SearchRolex serial and reference numbers: where to find them, how to date a Rolex, and what they cannot tell you
From the counter at TraxNYC, 47th Street.
The short answer
- There is no public Rolex serial lookup. Rolex does not publish its records. The serial dates a watch roughly; the card or papers date the sale.
- Where to look: on newer watches the serial is engraved on the rehaut, the inner ring between the dial and the crystal, at 6 o'clock; on older ones, between the lugs at 6, under the bracelet. The reference sits between the lugs at 12.
- How it dates a watch: a plain number until about 1987, a letter and six digits until about 2010, and since then eight random characters that tell no year.
- It does not prove a watch is real. Counterfeits copy real serials; the serial is one check among several.
Reading a Rolex listing? Text us or call 212-872-9692. Our team texts back 10 AM to 10 PM ET; later texts are answered the next day.
Rolex Watches
All Rolex watches
Serial number or reference number?
The serial belongs to one watch, the way a VIN belongs to one car. The reference is the model: every steel Submariner Date 41 with a black bezel shares 126610LN.
Our listings give the reference on nearly every Rolex, and they do not print serials. On any listing, match the reference to the model, the size, the metal and the bezel in the title.
Where to find the serial and the reference
| Where | What is engraved there | On which watches |
|---|---|---|
| The rehaut, the inner ring under the crystal, at 6 o'clock | The serial | Watches from the mid-2000s on; read it with a loupe, nothing comes off |
| Between the lugs at 6 o'clock, under the bracelet end | The serial | Older watches; some from the changeover years carry it in both places |
| Between the lugs at 12 o'clock | The reference | Most Rolex watches |
| The warranty card or papers | The serial, the model number and the date of sale | When the card came with the watch |
Taking a bracelet off to read the lugs is a jeweler's job: a slipped spring bar scratches the lugs.
How to date a Rolex by its serial
To about 1987: a plain number. It climbed as the factory made watches, and the trade's published tables read it to within a year or two.
About 1987 to 2010: a letter, then six digits. The letter points to a year or two:
| Letter | About | Letter | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1987 to 1988 | P | 2000 |
| L | 1989 | K | 2001 |
| E | 1990 | Y | 2002 |
| X and N | 1991 | F | 2003 to 2005 |
| C | 1992 | D | 2005 to 2006 |
| S | 1993 | Z | 2006 to 2007 |
| W | 1994 to 1995 | M | 2007 to 2008 |
| T | 1996 | V | 2008 to 2009 |
| U | 1997 | G | 2010 |
| A | 1998 to 1999 |
The trade's tables, not Rolex's: each letter can run a year either side, because production did not switch on New Year's Day.
Since about 2010: eight random characters. Letters and numbers in no order, with no year in them. For these watches the card is the date to go by.
What the reference number tells you
On a modern Rolex the reference reads left to right: the first digits are the line and its generation, the next to last is often the bezel, and the last is the metal. Letters after the number usually name the bezel's colors.
| Reference on our listings | The watch | How it reads |
|---|---|---|
| 126334 | Datejust 41 | 12633 is the Datejust 41 with a fluted bezel; the 4 is steel with a white gold bezel |
| 126610LN | Submariner Date 41 | 12661 is the Submariner Date; 0 is steel; LN is a black bezel |
| 126710BLNR | GMT-Master II | 12671 is the GMT-Master II; 0 is steel; BLNR is a blue and black bezel |
| 228235 | Day-Date 40 | 22823 is the Day-Date 40 with a fluted bezel; 5 is Everose gold |
| 69173 | Lady-Datejust 26 | An older five-digit reference; 3 is steel and yellow gold |
| 16622 | Yacht-Master 40 | A five-digit reference; 2 is steel with platinum |
The last digit: 0 steel, 1 steel and Everose gold, 2 steel and platinum, 3 steel and yellow gold, 4 steel and white gold, 5 Everose gold, 6 platinum, 8 yellow gold, 9 white gold. A reading aid, not a rule to buy on; our pre-owned Rolex guide shows it on six watches.
The number of digits says the era. On our own listings the five-digit references carry years from 1981 to 1999 and the six-digit ones from 2008 to 2026.
What a serial cannot tell you
- That the watch is real. A good counterfeit carries a copied serial; the serial, the reference, the engraving, the movement and the card are read together, as how to tell if a Rolex is real shows.
- That the parts are original. Dials, bezels and bracelets get changed, and our listings say when a part is aftermarket or custom.
- Why one is missing. A serial polished away, or never there, needs an answer before you pay.
Read the serial against the card: the two should match, and the reference should match the watch in the title. Watches are final sale under our refund policy, so settle it before you buy.
From the counter
“The most common mistake is the same one people make buying anything: buying from the wrong company, from someone who cares more about the money than about doing good business.”
Talk to the watch desk
Ask what comes with the watch before you decide.
Send the listing and ask for the reference, the year and a video.
Questions about Rolex serial numbers
Can I look up a Rolex serial number?
Not with Rolex: it does not publish its records. The trade's tables date a watch from its letter or its number; for a watch made since about 2010, the card is the date to go by.
Where is the serial number on a Rolex?
On newer watches, on the inner ring under the crystal at 6 o'clock; on older ones, between the lugs at 6 o'clock, under the bracelet end. The reference is between the lugs at 12.
How do I know what year my Rolex is?
Start with the card or papers, which carry the date of sale. Without them, a serial from before about 2010 dates it within a year or two by the tables; after that, the reference narrows it to the years that model was made.
Does the serial number prove a Rolex is real?
No. Counterfeits copy real serials, and a real serial can sit on a case with the wrong parts. It is one check of several.
Do your listings show the serial?
No. They give the reference and, on most, the year and whether the card comes with it.
Keep reading
More answers from the counter: all TraxNYC buyer's guides.
Shop every pre-owned Rolex, or by line: Datejust, Submariner, GMT-Master II. Or see the watch at 64 W 47th St, Booth F-1: text 212-872-9692 first and tell the desk which one.
TraxNYC is an independent jeweler and is not affiliated with Rolex. Rolex and the model names are trademarks of Rolex.