Dial C for Colour
Sometimes, the one you know and love has the power to surprise you. In the case of the new Rolex Oyster Perpetual, with its fresh range of dials, an enduring affair has been given a seductive boost
There are two sides to the Rolex brand. The one that everybody knows is its reputation as the ultimate watchmaker: the purveyor of the most recognisable sports watches – hell, the most recognisable watches full-stop – and the pursuer of the highest standards of repeatable excellence, all finely honed since the majority of its signature models were conceived in the mid-20th century. Included in this, the best-known face of Rolex, are its dressier models, such as the Day-Date and its everyday staple, the Datejust, as well as its Oyster-cased tool watches. Even in precious metals, the vast majority of these models adhere to conservative, predictable norms.
Then we have the second, less recognisable incarnation of the brand: a flamboyant creator, occasionally veering into high camp (diamond-set leopard-print Daytona in rose gold, anyone?), with a track record since the 1970s of producing one-off watches. Arguably, this Rolex began life with the commission of the so-called “Stella dial” Day-Date models. These were a number of yellow- and white-gold watches with coloured lacquered dials, named not for their star-like quality or a similarity to the bold output of American painter Frank Stella (as has been hypothesised), but instead owing to the pigment supplier, Stella, that provided the bright colours to the dial-maker Stern Frères.
Interest in vintage Stella Rolexes has risen since the turn of the millennium. And while Rolex adopts a cloistered attitude to passing trends, it cannot be entirely coincidental that at a time when the focus on brightly coloured dials across the watch world is high, we are graced with a collection of Oyster Perpetual references to rival the Stellas of old.
Perhaps, given that these are cased in regular stainless steel, the juxtaposition is even more radical than it was back then. Dubbed candy pink, turquoise blue, coral red, yellow and green, these dials are available only in the 36mm Oyster Perpetual line (powered by Calibre 3230, a new movement with improved magnetic resistance and a 70-hour power reserve). Rolex-hunters are already snapping them up, in the wise expectation that they won’t be part of the collection for long. Some, it is said, are even buying all five. Now, that is flamboyance.
“Rolex-hunters are snapping them up; some, it is said, are buying all five”