The Rolex Forums   The Rolex Watch

ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX


Go Back   Rolex Forums - Rolex Forum > Rolex & Tudor Watch Topics > Rolex Reference Library

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 29 June 2018, 04:04 AM   #1
powerfunk
"TRF" Member
 
powerfunk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Real Name: Rob
Location: Boston, MA
Watch: 1530
Posts: 3,799
Every type of stone used for a Rolex dial

Here I'll attempt to list every type of rare stone Rolex dial. Feel free to let me know if I've gotten anything wrong or forgotten anything. I find a lot of these stone dials are mislabeled, even by pretty reputable sellers, so I hope I've got things mostly straightened out.

The pink dials were the hardest to straighten out, for instance...I hope I've got these 3 kinds of pink correct. Rolex seemed to offer the most stone dials for the 26mm ladies' Datejusts, perhaps because making stone dials is harder the larger it is? Just a theory. Click here for the imgur album or scroll for pics (from around the web):

Agate 18079:


Ammonite 18208:


Aventurine 18238:


Azurite 5184/8:


Bloodstone 18038:


Cacholong 69178:


Carnelian (a.k.a. "chalcedony," which isn't very precise because it's just one of many types of chalcedony) 16018:


Chrysoprase 116519:


Blue coral 79173:


Orangeish-pink coral 18038:


Pink coral 79173:


Yellowish-green coral 69178:


Ferrite 18248:


Fossil (a.k.a. "Jurassic" or "Jurassic Park") 18038 and 18048 models:


Grossular (a.k.a. "grossularite," or sometimes "garnet" which isn't wrong because it's a type of garnet) 116519 and 18239:


Howlite (a.k.a. "marble") 18038:


Green jade 118348:


Lavender jade 118348:


Green jadeite (jadeite is a type of jade, but Rolex does not use the terms interchangeably. "Jade" and "jadeite" dials are both listed separately in the 2008 price list) 69173:


Blue jadeite 69173:


Green jasper 18038:


Rose jasper 79173:


Malachite 278248:


Meteorite 116509:


Nacre (a.k.a. "mother of pearl," a mixture of aragonite and calcite) comes in 4 main colors (I'm not entirely sure yellow and champagne are really different things):


Obsidian 16008:


Onyx 116233 BKADO:


Black opal (a.k.a. "turquoise opal" or "stardust") 18038:


Pink opal 79173 OPG:


Rubellite 18038:


Sugilite (only made for Japanese market) 69178:


Lapis Lazuli 18238 2BR:


Sodalite 16234:


Tiger's Eye 18038:


Bull's Eye 118348 (Bull's Eye is just relatively reddish tiger's eye so calling this "tiger's eye" is also not wrong):


Turquoise 18078:
powerfunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29 June 2018, 10:32 AM   #2
05carbondrz
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: USA
Posts: 2,030
Wow! Thanks for spending the Time to make this great Post.
05carbondrz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30 June 2018, 12:46 AM   #3
H-Watches
"TRF" Member
 
H-Watches's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Midwest
Posts: 374
This might be my favorite post thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
H-Watches is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30 June 2018, 01:00 AM   #4
Brew
"TRF" Member
 
Brew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Real Name: Larry
Location: Finger Lakes
Posts: 6,007
I had no idea! Thank you!!
Brew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30 June 2018, 01:15 AM   #5
c41006
"TRF" Member
 
c41006's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Real Name: Joshua
Location: Atlanta
Watch: Pelagos
Posts: 7,933
Thanks for the info!
c41006 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 1 July 2018, 01:26 PM   #6
entropydave
"TRF" Member
 
entropydave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Real Name: Dave
Location: Huntington, IN
Posts: 680
absolutely fantastic. Thank you for your effort. I can see a new hobby/project coming on...
entropydave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 1 July 2018, 03:05 PM   #7
henrylee
"TRF" Member
 
henrylee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Socal/LA
Watch: 116610LN Ceramic
Posts: 3,223
Amazing effort
__________________
♛ Sub 116610LN 2011 ♛ GMT 126710BLNR 2021 ♛ GMT 126711CHNR 2020 ♛ Datejust 16233 X-series 1993 Ω Speedmaster Mitsukoshi 2019 č Cartier Tank w5200025 2021
henrylee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 1 July 2018, 09:40 PM   #8
NLYogi
"TRF" Member
 
