Rolex watches are instantaneously recognisable, thanks in no small part to their dials, which denotes world-renowned style, quality and function at a single glance. The dial of a watch or its face is the key feature upon which one’s first impression of the timepiece is based. Every minute component of the dial design is a crucial element in shaping a watch’s unique personality, whether it be sporty, vintage-inspired or classic.
The making of dials, a process known in the watch industry as art cadranier, requires both artisanal skill and cutting-edge technology. Rolex is one of the few watchmakers that performs every step of dial production in-house, as they do every component of timepieces that bear their crown emblem. In-house mastery of dial creation and production is a major strategic advantage for Rolex and, at its dedicated site in the Chêne-Bourg district of Geneva, some 500 people work exclusively on dial making.
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From the most time-honoured human craftsmanship to cutting-edge machinery specially developed by Rolex, every operation is perfectly executed, then systematically checked and appraised to always enhance end quality. One of the most significant benefits of manufacturing completely in-house is the collaborative synergy between the designers and engineers involved in dial development. By bringing all those working on this complex process under one roof, Rolex provides space for boundless creative liberty and a strong dynamic for innovation. Ultimately, the brand is able to regularly surprise and delight customers with new, exquisitely made watch faces.
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David Riboli, who heads the watch prototype department at Rolex, and drives the process of transforming designers’ sketches into dial prototypes, is well acquainted with this challenge. “Designing a dial, flat and round as it may be, means completely changing the way you look at things. And you also need to be able to listen, because inventing a new dial is first and foremost all about dialogue, an exchange of ideas and even debate. It is important to fully understand concepts such as the
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depth of a colour, surface texture, the regularity of a decoration, for example, the striations of a sunray finish,” he shared. “You also need to consider the environment in which the dial will be set—the colour of the case and strap, the style of the bezel, and the depth at which the dial is set into the case.”
The dial creation process begins with forming the blanks, which are small, round plates stamped from a strip of brass or gold. For dials with apertures, the day and date windows are cut out, and then the tiny holes (as small as 0.2 mm across) for mounting the appliques are milled. The dials are then polished, sandblasted and dipped into electroplating baths of gold and nickel to create a layer that prevents oxidisation, and to ensure the even distribution and durability of the dial’s eventual colour.
Next comes the decorative work, which involves an array of techniques, including lacquering, enamelling, sunray or satin finishing, and, of course, guillochage, as seen on this year’s Perpetual 1908. Its striking ice-blue dial is enhanced with an intricate rice-grain motif, while the minute track is surrounded by a filet sauté with a crimped pattern, which is also guilloché— both carved out with a turning tool. Of course, colour is also an important element in the Rolex universe, known for its palette of distinctive hues.
Colour is transferred onto dials via three methods: lacquering, electroplating, and PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition). The first is used to create colours such as black and white, as well as pink, turquoise blue and green. Metallic shades like silver, gold, and champagne are achieved by electroplating, where the dials are immersed in an electrolytic bath. PVD is a complex process—one that Rolex played a hand in pioneering —in which the dial’s base plate is covered with an ultra-thin coating of metals in order to produce the desired colour.
The watchmaker continues to explore new dial colours and treatments every year. Among those for 2024 are three additions to its Oyster Perpetual Day-Date collection: A slate ombré dial for the Day-Date 40 in 18 ct Everose gold, a white lacquer dial for the Day-Date 36 in 18 ct yellow gold, and a blue-green dial for the Day-Date 36 in 18 ct Everose gold.
Some Rolex dials also feature natural materials such as mother-of-pearl or decorative stones like eisenkiesel, opal, green aventurine, carnelian and turquoise. Only stones that meet the watchmaker’s high aesthetic standards are used.
Rolex uses these natural materials in distinctive ways, and the latest Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona models exemplify this. One features a white mother-of-pearl dial with black mother-of-pearl counters, while a second version features this combination in reverse. To enhance the contrast between the colours, the discs of material and counters are positioned in a specific way such that the colour intensity of each variety of mother-of-pearl is optimised.
Dials are finished with varnish (for models that require it) and printed with the necessary inscriptions, text and symbols. Finally, appliqués—the hour markers and Rolex crown insignia—are attached to the dial, before it undergoes stringent checks to ensure aesthetic quality, including a “drop” test to ensure that the appliqués are firmly fixed. They are then sent to the next facility to be assembled into fine timepieces that encapsulate Rolex’s utmost dedication to only the very best in craft and quality. Because nothing else will do.