex was a SS Datejust in 1984 and it had an acrylic crystal. I traded it in for a tutone DJ in 1986 which had a sapphire crystal and also the gold was 18K versus the previous 14K. My guess is your watch was manufactured earlier than you think, not unusual for one to sit in a dealer’s case that long back then.
As far as a red dial I can’t think of one ever coming on a Datejust. The Stella dials back in that day were all on DayDates AFAIK.

As I posted earlier, you are correct. It does appear to be a 1987 by the S/N, not 1989. I just bought it in 1989. So yes, the jeweler had it for some time clearly, as they didn't jump out of the case back then. On that note, I actually saw FIVE new Rolex's for sale at my dealer just last week. Daydate and Datejust. I haven't seen that in a long time.

Right or wrong, my dealer told me that the sapphire crystal became an option for a Datejust Rolex in the late 80's, but wasn't a standard for it until sometime around 2000. He said he recalled seeing the first sapphire crystals back in the early 1970's when he was just a boy working there for his Dad. And that was when I started wondering if the 1987 I have could get an original Rolex sapphire crystal retrofitted. He said no after looking it up. It was apparently a different model number; it must be built differently internally. But again, it was just a passing thought anyway.

[Farran]

For the sapphire crystal, it's a good upgrade for scratch resistance and clarity, though it’ll change the vintage look and might affect resale. As for the red dial, Rolex never made one for the Datejust, so aftermarket is your option. Just ensure it's high-quality to preserve the watch's overall look and avoid devaluing it.

[Scottac8de]

I was asked for photos of the old 16013, so here they are. Here you can clearly see the domed acrylic crystal.

[Doug5551]

Very cool!

[Scottac8de]

Originally Posted by Farran

For the sapphire crystal, it's a good upgrade for scratch resistance and clarity, though it’ll change the vintage look and might affect resale. As for the red dial, Rolex never made one for the Datejust, so aftermarket is your option. Just ensure it's high-quality to preserve the watch's overall look and avoid devaluing it.

I care nothing about resale. I'm not a watch collector nor does watch value even enter my mind. I like what I like and Rolex isn't even my favorite for many reasons. HOWEVER, that said I'm not going to make it some gaudy abortion. I also will keep all the original parts like the acrylic crystal and original faces so it can be easily restored to original configuration if one of my sons decides to sell it. Of course the band's latch has my first initial and last name engraved in it, so someone would have to replace that part of the band for resale. I'm on at least the second bracelet latch on that watch as they do wear out.

[Scottac8de]

One more question I hope you guys can help with. I need to send the Jubilee bracelet off (D links) to have it "destretched". I put up another post on this subject about a week ago but no responses as of yet. I am in the USA, so keeping it domestic is preferred. Yes, I know about Michael Young in Hong Kong who is arguably the best I'm told. Shipping, insurance and customs declarations are the problem there.

The list seems to get rather short in the US for those that are known to be reputable, with Rolliworks being one that repeatedly comes up. Yes, I got a quote from them, but it seems I can't get someone on the phone. I have trouble doing business with a company that cannot be reached by phone if I'm going to send them something valued in the thousands. Yes, I left a message. I've also read varying reviews on their work; most good, but a few really, really bad. I may end up using them, but I am somewhat uncomfortable if they can't be reached by phone.

Any suggestions on a company has a great reputation for this work domestically and can be reached by phone?

[Scottac8de]

Originally Posted by Scottac8de

...I need to send the Jubilee bracelet off (D links) to have it "destretched" ...Rolliworks being one that repeatedly comes up...

Update - Michael Hui called me personally after leaving a message, which makes me much more comfortable to send the bracelet to him. At least I know he will respond, so I'll probably move forward with using Rolliworks to destretch the bracelet.