Rolex Datejust Ref.1601 Wide Boy

The nickname is not particularly elegant. The watch certainly is.

This Rolex Datejust Ref. 1601 dates to 1971 and carries one of those small details that can turn an otherwise familiar Datejust into something collectors start looking for. The so-called ‘Wide Boy’ dial uses noticeably broader hour markers and a matching wider handset, giving the classic Datejust face a stronger, distinctly seventies look.

Here, that dial comes in a warm gold tone that works beautifully with the yellow gold fluted bezel, crown and centre links of the Jubilee bracelet. Against the steel case, it creates that unmistakable two-tone Rolex combination, but the wider dial furniture gives the whole thing a little more attitude than the usual 1601.

The rest is classic four-digit Datejust territory. A 36 mm Oyster case, acrylic crystal with Cyclops, date at three and the dimensional dial profile associated with this generation. The Jubilee bracelet keeps it comfortable and slightly dressier, while still making this very much an everyday Rolex.

‘Wide Boy’ was never an official Rolex name. It is collector language for this bolder dial and handset combination, a design language that appeared briefly during the 1970s before slimmer markers became the norm again. It is a subtle difference until you spot it, and then a regular Datejust suddenly looks rather narrow.

That is really the appeal here. All the familiarity of a two-tone Ref. 1601, with one small period detail giving it a completely different face. Gold, steel, acrylic and a proper dose of seventies Rolex character. Available at Reestraat 3, Amsterdam.