The Best Rolex Watches to Gift This Holiday Season

It’s been a challenging year, to say the least. But the good news is, the holiday season is here and so this is the ideal time to find that the perfect Christmas gift for your special someone. 

Of course, every family has that one person who is impossible to buy for—but worry not, this is where Beckertime comes in!

Young or old, male or female, tall, short, big, or small; everyone will love getting a Rolex watch for Christmas. 

Below, we have picked out four of the best, all available in our online store.

Rolex Watches for This Christmas

If They’re the Adventurous Type

The Rolex Explorer II ref. 216570

What better Rolex watch for this time of year than one with a ‘Polar’ dial?

The ref. 216570 came out in 2011 to celebrate 40-years of the Explorer II and was the first reference of the model to be offered in a newly-enlarged 42mm case. 

Like every other iteration bar the first, this generation came with the choice of just two dials; a black dial which caused so-called ‘Phantom Hands’ (the base of all four hands are also painted black and so look to be floating), and the white or Polar dial. Also like every other iteration, your choice in metals is steel or nothing, just as Rolex’s most toolish tool watch should be. And, Joy to the World, the stubby and bright orange ‘Freccione’ GMT hand from the debut piece is reinstated. 

But best of all with the Explorer II, prices have always remained realistic. You can pick up a superb, authentic example of this terrific watch for around $12,500.

If They’re the Executive Type

The Rolex Day-Date ref. 118239

Is this the year you finally reward yourself or your significant other for all your (or their) hard work?

If there is one watch specifically designed to recognize excellence and accomplishment, in any field whatsoever, it is the Rolex Day-Date; aka. the President. 

Since its inception in 1956, the Day-Date has been not only Rolex’s flagship but a symbol of absolute distinction, an emblem of success worn by more overachievers than any other. 

It is also one of the brand’s watches with the least altered aesthetics. A reference from the 1950s or ‘60s looks pretty much the same as one made last week, with all the major upgrades occurring internally in the shape of more efficient and convenient movements—the President was given a single Quickset function in 1977 and a double Quickset in 1988, for instance. Since then, it has really been a case of tinkering, making minor improvements you probably wouldn’t notice in the real world. What that means is you can buy a 20-year old example, which will both look and perform like a brand new watch, for a fraction of the price. 

The ref. 1182XX is a case in point. Released in 2000, it was the first six-digit generation and differed from the one before mainly in its bracelet, which went through a substantial overhaul. Here, all its links were made solid and the clasp strengthened, leading to an increase in weight while the movement, the Cal. 3155, gained a Parachrom Bleu hairspring for the first time. Other than that, nothing much else was changed and neither did it need to be. The Day-Date is as the Day-Date always was: timeless.

But which one to get? Like the Datejust, the options list on a President would shame an S-Class, and there are a near uncountable number of metal, dial, bezel and bracelet combinations to choose from. However, my favorite for a Christmas gift would be the ref. 118239. 

Pure white gold, 36mm and with a plethora of faces on offer, I would opt for the Havana Brown anniversary dial. A beautifully warm burnt orange color, with the Rolex monogram stamped right across it, and accented with diamond indexes, it is a wonderful blend of hot and cold which can’t help but raise a smile. 

And you can buy it today for just $28,000.

If They’re the Type That Likes to Stand Out 

The Rolex Submariner ref. 16613

In terms of global fame and all-round desirability, there really isn’t anything that comes close to Rolex’s Submariner.

Undoubtedly the most successful and emulated sports watch of all time, it has been the industry-leading example of unimprovable, enduring design since its debut in 1953. 

In its more than 70-years at the forefront, the Sub has been issued in a host of different guises, with eccentric color schemes and even heavily bejeweled versions aplenty. 

But while the classic black and white variant will always be the most sought-after, arguably the next most popular (and the most Christmasy) is the Bluesy. 

The fan-given nickname refers to references from four different generations of the Submariner, all of them utilizing a two-tone Rolesor case (case, crown guards and inner bracelet links in steel; bezel, crown and outer links in 18k yellow gold) with a blue dial and bezel insert.

Of those four references—ref. 16803, ref. 16613, ref. 116613LB and ref. 126613LB—it is the ref. 16613 which gives the most bang for your buck.

From the generation collectors know as the ‘last of the best’, this was the final time Rolex presented a Sub with aluminum surround or housed it in the traditionally-shaped 40mm case. Yet it still had a modern and faultless movement in the Cal. 3135 along with other contemporary touches such as a sapphire crystal and unidirectional bezel. 

What’s more, that glorious royal blue paint job contrasting with the polished-to-within-an-inch-of-their-lives yellow gold elements leaves the whole watch as one big eye-catcher. 

The ref. 1661X series of the Sub was produced for a long time, meaning there is no shortage of excellent examples on the market. That, in turn, leads to prices which are very approachable in relation to other references of the same type, with around $14,000 being enough to secure one for yourself.

If She Wants Something as Unique as a Snowflake

The Rolex Lady President ref. 79089

As luxurious and aspirational as Rolex is, the brand still qualifies as a mass-producer of watches. Rumor has it they make somewhere in the region of 1,000,000 pieces a year, which goes no way towards explaining why they are so difficult to get hold of at Authorized Dealers.

But what do you do if you want something a little more exclusive from the crown, something you can be sure you won’t see on anyone else’s wrist? Well, in that case, you are going to want a dial which is, by definition, unique. 

Rolex has been using natural materials in their dial making for decades; everything from simple woods such as walnut or mahogany, through to semi-precious stone like lapis lazuli, malachite and onyx. They have even employed genuine slices of meteorite extensively across a number of collections.

However, possibly their most widely-used exotic dial material remains mother-of pearl. Taken from the inner shell of mollusks such as oysters and mussels, the substance more correctly known as nacre has an iridescent quality which lends itself beautifully to dials which are not only stunning to look at but which are all absolute one-offs.

You will find mother-of-pearl dials on everything from the Day-Date to the Yacht-Master, but it goes particularly well on the elegantly scaled-down façade of the Lady-Datejust. 

The ref. 79089, released first in 1988, is one such watch. Measuring a minute 26mm and cast in white gold, it sounds as classically understated as they come. But, with the addition of the nacre dial, along with a bezel set with 32 brilliant-cut diamonds and four baguette sapphires, as well as a further 10 sapphires for hour markers, it becomes a true elite standout. Couple all that with a President bracelet in place of the standard Oyster or Jubilee (thus making it officially a Lady President) and you have an absolutely exceptional genus of Rolex’s all-time bestselling creation. 

A very special gift for anyone this Christmas, the ref. 79089 will receive a blizzard of compliments.

Whatever you’re doing, and whoever you’re doing it with, everyone here at Beckertime wish you and yours the very happiest of holiday seasons.