Rolex Datejust Ref. 1601/9 - Lapis Lazuli “Pinball” Dial

An extremely rare Rolex Datejust reference 1601/9.

While the standard reference 1601 is produced in stainless steel with a white gold bezel, the “/9” designation indicates the exclusive full white gold version, with the case, bezel, and bracelet executed entirely in 18K white gold.

The watch features an unusual lapis lazuli stone dial fitted with “pinball” diamond hour markers. Typically, stone dials found in four-digit Datejust references such as the 1601 are plain stone dials without diamond markers, while the pinball diamond configuration only began appearing in Rolex production around 1987–1988.

Dating to the 1970s, this dial is believed to represent a prototype configuration for the pinball diamond markers on stone dials combination. No comparable reference has been documented online.

Reference - 1601/9

Year - Circa 1970

Dial - Lapis Lazuli with diamond hour markers

Movement - Rolex Caliber 1575, automatic

Case - 18K White Gold

Dimensions - 36 mm

Bracelet - Not included

Box - Not included

Paper - Not included