We have featured the best looking copy Rolex bezels here, and this post is to introduce what the bezel encloses, the beautiful replica Rolex dials. The dial is very important to any watch, and of course, Rolex pays a lot of attention to the design and layout of the dial. Rolex produces such a massive variety of dials for their luxury watches. Some Rolex dials have even become icons, such as the Daytona’s Panda dial. Let’s take a look at some of the beautiful dials in this luxury Swiss watch brand.
Rolex Made Dials By Itself
Rolex has such a high reputation because it strives for perfection in everything it does. Each watch is made entirely by Rolex itself, so the dials are also made by hand. A Rolex dial requires a minimum of 60 operations. Rolex dials are generally made of brass, but there are also special dials made of special materials such as meteorite, mother-of-pearl, and hard stones. But Rolex didn’t make dials in-house until 2000. When it officially acquired the Geneva watchmaker Beyeler, although Beyeler had supplied Rolex dials until then.
Throughout the company’s history, Rolex has paired its legendary watches with a range of different dial designs (in a variety of materials, colors, and styles). From ancient times to the present day, Rolex has produced an endless variety of dials. Here are some representative dials, some of which are from vintage Rolex watches. In fact, the ancient Rolex watches have a much wider variety of dials.
Standard Dials
Rolex most often uses standard dials made of brass and offers a variety of color options. The most common ones are black, white, silver, and champagne. In addition to these neutral colors, there are also bright colors such as blue, green, purple, and yellow. Of course, there are also standard dials in special colors, such as the “Z-Blue” dial in the replica Rolex Milgauss 116400, and the “D-Blue” dial in the replica Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea 126660, and the “Ice-Blue” dial in replica Rolex Daytona 116506. Brass is easily machinable, and the dials made of this perfect metal are robust and durable. For the coloring process, Rolex uses different methods (there are three in total). For the first method, the standard colors are created with a lacquer application. Second, the metallic shades are created by electroplating. Finally, some special colors require PVD, or Physical Vapor Deposition.
Stone Dials
In addition to different colors, Rolex often tries different materials. To date, Rolex has produced many different types of stone dials. The number of these stone dials is very rare and unique. Some of these stone dials are still in production, but some were discontinued many years ago. Below is a list of the different types of stone dials produced by Rolex over the years. Obsidian, Agate, Meteorite(replica Rolex GMT-Master II 126719BLRO), Malachite(replica Rolex Datejust 31 278278), Green Jade(replica Rolex Day-Date 36 118348), Ammonite, Aventurine, Azurite, Bloodstone, Lavender Jade, Cacholong, Rose Jasper, Green Jasper, Carnelian, Chrysoprase, Blue Coral(Rolex Datejust 79173), Orangeish/Pink Coral, Yellowish/Green Coral, Blue Jadeite, Green Jadeite, Ferrite, Grossular, Howlite, Fossil, Mother Of Pearl, Onyx, Black Opal, Pink Opal, Rubellite, Sugilite, Lapis Lazuli, Sodalite, Tiger’s Eye, Bull’s Eye, Turquoise Marble, Lapis Lazuli, Orange Coral, Pietersite. Most of these rare stone dials are found in Datejust and Day-Date watches.
Diamond Dials
Rolex also makes luxurious and sparkling diamond dials. Rolex has a separate diamond department within the company to ensure that each diamond used is of the highest quality. In addition to diamonds, Rolex also uses sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and other colored diamonds. A Rolex may have diamonds set only at the hour markers, or on the entire dial. And the shape of the diamond or gemstone is not only round, but also rectangular and triangular. Every watch in the luxury replica Rolex Pearlmaster collection uses diamonds to a greater or lesser extent. There are other high quality replica Rolex watch collections that use diamond dials, but not many. For example, the Rolex Rainbow Daytona 116595.
Jubilee Dials (Also Called Anniversary Dials)
In 1985, on the 40th anniversary of the Datejust, Rolex introduced a special Jubilee dial to commemorate the anniversary. So the Jubilee dial is also called the anniversary dial. The Jubilee dials features a repeated ‘ROLEX’ text throughout the surface, it adds an attractive 3D quality. We can see this dial in some Ladies-Datejust and Day-Date watches. Older Jubilee dials have smaller Rolex font while newer ones have slightly larger text.
Wood Dials
In the 1970s, Rolex also had the audacity to produce a wooden dial. This dial type is also very rare, and like the stone dials will never be identical. Rolex fused the wood to the brass plate to create a unique and distinctive dial. These wooden dials are made from different woods, including birch, mahogany, and walnut trees. The charming and rustic wood dials are sought after by many artists.
Pie-Pan Dials
The Pie-Pan dial can be found on some early men’s vintage Rolex watches. This Rolex dial likes an upside-down plate, the dial’s outer edge being sloped down and recessed slightly. However, this dial was discontinued in the 1980s and replaced by a uniformly flat face. However, the Pie-Pan dials made a lasting impression and is still admired by many vintage watch enthusiasts today.
Panda Dials
The panda dial originated in the 1960s. This is one with a white, or light-colored, base color that contains black sub-dials. This lovely dial appears only in Rolex Daytona watches, as the Daytona is the only Rolex chronograph with sub-dials at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock on the dial. We can also see “Reverse Panda” dials in this collection(the dial is black, but three subdials are white).
California Dials
The California dial was consisted of a mix of Roman hour markers, Arabic hour markers, baton hands, along with an inverted triangle at 12 o’clock. In 1942, Rolex applied for a patent for this innovative dial. But the California dial that we know comes from Panerai. That’s true, because Rolex and Panerai were in a partnership phase at the time. So we found this dial in both watch brands at the same time. Today, Panerai continues to use this dial, but Rolex has long since discontinued it. But the California dial, with its vintage charm, still attracts many fans.
Nipple Dial
The nipple dial gets its name from the protruding round hour markers. These hour markers are smaller than the round ones commonly seen today and are made of gold. We can find them in gold and two tone vintage Submariner and GMT-Master watches.
Textured Dials
In addition to using different materials and colors for the dial, Rolex also uses different textures. Such as, textile-like linen dial, the geometric honeycomb dial, the intriguing pyramid dial, the eye-catching houndstooth, the intricate Florentine finish, the symmetric vertical striped dial, and the richly horizontally textured blue dial that almost looks like denim. These dials are not common, but we can find flowers or butterflies Textured dials in modern Rolex women’s replica watches.
The carefully designed and manufactured dials are not only beautiful and unique, but also extremely readable.