When is it okay to swap dial?

[amphr1]

I was just thinking that I missed the boat on getting a Yellow OP41 and would have liked to have purchased one. What I meant is in this fantasy scenario where I tell my AD I want something and I actually got something. Put that fantasy aside for the moment, now I try to search for one and there many "reasonably priced" examples out there. There's of course a catch which is that it's "custom" meaning it was a black dial before. Now I know this is a no no for say the celebration dial. But for a solid color dial, is that so bad?

Also what other Rolex model do you feel it's okay to swap dial?

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[subtona]

If the reference is available in the dial you want it is ok to swap to that dial.

Rolex will do it after the desired dial is available for a year or two.

[Obi Wan]

Does anyone know if Rolex would do a dial swap as well with a JM green dial in a random 116508 YG Daytona?

[Rolex1982]

Originally Posted by amphr1

I was just thinking that I missed the boat on getting a Yellow OP41 and would have liked to have purchased one. What I meant is in this fantasy scenario where I tell my AD I want something and I actually got something. Put that fantasy aside for the moment, now I try to search for one and there many "reasonably priced" examples out there. There's of course a catch which is that it's "custom" meaning it was a black dial before. Now I know this is a no no for say the celebration dial. But for a solid color dial, is that so bad?

Also what other Rolex model do you feel it's okay to swap dial?

Sent from my SM-S918U1 using Tapatalk

Do you mean custom dial, so a fake one or do you mean that it’s an original dial but it is swapped? Last one wouldn’t bother me. First one would.

For your second question, assuming you mean original dials it wouldn’t bother me if it was swapped when the reference is also available in that config. Just like subtona said. Take for instance my GMT Meteorite, if I purchased the WG blue dial from the dealer and could get my hands on a original meteorite dial I would have also done it.

[watchvert]

In the UK they first said that one would have to wait at least 2 years before swapping dials, basically, until full service is allowed to be performed, but after they've realised that flippers were taking advantage of this, they've stopped it completely and can only put the same colour dial the watch originally came on.
Not sure about other countries...

[Harry-57]

Rolex will tell you.

The only time I enquired was in 2021 regarding a Sky Dweller dial swap from black to blue for a watch outside the initial warranty.

It will vary by model and may change over time.

[sherrill]

In the United States you have to wait until the official warranty expires and then you are free to request a dial exchange with RSC service. The dial has to be what was available as an option for that specific model.

[worldfamoussam]

Originally Posted by sherrill

In the United States you have to wait until the official warranty expires and then you are free to request a dial exchange with RSC service. The dial has to be what was available as an option for that specific model.

I can confirm that was the policy at least as recently as this past August 2023 when I inquired.

[brandrea]

If you’re asking will Rolex swap a black dial for a yellow dial the answer will be no

[milgauss2232]

Can this be done from a daytona black to white?

[Pepperjack]

Originally Posted by sherrill

In the United States you have to wait until the official warranty expires and then you are free to request a dial exchange with RSC service. The dial has to be what was available as an option for that specific model.

I can confirm this is accurate. Upgrades and downgrades are allowed. Some specialty dials cannot be swapped, such as the Celebration dial.

[1William]

I just did a dial swap on a YG Sky-Dweller through the RSC in Dallas. I was told that the original warranty had to be out and the dial you are wanting to change to was offered in the model you own for the year you have the watch. They also said they would not replace dials that were limited or changed the value of the watch. No dial swaps on SS Daytona-C's from black to white. No Green dials for the YG Daytona, etc. I will not put a non-OEM dial in a watch I own. In the end, the OP can make this decision for himself.

[bluestreak]

I wonder if eventually one could trade a green OP for a yellow or red. I imagine they won’t allow a switch from black. Or a switch to turquoise

[Calatrava r]

When I asked RUSA, I was told they would not swap out a dial until the warranty period had run, 5 years. At that time, they would only put a dial in which would have been available on the reference when the watch was made. The old dial would be kept and a trade in value given. Hard to get dials when the watch was made would not be allowed for substitution. So, you cannot change a black dial Daytona to a white dial model or change out a dial to the green one on the gold Daytona.