Rolex Serial Number Lookup
Find the year your Rolex was made.
Every Rolex carries a serial number that places it in a production year. Enter yours and we’ll give you the year, the numbering era it belongs to, and where that engraving should sit on the case.
Rolex has never published an official serial database. This chart is built from decades of collector and dealer records, so treat each year as a close estimate rather than a certificate.
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Where to find it
Two engravings, two places on the case.
The serial number and the reference (model) number are engraved on the case itself, never on the dial or bracelet. Which spot you check depends on roughly when the watch was made.
1926
Between the lugs at 6 o’clock
Until the mid-2000s the serial was engraved on the case flank at 6 o’clock, hidden by the bracelet end-link. You’ll need to push the spring bar and remove the bracelet to read it. The reference number sits in the same spot at 12 o’clock.
2005
Repeated on the rehaut
From roughly 2005 Rolex began engraving the serial on the rehaut, the sloped inner ring between the dial and the crystal, at the 6 o’clock position. Watches from this transition carry it in both places.
2008
Rehaut only
From around 2008 the between-the-lugs serial was dropped. On a modern Rolex you read the serial through the crystal at 6 o’clock, no tools needed. The rehaut also carries the repeated ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX engraving around the ring.
Tip
If there’s no serial at all
A genuine Rolex always has one. A missing or soft, uneven engraving is a warning sign. If you’re unsure, send us a photo of the rehaut or the 6 o’clock flank and we’ll take a look before you do anything else.
Production year chart
Three numbering eras, 1926 to today.
Each row gives the lowest serial recorded for that year. Your watch falls in the latest year whose starting number is at or below your serial. Rows marked est. are interpolated where records are thin.
| Serial | Year |
|---|---|
| 8 mixed letters & digits | 2010 onward |
In 2010 Rolex switched to scrambled eight-character serials such as 4G7K2M1Z. They can’t be dated from the number alone. Use the date printed on the warranty card, or the reference number’s own production run, instead.
| Starts with | Year |
|---|---|
| R000001 | 1987 |
| R598200 | 1988 |
| L | 1989 (a few late 1988) |
| E | 1990 |
| X | 1991 |
| N | 1991 |
| C | 1992 |
| S000001 | 1993 |
| S860880 | 1994 |
| W | 1995 |
| T | 1996 |
| U000001 | 1997 |
| U932144 | 1998 |
| A | 1999 |
| P | 2000 |
| K | 2001 (a few late 2000) |
| Y | 2002 |
| F | 2003 to 2004 |
| D | 2005 to 2006 |
| Z | 2006 to 2007 |
| M | 2007 to 2008 |
| V | 2008 to 2010 |
| G | 2010 |
The letter is followed by six digits. Rolex skipped B, H, I, J, O and Q. From 2001 two letters were often in production at once, which is why later rows span two years.
| From serial | Year |
|---|
Rolex ran past 999,999 in 1953 and restarted the count at about 23,000 in 1954, so six-digit serials exist in both series. The watch’s reference tells you which run it belongs to.
| From serial | Year |
|---|
The earliest Oyster cases from 1926 onward carry five-digit serials beginning around 20,000. Records before 1932 are sparse, so those rows are estimates.
Reference numbers
Reading the model number.
The reference number, engraved between the lugs at 12 o’clock, identifies the model, its bezel and its metal. Four digits means a vintage reference, five digits roughly 1980s to 2000s, six digits the current generation. Type one in and we’ll break it apart.
