The Pick: A Top-Tier 279160 Clone
If you want the Datejust 31 look without the Datejust 31 price, buy the best clone you can find and skip the middle tiers. The 279160 is a small watch with a lot of surface detail: a 31 mm case, a fluted white gold bezel, a Jubilee bracelet, and a date window under a Cyclops lens. Cheap copies miss those details, so the money belongs in the top tier or nowhere.
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Clone vs Original at a Glance
- Case size: both at 31 mm, but the original has crisper lug bevels and a slimmer mid-case.
- Bezel: solid 18k white gold with a defined facet cut on the original; plated steel or gold-plated brass on most clones.
- Dial: sunray finish, applied indices, and a printed minute track that stays sharp at macro distance on the original.
- Movement: Rolex calibre 2236 with a 55-hour power reserve on the original; a 2671-based or A2824 clone automatic in the copies.
- Bracelet: Jubilee with a concealed Crownclasp; clones use stamped or milled clasps with a friction fit.
- Weight: the original feels dense on the wrist; a good clone lands within a few grams, a cheap one feels hollow.
- Price: the original runs about $8,000 and up; top clones sit in the low hundreds.
How to Compare Them Side by Side
- Measure the case across the bezel with calipers and confirm 31 mm.
- Check the date window alignment under the Cyclops, then inspect the date font for a centered print.
- Run a fingernail over the fluted bezel facets and feel for sharp, even ridges.
- Weigh the watch head and bracelet on a gram scale and compare the result to the published original spec.
- Wind the crown 40 turns and listen for a clean rotor spin when you tilt the case.
- Set the time and watch the seconds hand sweep for stutter at low amplitude.
- Inspect the rehaut engraving under a loupe, letter by letter, for depth and spacing.
Option 1: Top-Tier Clone, Best Value
This is the pick. A high-grade 279160 clone should give you a 31 mm case in 904L or 316L steel, a Jubilee bracelet with solid links, a sapphire crystal with proper Cyclops magnification, and a Swiss-level automatic that holds time within about 10 seconds a day. Ask for photos of the rehaut, the clasp code, and the date window before you pay. Expect to spend a few hundred dollars. At that price the watch wears close to the original on the wrist, and the flaws show up only under a loupe.
Option 2: Mid-Tier Clone, Only If the Price Drops
Mid-tier copies use the same case shape but cut corners on the bezel plating and the bracelet finishing. The fluted edges look soft, the center links pick up scratches fast, and the clasp feels light. Buy this tier only when the seller lists the movement and the bracelet material in the listing. If those details are missing, treat it as a low-grade watch.
Option 3: The Genuine 279160
The real Datejust 31 in Oystersteel and white gold is the benchmark. The calibre 2236 with its Syloxi hairspring, the 55-hour reserve, and the solid gold bezel are things no clone reproduces. Buy the original if you plan to keep the watch for decades, service it through Rolex, and pass it on. Check the warranty card, the serial between the lugs, and the clasp code before you hand over money on the secondary market.
What the Original Still Wins
Three things: the movement, the gold, and the finishing. The 2236 runs at a stable rate across positions, the white gold bezel keeps its color, and the bracelet end links fit the case with no gap. A clone can copy the shape, not the metallurgy. That gap is the reason the price difference exists, and it is the reason the top clone still makes sense as a daily wearer.
Bottom Line
Buy the top-tier clone first if the goal is the look at a low cost. Step up to the original only when you want the movement, the gold bezel, and the service history. Skip the middle tiers entirely.