NLYogi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 761
Learned so much! Never knew about coral dials, they are beautiful! Thanks for posting!
__________________
♛ Explorer 214270
♛ Next: Day-Date 36 mm

1 Watch guy
NLYogi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 1 July 2018, 09:55 PM   #9
brandrea
2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member
 
brandrea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Real Name: Brian (TBone)
Location: canada
Watch: es make me smile
Posts: 77,593
That’s pretty incredible stuff Rob

I was familiar with some of the mother of pearl and of course the meteorite dial, but some of those others ... Thanks for shraing
brandrea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2 July 2018, 12:24 AM   #10
powerfunk
"TRF" Member
 
powerfunk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Real Name: Rob
Location: Boston, MA
Watch: 1530
Posts: 3,799
Glad you guys enjoyed it, it was my pleasure. People have been discussing things like the nuances of font changes on Subs, GMT's and Daytonas for decades yet I still feel like there's a whole world of interesting stuff Rolex has done throughout history that gets no attention at all.
powerfunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2 July 2018, 01:31 AM   #11
Gaijin
2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member
 
Gaijin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Japan
Watch: ing your back.
Posts: 16,179
Outstanding! I did not see my favorite the Black Onyx. That is a stone right?
Gaijin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2 July 2018, 02:15 AM   #12
powerfunk
"TRF" Member
 
powerfunk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Real Name: Rob
Location: Boston, MA
Watch: 1530
Posts: 3,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gaijin View Post
Outstanding! I did not see my favorite the Black Onyx. That is a stone right?
Yep! I do have one onyx example in there (116233 BKADO) but the onyx Day-Date is indeed sexy as well
powerfunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2 July 2018, 02:34 AM   #13
Snow-Dweller
2024 Pledge Member
 
Snow-Dweller's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Real Name: Clive
Location: The Alps
Watch: collections change
Posts: 6,283
Excellent work. Well done. I had no idea there were so many.
__________________
.
The path from WIShood to WISdom can have many turnings...
———————————————————————————————————

.
16803. 16570. 18038. 114300. GMW-B5000D.
Snow-Dweller is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2 July 2018, 02:49 AM   #14
77T
2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member
 
77T's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Real Name: PaulG
Location: Georgia
Posts: 41,839
Very nice post

And if anyone finds a missing stone maybe contribute an image...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
__________________


Does anyone really know what time it is?
77T is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2 July 2018, 03:35 AM   #15
Swearengen
"TRF" Member
 
Swearengen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Real Name: Gabriel
Location: London, UK
Posts: 1,858
Apologies for the slight high-jack of this thread, Omega also use Aventurine and their's seems more sparkly
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Omega_MQ_2.jpg (209.0 KB, 3373 views)
__________________

1680 1675 16800 16570 16710 17000 16613 17013

Gone but not forgotten 16610LV 1016
16234
Swearengen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16 July 2018, 02:01 PM   #16
Nycturbovr6
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: New York
Posts: 7,630
Great post!
Nycturbovr6 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17 July 2018, 03:57 AM   #17
Deanwillie
"TRF" Member
 
Deanwillie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Real Name: Dean
Location: Miami
Watch: Submariner 14060
Posts: 69
These are absolutely gorgeous!
Deanwillie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17 July 2018, 05:54 AM   #18
SearChart
TechXpert
 
SearChart's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Earth
Posts: 23,611
Awesome thread! Great work

My favourites are: Lapis lazuli, Onyx, green Jasper.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by GB-man View Post
Rolex uses rare elves to polish the platinum. They have a union deal and make like $90 per hour and get time and half on weekends.
SearChart is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 17 July 2018, 06:16 AM   #19
TheRolexKingofLV
"TRF" Member
 
TheRolexKingofLV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Real Name: Trace
Location: Vegas/Bay Area
Posts: 9,234
Very cool thread! Thanks for posting!
__________________
Official Host "The Penthouse Party" Las Vegas 2018
Instagram @tracenunes
TheRolexKingofLV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18 July 2018, 09:36 PM   #20
crowncollection
"TRF" Member
 
crowncollection's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Real Name: David
Location: australia
Posts: 20,214
[QUOTE=powerfunk;8718890]Here I'll attempt to list every type of rare stone Rolex dial. Feel free to let me know if I've gotten anything wrong or forgotten anything. I find a lot of these stone dials are mislabeled, even by pretty reputable sellers, so I hope I've got things mostly straightened out.

