The Thunderbird. A Datejust with a bezel that turns, papers included.

The Datejust 36 is the watch Rolex built its reputation on: the first self-winding wristwatch with a date that changed at midnight, launched in 1945, and made ever since in a 36mm Oyster case with a screw-down crown, an automatic chronometer movement, the date under its Cyclops lens at three, a fluted, smooth or engine-turned bezel, and a Jubilee or Oyster bracelet. Because Rolex made it for eight decades in every dial and metal, the pre-owned market is deep and this is where the money goes when people search for a Rolex that is not a Submariner.

Rolex’s Turn-O-Graph of 1953 was the first Rolex with a rotating bezel, a year before the Submariner, and the Thunderbirds aerobatic team adopted it, which is where the nickname comes from. By the 1980s it had become a Datejust with a turning bezel: the 16253 is the two-tone version, a gold bezel engraved with a 60-minute scale on a steel case, with the calibre 3035 and a quickset date. The rhodium tapestry dial, a woven grey texture Rolex used for a few years, is the one that suits the gold, and papers on a 1980s Rolex are worth having.

WGACA gives the reference as 16253, the size as 36mm, the case as steel with an 18 karat gold Turn-O-Graph Thunderbird bezel and sapphire, the movement as automatic, the dial as rhodium tapestry with baton markers, the bracelet as two-tone Jubilee with an Oyster clasp, papers and box as included, a serial, the wrist as 9.5 to 12 inches and the condition as Excellent with light scratching to the bracelet. The title’s Black is the dial-colour field, not the dial. The photograph matches; the calibre 3035, chronometer rating, reserve and 100 metres are Rolex’s published figures for the 16253.

WGACA authenticates in-house and is not a Rolex authorised dealer, and Amazon adds its 30-day return window. Ask for the serial, whether box or papers come with it, and when it was last serviced. Nothing here was measured on the watch.

This unit is sold by What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA) through Amazon Luxury Stores, authenticated by the seller with Amazon’s 30-day return window on top; it is one piece, and when it sells the listing goes away, so the second button opens the live search for Turn-O-Graph Datejusts.

Steel and two-tone Datejusts have resold close to what pre-owned buyers paid, sometimes more, sometimes less; that is a pattern, not a promise, and nothing here is investment advice.