Rolex masters its dial creation and production in-house, enabling the brand to regularly delight customers with new, exquisitely made watch faces.
The dial plays an essential role in conveying the aesthetic identity of a watch. This is why Rolex performs its dial production in-house, mastering ancestral techniques and avant-garde technology.
From the initial sketches to the final inspection, the process involves a series of steps and operations that call on specific expertise. Every year sees the development of hundreds of dial prototypes but only a handful of them will make it into the brand’s catalogue. And those that do will have passed a strict selection protocol based on aesthetic, technical as well as commercial criteria.
The manufacture of dials perfectly encapsulates the philosophy that guides the brand: seeking the highest level of quality to achieve an impeccable, long-lasting result.
A TOUCH OF LUXURY
Some dials are adorned with a particular finish or motif. In other cases, such as lacquered dials, it is the material used to colour the dial that confers the final appearance.
Rolex employs a wide range of finishes to decorate its dials. The most traditional is undoubtedly sunray finishing to create almost imperceptible fine lines radiating out from the centre. Fine satin finishing is another option which creates a uniform matt surface. Traditional dial decoration methods are also employed – techniques such as guillochage or champlevé grand feu enamelling. More contemporary procedures include laser technology to create structured finishes, such as grenage or graining.
Over time Rolex has gained esteem among watchmaking connoisseurs for the quality of its dials made from natural materials, including opal, onyx, falcon’s eye, turquoise, green aventurine, carnelian and eisenkiesel, as well as mother-of-pearl and meteorite to name but a few.
The dials of some of the elegant watches are partially set or fully paved with diamonds. For these timepieces, hundreds of gems are individually hand set onto an 18 ct gold base plate. Sometimes only the hour markers are graced with diamonds or made from a single precious stone.
INTO THE REALM OF COLOUR
Three different methods are used to colour the dials: lacquering, electroplating and PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition).
Lacquering is used to create deep or intense colours such as black and white, as well as pink, turquoise blue and green. Once the lacquering is completed, the dial is covered with a coat of transparent varnish and polished to a deep shine.
Electroplating creates metallic colours. Silver, champagne-colour, slate and steel dials, for example, are obtained via this method. Black dials can also be made.
PVD treatments allow luxurious tones to be produced such as olive green or chocolate, in addition to distinctive Rolex shades like bright blue, and softer, more muted nuances including pink, ice blue and dark grey.
Thanks to its range of colouring techniques, the Rolex palette includes dozens of exclusive shades and nuances and is continually enriched with new hues.
THE NAKED EYE IS THE FINAL JUDGE
The colours developed by Rolex are the outcome of extensive research and draw on a range of skills. Some hues are called on to vary in tune with fashions and tastes. In the 1980s and 1990s, the nuance of the classic Rolex champagne-colour evolved several times, gaining in warmth and pinkness before it retreated to greater subtlety. Ice blue, another distinctive Rolex shade, reserved for watches in 950 platinum, has also varied over the years.
Final surface finishing can alter the appearance and texture of the dials significantly. Even a simple black gains intensity with a matt varnish, while gloss varnish will give the same black a more refined and elegant look.
Ultimately, the judgement and approval of the new tint for a dial will be eminently human. The appreciation of a dial’s true beauty comes only from the finesse of the naked eye.
CRAFTED TO PERFECTION
David Riboli, in charge of the watch prototype department at Rolex, drives the process of transforming designers’ sketches into dial prototypes.
“It is often said that the dial is the face of the watch and is what gives a particular model its individual personality. This is even more true in the case of dials made of natural stone or mother-of-pearl, because materials like these inherently mean that each dial is unique,” he said.
David and his team take great measures to ensure every dial is crafted to perfection. There are always new options to test and new concepts to explore. To give an example, the team was able to create a design of small flowers by combining traditional sunray decoration with laser engraving.
The resulting petals have a sunray, matt or grained texture, creating a subtle play of reflections that gives the dial its personality. At the centre of each flower is a handset diamond.
“A beautiful and harmonious dial will naturally make a statement,” said David.
