The country code, abbreviated to LC, indicates the country to which a Rolex watch is delivered from the Swiss production site. For older models of the brand, this code can be found on the warranty card for the watch. However, warranty cards for watches manufactured from 2020 onwards no longer have an LC. Some buyers attach importance to purchasing a watch with a German country code (LC 100), for example to ensure that the documents relating to the watch are in German. Others consider the LC to be of secondary importance when buying a watch. We provide an overview of the Rolex country codes and provide watch enthusiasts with the most important information about the LC markings.
The most important information in brief
Identification and significance: Country codes on the warranty card show the country in which the watch was originally sold.
Collector's value: Certain country codes can increase the collector's value of a watch, depending on its rarity and origin.
Protection against counterfeiting: By knowing the country codes, buyers can better verify the authenticity of a Rolex and protect themselves from imitations.
The importance of country codes for collectors
The country code makes it possible to see at a glance which sales market - be it Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Great Britain, Ireland, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Thailand or Germany - the watch was originally intended for. In Germany, there are quite a few collectors who prefer to buy watches with a German LC. These come with German-language papers and it is relatively safe to assume that they were not imported illegally.
In comparison, watches that come from abroad (Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Cayman Islands, Caribbean Islands, Middle East, etc.) according to LC are often somewhat cheaper in this country than timepieces with LC 100. Technically, however, there is no difference between the products: a Rolex that comes from the Turks and Caicos Islands is completely identical to a Rolex produced for the German market, except for the LC.
However, the country code becomes interesting if the watch is carried with a foreign LC when crossing a border. Then you have to be prepared to be asked about the origin of the product. This is because it is not uncommon for expensive watches to be brought from country to country duty unpaid and therefore illegally, which is considered tax evasion.
Rolex country code: An overview
Below we list the country codes alphabetically by country:
Abu Dhabi: LC 536
Egypt: LC 612
Alaska: LC 872
Argentina: LC 790
Australia, New Zealand: LC 810
Bahamas: LC 741
Bahrain: LC 526
Bangladesh: LC 514
Belgium, Luxembourg: LC 130
Bermuda: LC 742
Bolivia: LC 786
Brazil: LC 780
Bulgaria: LC 317
Cayman Islands: LC 767
Chile: LC 781
China: LC 838
Costa Rica: LC 737
Denmark: LC 226, 228, 231, 233
Germany: LC 100
Dominican Republic: LC 756
Dubai: LC 537
Finland: LC 283, 286, 291, 298
French Antilles: LC 766
Greece: LC 200, 208
Great Britain, Ireland: LC 160
Guam: LC 873
Hawaii: LC 871
Honduras: LC 733
Hong Kong: LC 400, 874, 888
India: LC 500, 573
Iran: LC 542
Iceland: LC 237
Israel: LC 548
Italy: LC 170,181, 204
Jamaica: LC 752
Japan: LC 410, 900
Virgin Islands: LC 758
Canada: LC 700
Caribbean Islands: LC 757
Qatar: LC 535
Kathmandu: LC 513
Kenya: LC 668
Lesser Antilles: LC 765
Congo: LC 634
Korea: LC 413
Corfu: LC 207
Cuba: LC 754
Kuwait: LC 533
Liechtenstein: LC 036
Malaysia, Thailand: LC 431
Malta: LC 201
Mexico: LC 720, 722
Middle East: LC 527
Natex Retail (NATO Airbase): LC 906
NATO Headquarters (Rheindahlen): LC 907
New Zealand: LC 842
Netherlands: LC 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138
Netherlands Antilles (ex), Aruba: LC 761, 762
Norway: LC 241, 242, 246, 253, 284
Oman: LC 538, 539
Austria: LC 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128
Pakistan: LC 505
Panama: LC 768
Philippines: LC 818
Poland: LC 311, 312
Portugal: LC 210, 213, 215, 216, 217, 218
Russia: LC 330
Saudi Arabia: LC 529, 532
Sweden: LC 265, 267, 270, 271
Switzerland: LC 010, 012, 013, 014, 015, 017, 021, 022, 023, 025, 026, 028, 033, 037, 044, 045, 061
Serbia, Montenegro: LC 325
Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia: LC 430
Slovakia: LC 318
Slovenia: LC 323
Spain: LC 150
South Africa: LC 680
Taiwan: LC 440, 828
Czech Republic: LC 320, 321
Tunisia: LC 605
Turkey: LC 202, 381, 385
Turks and Caico Islands: LC 759
Hungary: LC 322
Venezuela: LC 770
Country codes and counterfeits
It is common knowledge that watches are often counterfeited. The country code is one of the features that can be used to authenticate a watch. If, for example, the watch has the coveted LC 100 according to the warranty card, but comes with documents in a non-German language, alarm bells should ring. However, as a warranty card can of course be forged, matching the country code and document language alone is no guarantee that you are dealing with an original luxury watch.
Where can I find the country code?
The country code is printed on the front of the warranty card for watches of older generations; for more recent models, the code can be found on the back of the card. Watches produced from 2020 onwards no longer have a country code.
Why are there several codes for some countries?
As the list above shows, some countries are assigned several country codes. In this case, there are several sales customers in this country to whom the watches are delivered from the production site in Switzerland.
How does the country code change the value of a watch?
Some country codes increase the value of a watch on the German secondary market. This applies above all to the LC 100, of course, but also models from Switzerland (LC 010, 012, 013, 014, 015,
017, 021, 022, 023, 025, 026, 028, 033, 037, 044, 045, 061) are also more popular than average. Other codes have a rather deterrent effect on some German buyers and can therefore slightly reduce the value of the watch, for example the LC 514 (Bangladesh), the LC 765 (Lesser Antilles) or the LC 838 (China).
Conclusion
The Rolex country codes, which were printed on the guarantee certificates of all watches that left the Swiss manufacture until 2020, indicate the country to which the respective watch was delivered from the factory. In connection with the watch's papers, the country code can allow conclusions to be drawn about the authenticity of a timepiece, and the codes also partly influence the value of a Rolex on the global market.