The Rolex Datejust was first introduced in 1945, with ref. 4467, to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary. It was the world’s first waterproof automatic wristwatch to incorporate a date disc and an opening at 3 o'clock, and enjoyed instant recognition upon its release.

The ref. 1601 arrived on the scene much later, in the 50s, in different metals with knurled bezel, as well as variants of stainless steel case and bracelet, two-tone or gold.