A diamond Rolex Datejust is the watch you put on when the evening deserves it — and then find yourself wearing to lunch the next day because you can’t bear to take it off. Rolex sets diamonds the way it does everything else: precisely, and to last. Across sizes from 31 to 41 millimetres, the Datejust becomes a proper piece of jewellery without ever stopping being a watch.
Here are four we keep coming back to, each authenticated and guaranteed, each ready for its first evening out with you.
A 41mm Datejust with a champagne dial ringed in diamonds. Unashamed evening sparkle with a bracelet you can wear to breakfast.
The Pearlmaster is the Datejust at its most jewelled — mother-of-pearl, diamonds, and a bracelet made to catch light.
A 31mm Datejust with a slate dial, Roman numerals and diamond accents. Restrained by day, luminous by candlelight.
A 36mm Datejust with a deep black diamond dial — the size that suits almost everyone and the dial that suits every occasion.
See the wider Rolex selection to find your evening piece — every one authenticated and guaranteed.
About these prices: each guide price is Chrono6538’s asking price for that individual watch, as of August 2026, and applies to that piece alone — its own metal, case size, diamond count and condition. A diamond-set gold Datejust and a plain steel one are not the same watch and are nowhere near the same price, so read each figure against the piece it sits beside. Ours are authenticated, serviced and guaranteed, so they sit above a bare private-sale figure. Stock moves: a watch shown here may already have found its owner.
What does a diamond Lady-Datejust cost?
| Reference | Configuration | Listings | Asking price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179160 | Steel, plain bezel, no stones | 4 | £4,200 – £5,495 |
| 69173 | Two-tone steel and gold | 19 | £3,950 – £6,250 |
| 179166 | White gold | 1 | £12,645 |
The pattern is the one that governs every Rolex: the metal sets the tier and the stones move you within it. A plain steel Lady-Datejust and a solid-gold diamond one are not the same watch at different prices, they are two different purchases, and a single averaged figure across them would be meaningless.
Note the white-gold row is a single listing rather than a band, and is marked as such. One price is a data point.
These are wider open-market asking prices, not Chrono6538’s prices. We sell authenticated, checked and guaranteed pieces, which sit at a premium to a bare private-sale floor. Treat the figures as market context rather than a price list.
Factory stones or aftermarket?
This is the question that decides the value of a diamond Datejust, and it is answerable. A factory-set dial or bezel appears in Rolex’s own reference and the stones are set to a consistent depth and spacing. Aftermarket setting is done later by a third party, often to a plain watch, and it usually shows in uneven spacing, visible adhesive or a bezel that sits fractionally proud.
Aftermarket stones are not a fraud, but they do reduce the value of the watch rather than add to it, and a seller should tell you which you are looking at without being asked. If the paperwork does not name the configuration, treat that as the answer.
Does a diamond dial date faster than a plain one?
Less than people expect. A diamond-hour-marker dial has been in the Datejust catalogue for decades and reads as classic rather than of a moment. What dates is the heavier stuff: a fully pavé bezel or a bezel set with coloured stones belongs to a particular era and is harder to wear now.
Mother-of-pearl with diamond markers is the combination that has held up best, and it is the one you will see most often on the pre-owned market for that reason.
What should you check on a stone-set example?
Look along the bezel in raking light for a stone sitting low, or a gap between stones that is wider than its neighbours. Then run a fingertip round it. You should feel nothing catching.
Check each dial marker is present and that none has clouded. Setting a replacement stone into a dial is delicate, expensive work.
And check the dial edge for moisture spotting, which is the more common fault on a small Rolex of this age and does far more damage to value than a scuffed case.
Where to look
Every Rolex we sell is independently authenticated, with the configuration described as it is. Have a look, and buy the dial you want to see every day rather than the one with the most stones.
Figures last updated 15 September 2026.