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Geoff · 14 October 2007, 11:56 PM

I stopped by a Rolex AD yesterday to drop off my sub for its 5 year service. I was wearing my new GMT II TT ceramic and I asked them to adjust the bracelet, which they did.

We then compared my GMT to a TT ceramic he had on display as well as the solid gold version. What was interesting was that the dial printing of these three was not quite the same. There were slight, but noticeable, variations in text color - degree of "whiteness" - and letter thickness.

Question - Does Rolex do the dial printing in house or rely on suppliers? Why the variation? Anyone know?

Solar · 15 October 2007, 12:05 AM

I understand that Rolex owns the factories that produce all of the aspects of their watches. Dials are reportedly made in-house, as to changes, I can only imagine that they make small changes with time to font style, etc.

I was wearing my 16710 GMT II (Z Series) bought in March of this year at work. One of my colleagues has a GMT II he bought new in 1984. The font of the bezel is differnt, and there are a few very subtle differneces.

Maybe they get bored pounding out the same thing all day, and change it up slightly to spice things up? No idea......

C

SSD · 15 October 2007, 12:19 AM

I have sometimes wondered that among the dial printers, in-house or not, is there a difference between the machines that actually do the printing? Even if they are side-by-side...

SPACE-DWELLER · 15 October 2007, 11:19 PM

Even in the most advanced production machinery slight differences in the dial workmanship will ALWAYS occur.

Remember that Rolex makes about 900,000 watches a year!

Geoff · 18 October 2007, 07:01 AM

Thanks for the responses. I was surprised that the dial printing was as variable as appeared. The AD examined all three with a loupe and confirmed the observation. Differences in letter thickness and variations in color.

14 October 2007, 11:56 PM	#1
Geoff "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 111	Rolex Dials I stopped by a Rolex AD yesterday to drop off my sub for its 5 year service. I was wearing my new GMT II TT ceramic and I asked them to adjust the bracelet, which they did. We then compared my GMT to a TT ceramic he had on display as well as the solid gold version. What was interesting was that the dial printing of these three was not quite the same. There were slight, but noticeable, variations in text color - degree of "whiteness" - and letter thickness. Question - Does Rolex do the dial printing in house or rely on suppliers? Why the variation? Anyone know?

15 October 2007, 12:19 AM	#3
SSD "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Real Name: Jamie Location: Georgia Watch: Stainless Sub Date Posts: 3,023	I have sometimes wondered that among the dial printers, in-house or not, is there a difference between the machines that actually do the printing? Even if they are side-by-side... __________________ SUBMARINER OWNERS' CLUB ESTABLISHED 1953 TRF Member # 5464

15 October 2007, 11:19 PM	#4
SPACE-DWELLER "TRF" Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Real Name: Bo Location: Denmark Watch: Rolex, of course! Posts: 22,436	Even in the most advanced production machinery slight differences in the dial workmanship will ALWAYS occur. Remember that Rolex makes about 900,000 watches a year! __________________ With kind regards, Bo LocTite 221: The Taming Of The Screw...

15 October 2007, 12:05 AM	#2
Solar "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: North America Watch: their hands, baby. Posts: 1,116	I understand that Rolex owns the factories that produce all of the aspects of their watches. Dials are reportedly made in-house, as to changes, I can only imagine that they make small changes with time to font style, etc. I was wearing my 16710 GMT II (Z Series) bought in March of this year at work. One of my colleagues has a GMT II he bought new in 1984. The font of the bezel is differnt, and there are a few very subtle differneces. Maybe they get bored pounding out the same thing all day, and change it up slightly to spice things up? No idea...... C

18 October 2007, 07:01 AM	#5
Geoff "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 111	Thanks for the responses. I was surprised that the dial printing was as variable as appeared. The AD examined all three with a loupe and confirmed the observation. Differences in letter thickness and variations in color.

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