Rolex is enriching the Day-Date range with new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 and the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 showcasing finely worked dials.
Photos by Rolex, JVS Studios and Ulysse Frechelin
An expression for every face. A personality for every dial. The new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date express the brand’s enduring desire for rare and wide-ranging expertise to be found in even the smallest details. Colours, materials, motifs, hour markers – each element contributes to the harmony of the new combinations.
Rolex is enriching the Day-Date range with new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 and the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 showcasing finely worked dials.
Ombré dials make their debut on the Day-Date 40. The version presented, in 18 ct Everose gold, introduces slate ombré – a completely new hue for such a dial, whose surface, coloured at the centre, progresses to a deep black around the edge. Also appearing for the first time on the ombré dial of this watch are faceted, deconstructed Roman numerals and faceted index hour markers in 18 ct pink gold. Until now, Rolex ombré dials were set with diamond hour markers and were reserved for the Day-Date 36. This new dial represents the continuity of a design that the brand introduced in the 1980s and relaunched in 2019. The manufacture of these dials with a concentric gradient involves the application of black lacquer, a delicate operation overseen by a specialist, whose task it is to ensure the harmonious transition from colour to darkness.
Fashioned from 18 ct white gold, a second new version of the Day-Date 40 features a dial made of pearlized white mother-of-pearl. This natural material is used on the model for the very first time. Extracted from the oldest and noblest part of the oyster shell, pearlized mother-of-pearl has a subtle, rich structure whose irregular texture evokes tiny overlapping clouds and gives a sense of volume. Every disc of material used to create a mother-of-pearl dial is meticulously selected for the harmony of its patterns and finesse of its iridescent effects, and is positioned in a way that optimises the dial’s shine. In the version presented, the shimmer of the mother-of-pearl is further enhanced by the ten baguette-cut diamonds set onto the dial as hour markers.
The Day-Date 36 proposes a dial with faceted, deconstructed Roman numerals and faceted index hour markers, which were until now exclusive to the Day-Date 40. A new variant of the Day-Date 36 in 18 ct yellow gold reveals a white lacquer dial complemented by these now-emblematic hour markers with their perfect geometrical forms and uniformly smooth and shiny surface. Each element is crafted individually in a special workshop, undergoing no fewer than seven operations in the hands of an expert before being applied to the dial.
For the first time, the Day-Date 36 in 18 ct Everose gold sports a blue-green dial – a colour introduced on the Sky-Dweller last year – which is adorned with ten baguette-cut diamonds. This dial of remarkable depth and intensity is notably available on a version of the watch whose bezel is set with 60 trapeze-cut diamonds. The creation of this bezel demands time and patience on the part of the gem-setter, who adjusts and sets each of the stones by hand. Until now, only the Day-Date 36 in 950 platinum and the Day-Date 40 in 18 ct gold or 950 platinum offered a bezel set with trapeze-cut diamonds.
Day-Date 40 and Day-Date 36 models are equipped with calibre 3255, a movement at the forefront of watchmaking technology, enabling them to display the day and the date, as well as the hours, minutes and seconds.
Like all Rolex watches, the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 and Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 carry the Superlative Chronometer certification, which ensures excellent performance on the wrist.