| Digit | Metal |
|---|---|
| 0 | Stainless steel (Oystersteel) |
| 1 | Vintage: gold-filled or gold-plated. Modern: steel and Everose gold (Everose Rolesor) |
| 2 | Vintage: white-gold-filled. Rare on modern references |
| 3 | Steel and 18k yellow gold (yellow Rolesor) |
| 4 | Steel with an 18k white-gold bezel (white Rolesor) |
| 5 | Vintage: gold shell. Modern: 18k Everose gold |
| 6 | Platinum |
| 7 | 14k yellow gold (vintage, mostly US market) |
| 8 | 18k yellow gold |
| 9 | 18k white gold |
| Digit | Bezel |
|---|---|
| 0 | Smooth or domed |
| 1 | Engine-turned on dress models. On sports references this digit belongs to the model code, not the bezel |
| 2 | Engine-turned (fine pattern) |
| 3 | Fluted |
| 4 | Hand-finished or gem-set |
| 5 | Pyramid |
| 6 | Rotating, as on the Sea-Dweller 16660 and Deepsea 116660 |
| Suffix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| LN | Black bezel insert (lunette noire) |
| LB | Blue bezel insert |
| LV | Green bezel insert (lunette verte) |
| BLNR | Blue and black bezel, the “Batman” |
| BLRO | Blue and red bezel, the “Pepsi” |
| CHNR | Brown and black bezel, the “Root Beer” |
| GRNR | Grey and black bezel |
| VTNR | Green and black bezel, the “Sprite” |
| RBR | Diamond-set bezel |
Clasp codes
Dating the bracelet from the clasp.
Open the clasp and look inside the hinge. Bracelets made from 1976 to 2010 carry a short code: one or two letters for the year, then a number for the month. A clasp stamped G4 was made in April 1982. Because bracelets get swapped and serviced, a clasp date that disagrees with the case serial isn’t unusual, but it is worth knowing.
| Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|
Country codes
Where the watch was first sold.
Older paper guarantee certificates carry a three-digit code in the top corner that records the market the watch was delivered to. Watches sold before about 1980 usually have none, and a US-market watch may show 710 or no code at all. The code says where it was sold, not where it was made: every Rolex is built in Switzerland.
Questions we hear a lot
Serial number FAQ.
My serial matched two years. Which is right?
Rolex filled the five- and six-digit range twice, once from 1926 to 1953 and again from 1954. Check the reference number: a reference that only existed after 1954, such as any Submariner, means the later year.
Can I date a watch with a random serial?
Not from the serial. Since 2010 the eight-character serials are scrambled on purpose. The date on the warranty card is the reliable answer, and the reference number narrows the production window.
Is the production year the same as the sale year?
No. The serial is assigned when the case is made. A watch often sat with Rolex or a dealer for months, sometimes more than a year, before its first sale. The warranty card date is the sale date.
The serial looks faint or polished. Is that a problem?
Decades of polishing can soften an engraving between the lugs, and that’s normal on a vintage case. An engraving that is shallow, uneven or in the wrong font is a different story. We check every watch in-house before we buy or sell it.
Does an older serial make the watch worth more?
Sometimes, sometimes not. Age matters less than the reference, the dial, the condition and whether the box and papers are present. A 2019 steel Daytona can be worth more than a 1970s dress watch, and a 1960s Submariner can beat both.
Where is the serial on a Tudor?
Vintage Tudor cases were made by Rolex and follow the same between-the-lugs layout, but Tudor serials run on their own sequence and this chart doesn’t apply to them. Send us the number and reference and we’ll date it for you.
Know the year? Now find the value
Sell your Rolex to Nehoa.
Send us the serial, the reference and a few photos and we’ll come back with a real offer, not a range. Free insured shipping both ways, payment on authentication, and a family-run shop you can call and actually reach.
Blue Ridge, Georgia322 W Main St, Unit 1A, Blue Ridge, GA 30513
By appointment · 9am to 5pm ET
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Production years on this page come from collector and dealer records, not from Rolex, and individual watches can fall a year either side of the chart. The lookup is a guide to help you understand your watch; an in-hand inspection is the only way to confirm authenticity and date.
Nehoa is an independent watch dealer. We are not an authorized dealer for any brand we buy or sell and have no affiliation with Rolex SA or any other manufacturer. Brand, model and reference names are used only to identify the watches and belong to their respective owners.