Owing to their similar name, nearly identical style, there is often some confusion about the Rolex Datejust and date watch. While, since these two similar watches are considered to be different from the Rolex watch series, we will discuss the differences between Rolex dates to eliminate confusion.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the company, Rolex unveiled the Datejust in 1945 as the world’s first chronometer-rated wristwatch with a date window on the dial. The new replica Rolex was a collection of the brand’s other breakthrough innovations, such as waterproof oyster shells and a “permanent” mechanical movement that automatically wound. As a result, the fake watch’s official name is the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust. 
Another novelty of the Datejust was its five-link bracelet design, which is called the Jubilee bracelet. The inaugural full yellow gold Datejust model combined a 36mm case with a fluted bezel and a Jubilee bracelet – design elements that are still popular within the modern Datejust collection even though the lineup has flourished with a vast assortment of different metal, bezel, bracelet, and size options.
The Rolex Date took part in the company’s catalog in the mid-1950s as a slightly smaller alternative to the Datejust. Rather than a 36mm Oyster case, the Oyster Perpetual Date watch sported a 34mm case housing a dial with a date window at 3 o’clock. Although there are a few other styles to choose from, such as pure gold, most of the early models were stainless steel with sleek borders and three-ring oyster bracelets.
Right off the bat, we see that the Rolex Date was not just a smaller iteration of the Datejust, but also a somewhat more casual option too. By the time Rolex launched the Date model, the Cyclops date magnification lens had already been introduced in 1953. The Cyclops bubble serves to magnify the date window by 2.5 times and it has become a fixture of all Datejust and Date watches since its inception.
While the first sizes of the Datejust and the Date were 36mm and 34mm, Rolex did add more size options to both collections over the years. For example, somewhat puzzlingly, Rolex has in the past produced the Lady-Datejust and the ladies’ Date with 26mm cases, and the mid-size Datejust and mid-size Date with 31mm case sizes. What’s more, Rolex has also ceased making the Lady-Datejust 26, replacing it with the Lady-Datejust 28. Also, over the course of the last decade, Rolex has also added larger options for the Datejust.
While there are some vintages and stop date 34 models in pure gold and varying shades of steel and gold, Rolex has simplified only two choices: all-steel or stainless steel platinum groove bezels, both with 34 mm cases and fitted oyster bracelets. Overall, the Rolex date is a smaller and simpler version of the replica Rolex date that just has fewer options from the factory, but offers almost the same features.