DIALLED IN

While Rolex has mastered all the elements that go into making a superlative timepiece, it's the dial, by virtue of its prominence, that's the most immediately identifiable expression of their expertise.

- COLIN GOMEZ

Complete mastery of art cadranier has seen Rolex come out with some of the most beloved dials in horology circles over the decades, with some particularly rare examples being the envy of collectors everywhere. It’s through tireless innovation and constant testing of the boundaries of the field that Rolex has been able to achieve such a degree of excellence, with its fully in-house operations staffed by a variety of specialists, including highly skilled enamellers, Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) engineers, and the refined fingers that so delicately apply the sunray finishes among the other impossibly detailed décor to be found in the Rolex repertoire.

While the brand’s designers are afforded the scope to explore uncharted avenues and experiment with novel variations in their dials, certain boundaries nonetheless have to be respected to properly embody the history and identity of particular models. Some of these dials are emblematic of the brand and have changed little across the decades. So distinctive are these dials that, even from a distance, they serve as powerful identifiers of which model they belong to, with the most illustrative examples being the dials found on the Day-Date and the Explorer.