far left Pietersite dial


The two photos right and below, nickname confetti dial unsure of what stone it is
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_5664.JPG (126.7 KB, 3307 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_3803.JPG (85.8 KB, 3302 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_4675.JPG (116.2 KB, 3306 views)
__________________
watches many
crowncollection is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20 July 2018, 06:20 AM   #21
powerfunk
"TRF" Member
 
powerfunk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Real Name: Rob
Location: Boston, MA
Watch: 1530
Posts: 3,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by crowncollection View Post
The two photos right and below, nickname confetti dial unsure of what stone it is
Thanks David! Those confetti dials are beautiful. I wouldn't have known what some of these (like "cacholong") stones are if it weren't for your posts

Are you sure the pietersite dials are original Rolex dials btw? That dial seems to have somewhat odd numerals, thick day/date window outlines, and a small "T SWISS T" that appear identical to these custom refinish jobs:




Last edited by powerfunk; 20 July 2018 at 06:21 AM.. Reason: syntax
powerfunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24 July 2018, 09:44 AM   #22
GLADIATOR
"TRF" Member
 
GLADIATOR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Real Name: Adam
Location: Costa Blanca,
Watch: YMII,GMTII,DAYTONA
Posts: 5,288
AWESOME work (bow)
__________________
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. Winston Churchill
"We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done."
GLADIATOR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26 July 2018, 12:10 AM   #23
teqp
"TRF" Member
 
teqp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Real Name: Phil
Location: SoCal
Watch: 116613LN
Posts: 3,052
Very interesting, thanks for taking the time!
teqp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26 July 2018, 07:09 AM   #24
droptopman
"TRF" Member
 
droptopman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Real Name: Mark
Location: Washington State
Watch: SUBS and GMT's!
Posts: 9,664
Wow, awesome work here.
__________________
Judge Smails: Ty, what did you shoot today?
Ty: Oh, Judge, I don't keep score.
Judge Smails: Then how do you measure yourself with other golfers?
Ty: By height.
droptopman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26 July 2018, 07:12 AM   #25
BNA/LION
2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member
 
BNA/LION's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Real Name: Larry
Location: San Diego, CA
Watch: ROLEX
Posts: 25,575
Every type of stone used for a Rolex dial

Great Work! Many thanks for the thread!
__________________

✦ 28238 President DD 18K/YG ✦ 16610LN SS Sub ✦ 16613 18K/SS Serti ✦ 16550 Exp II Non-Rail Cream Dial ✦ Daytona C 116500 ✦ 126710 BLRO GMT-Master II ✦ NEXT-->?
Hole In One! 10/3/19 DMCC 5th hole, par 3, 168 yards w/ 4-Iron.
BNA/LION is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 26 July 2018, 09:35 AM   #26
Navarino
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: USA
Posts: 3,410
Awesome work. Thanks for putting this together.

Really loving those green jasper and Onyx Day-Dates.
Navarino is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27 July 2018, 01:39 AM   #27
joli160
2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member
 
joli160's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: NL
Watch: Yachtmaster
Posts: 14,720
Great thread, thanks
__________________
Day Date 18238, Yachtmaster 16622, Deepsea 116660, Submariner 116619, SkyD 326935, DJ 178271, DJ 69158, Yachtmaster 169622, GMT 116713LN, GMT 126711.
joli160 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27 July 2018, 02:44 AM   #28
Pw92676
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Georgia
Posts: 6,287
Fantastic post, thank you for sharing.
Pw92676 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27 July 2018, 02:46 AM   #29
Bigcigardan
"TRF" Member
 
Bigcigardan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Real Name: Dan H
Location: PA
Watch: 18248,9630
Posts: 403
Some great dial options over the years


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bigcigardan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27 July 2018, 02:58 AM   #30
function12
"TRF" Member
 
function12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 518
Wow, I learn a lot today.
function12 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Wrist Aficionado

DavidSW Watches

Takuya Watches

My Watch LLC

OCWatches

Asset Appeal


*Banners Of The Month*
This space is provided to horological resources.





Copyright ©2004-2024, The Rolex Forums. All Rights Reserved.

ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX

Rolex is a registered trademark of ROLEX USA. The Rolex Forums is not affiliated with ROLEX USA in any way.