Rolex boxes and papers by era
Rolex boxes ranged from wood and cardboard cases in the 1950s to soft top boxes in the 1960s and 1970s and a pillow box by the late 1990s, and its guarantee papers moved from a stapled booklet to punched certificates and then crown border papers. Find yours below by period. Every date is approximate.
Box styles by period
Collector names for the presentation boxes Rolex used from the late 1940s to the late 1990s. Where a style appears in more than one build or period, each version has its own line. Boxes the source gives no name are listed as unnamed styles. Outer cardboard boxes are rarer than the inner boxes and are not listed.
1940s and 1950s
Unnamed style
Late 1940s to early 1950sWood, faux leather, gilt embossing, brass hinges.Insert Removable insert, cardboard, gilt embossed cloth covered.1950sWood, gilt embossing, spring hinged.Insert Cardboard insert with metal cuff, faux velvet.Early Asymmetrical Box
1950sWood, gilt embossing, spring hinged.Insert Cardboard insert with metal cuff, faux velvet.Coffin Box
1950sCardboard, gilt embossing, paper hinge.Insert Cardboard insert, faux velvet.1950sCardboard, gilt embossing, faux lizard paper hinge.Insert Cardboard insert, faux velvet.1950sWood, gilt embossing, faux silk, metal hinge.Insert Cardboard insert, faux velvet.Fancy Logo Box
1950sWood, cotton, gilt embossing, spring hinged.Insert Cardboard insert with metal cuff, faux velvet.
Late 1950s to the 1960s
Hardshell Pale Blue Faux Ostrich
Late 1950s to early 1960sFolded metal, cotton, gilt embossing, spring hinged.Insert Fixed metal cuff, cotton.Asymmetrical Pyramid Box
Late 1950s to early 1960sWood interior, faux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinged.Insert Removable insert, felt cotton.Late 1950s to early 1960sWood interior, faux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinged.Insert Removable insert, faux velvet with adjustable metal cuff.1960sWood interior, faux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges.Insert Removable cardboard insert, faux velvet.Asymmetrical Bicolor Box
Late 1950s to early 1960sWood interior, faux leather exterior, gilt embossed, brass hinges.Insert Removable cardboard insert, faux velvet.Symmetrical Box
1960sWood interior, faux leather exterior, gilt embossed, brass hinges.Insert Removable cardboard insert, faux velvet.Pyramid Box
1960sWood interior, faux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges.Insert Removable cardboard insert, faux velvet.Soft Top Box
1960sFaux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges, removable cardboard insert, metal cuff, faux velvet.
Late 1960s to the 1970s
Hardshell Green Faux Leather
Late 1960sFolded metal, cotton, gilt embossing, spring hinged.Insert Fixed metal cuff, cotton.Soft Top Box
Late 1960s to early 1970sFaux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges, removable insert, metal cuff, brass, gilt, faux velvet.Unnamed style
Late 1960s to early 1970sFaux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges, removable insert, movable metal cuff, faux velvet.Late 1970sFaux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges, removable insert, movable metal cuff, faux velvet.Late 1970s to early 1980sFaux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges, removable insert, metal cuff, faux velvet.Symmetrical Box
Late 1960s to early 1970sWood interior, faux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges.Insert Removable cardboard insert, faux velvet.Large Bukfor Soft Top Box
Mid 1970sFaux leather exterior, gold plated, spring hinges, removable insert, metal cuff, plastic, gold plating, green cloth.
1980s and 1990s
Moon Crater Box
1980sFaux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges, removable insert, metal cuff, faux velvet.Pillow Box
Late 1990sFaux leather exterior, gilt embossed, spring hinges, removable insert, metal cuff, faux velvet.
Guarantee papers by era
Years are approximate and sizes are given in millimetres. Watches were often sold years after they were made, so the papers in a set can be older than the watch.
- 1950 to 1955
Guarantee booklet
A printed booklet of eight stapled pages, about 102 mm by 184 mm. At the sale the dealer typed or handwrote the purchase date and case number.
- 1955 to 1966
Green Foldout guarantee
A foldout booklet far smaller than its predecessor, about 98 mm by 67 mm, issued in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Portuguese. Its back page carried a date code that changed every year.
- 1955 to 1966
Bureaux Suisses certificate and Red Seal hang tag
Chronometer rated watches also came with a Bureaux Suisses certificate and a Red Seal hang tag.
- 1960 to 1966
Superlative Chronometer booklet
A bigger, more ornately printed booklet of eight stapled pages, about 130 mm by 95 mm, made for Superlative Chronometer watches and translated into other languages.
- About 1965
Punched papers
Perforating machines began punching holes in chronometer certificates and guarantee booklets, which gave the first double punched papers.
- 1960 to 1970, United Kingdom
UK guarantee booklet
Some markets had papers of their own. In the United Kingdom a 36 page booklet was printed in England, with small changes through the 1960s and early 1970s. It named the Bexley Rolex Service Centre, and the dealer completed a guarantee page inside the cover.
- 1967 to 1968
Oyster Guarantee booklet
A 36 page guarantee booklet with an eight panel foldout at its centre, made for Oyster cased Sport models other than the Daytona 6239 and 6241. It was mostly issued with chronometer rated watches, which also received a Bureaux Suisses certificate and a Red Seal hang tag. A perforating machine punched most of these booklets, though not all.
- 1967 to 1972
Eight page booklet for non-Oyster models
A smaller eight page booklet made for non-Oyster models such as the Daytona 6239 and 6241, usually filled in by hand or typewriter. It was also commonly used with the Submariner 5513. The final version was printed in 1972.
- 1968 to 1969
Updated Oyster Guarantee booklet
Revised text, cover and centrefold artwork, and the foldout panels in the centre were dropped.
- About 1970
Single page guarantee and Rolex chronometer certificate
The centrefold pages were removed and the guarantee shrank to a single page at the back of the booklet. Around the same time Rolex replaced the Bureaux Suisses certificate with a chronometer certificate of its own design.
- 1971 to 1974
Larger certificate with Garantie section
The page that carried personalised watch details left the back of the booklet, and Oyster dropped off the cover. The chronometer certificate grew to add a Garantie section with space for owner and dealer details, and a smaller certificate with no Red Seal was introduced for watches without chronometer status. Rolex and crown watermarks now ran through the papers to discourage forgery.
- 1975 to 2002
Crown border papers
From 1975 the chronometer and Garantie papers carried a crown border.
Questions
Can a box tell me the year of my watch?
Only roughly. Rolex did not mark most boxes with codes, so style and materials suggest a period but cannot confirm one.
Were papers always printed in the year the watch was made?
No. Watches were often sold years after they were made, and dealers in different regions did not all use the same papers at the same time.
What is a Red Seal hang tag?
A hang tag with a red seal that came with chronometer rated watches, alongside a Bureaux Suisses certificate. The papers timeline records it for 1955 to 1966 and for 1967 to 1968.
To date the watch itself, start with the Rolex serial numbers and country codes.