Vintage Rolex without Tritium??

[RolexRog]

I have a 1966 Oyster Perpetual that contains no tritium at all: no plots, and nothing on the hands. I am curious as to how rare this is? Did they ever make Datejust or Day/Date's without tritium?

[RolexRog]

Just for the record: I am of the opinion that tritium can and does turn some silver index dials into a light bronze/champagne color. This is even further exemplified by many Datejusts with Champagne dials from the early 80's that have developed a really nice bronzing of the champagne dial due to the reaction from the tritium over the years.

(I know there are those who will dispute this, this is okay, I'm just sharing my personal observation. My silver dials with tritium are bronzed over: they look like a very light champagne, whereas my Oyster perpetual with no tritium from 1966 is just as silver as can be).

[Dan S]

I'm not really a Day-Date guy, but I've certainly seen plenty of no-lume DJs. Not terribly rare IMO. And I have also seen plenty of 1970s DJ silver dials with tritium that are "just as silver as can be". In fact, silver DJ dials are often very well preserved.

[offrdmania]

Yes, a non lume day/date is actually quite common. The dial may still say T for the non lume or it might just be a SWISS only dial. Either is correct.

[RolexRog]

QUESTION for everyone: Do you think the gold markers on the silver dial can affect the way the silver looks as opposed to stainless steel markers, for example? A reflective issue?