If you want one Rolex to wear for the next thirty years, the real decision is between quiet and a little dressed-up. The Oyster Perpetual keeps things pure — no date, no fuss, just the dial. The Lady-Datejust adds a date window, a fluted or gem-set edge, and a touch of occasion.
Neither is the ‘right’ answer; they’re two different temperaments. Here is how they feel on the wrist, with examples you can hold today.
A 1965 Oyster Perpetual with the ridged ‘Thunderbird’ bezel and a soft silver dial. Small, honest, and endlessly wearable.
Mid-sixties steel, silver dial, nothing you don’t need. The Oyster Perpetual is the purest expression of what Rolex does.
Yellow gold and steel on a Jubilee bracelet — the Datejust that reads as jewellery first and watch second.
A black mother-of-pearl dial scattered with diamonds. The Lady-Datejust dressed for the evening.
Explore more Rolex to find the one that feels right — each authenticated and guaranteed.
Which is the better first Rolex?
The Oyster Perpetual, if you want the watch to be quiet and you are not sure yet what you like. There is nothing on the dial to date it, nothing to tire of, and the smaller vintage sizes wear beautifully on a slim wrist.
The Lady-Datejust, if you already know you want a little more. The fluted bezel and the Jubilee bracelet do real work, and the date window is genuinely useful in a way people underrate until they own one.
Does the two-tone version still look dated?
It did for about fifteen years and it does not now. Steel and gold together has come back so completely that the 69173 has gone from the version nobody wanted to the one most people are looking for.
If you are still unsure, the practical test is what else you wear. Two-tone works if you already mix metals. If everything you own is silver-coloured, the steel version is the safer buy.
What should you check before buying either?
The bracelet first. On a 26mm Rolex the bracelet is small-linked and it stretches, and a stretched Jubilee drops the case low on the wrist and spoils the whole line. Hold the watch horizontally by the case and look for daylight between the links.
Then the dial. Small Rolex dials of this era are where moisture damage shows first, as spotting near the edge or a faint bloom under the crystal. Even, overall cream on an older dial is patina. Blotches are a leak.
Then the papers. Box and papers are the norm for these watches rather than a bonus, so weigh a watch without them accordingly.
Where does that leave you?
If you want the quiet watch you will never tire of, choose the steel Oyster Perpetual. If you want a little occasion every day, choose the Lady-Datejust, in steel or two-tone. And if this is the watch that marks something of your own, a gold or diamond-dial Lady-Datejust is where the choice widens fastest. Either way, it is your wrist and your decision.
Every Rolex we sell is independently authenticated, checked and guaranteed. Have a look and try the two side by side before you decide.