What's your take on the Rolex "Underline" Dial?

[BelovedWatch]

Hey TRF,

The photo posted below represents the following.

The Dial is silver sunburst with yellow gold stick hour markers and a small horizontal line below "SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED". The underline was fitted with 1960-1964 Rolex dials. Many collectors agree this special underline signifies a change from radium to tritium lume material. Some dials are transitional in this change. Honest vintage Rolex dials sporting this small horizontal line are extremely rare.

I've read a variety of reasons regarding the underline from centering the text for early printing to lume transition. I've seen underlines under geiger counter vs non-underline and there is a clear difference in radiation. I've also seen full tritium underline dials.

Curious what TRF has to say about this topic. Wishing you and your family a wonderful 2020! Hold on to those new year resolutions!

Best,

Thomas

[lee fowler]

I believe the same as you but know one really knows for sure and a quick pic of mine.

[jlovda]

As an "outside observer" of this thread and this watch I find it absolutely amazing the minutiae that has collectors scrambling. I'm surprised there isn't a sub category for thicker or thinner lines or line width. I'll bet there is a Christie's expert who's made a career out of it. I'll leave now.

[lupus66]

Most are ‘63

[soicanbefree]

Originally Posted by lupus66

Most are ‘63

Yep. Mine is 63.

[jedly1]

Personally I don’t 100% subscribe to the current theory that it was just something used in 63 , as there are examples of it being used at other times ( and on other brands ) .

I personally feel it is a ‘flag’ ... a sign to the watchmaker that something isn’t as it presents .

That makes sense for _seeing so much of it in 63 allowing for a distinction between Swiss dials with lower and higher levels of material , but I don’t think it was ‘created’ for that or ONLY used at that time .

[BelovedWatch]

Originally Posted by jlovda

As an "outside observer" of this thread and this watch I find it absolutely amazing the minutiae that has collectors scrambling. I'm surprised there isn't a sub category for thicker or thinner lines or line width. I'll bet there is a Christie's expert who's made a career out of it. I'll leave now.

Can you elaborate on this? Very interested!

[jlovda]

Originally Posted by BelovedWatch

Can you elaborate on this? Very interested!

Just a joke. Sorry.

[roh123]

I think it is just a marker like the exclamation dot on chapter ring dials. Probably to mark the lower radiation lume.

Excl dot came around -62 and when chapter ring dials transitioned to non-chapter they used the underline to mark that they were safe. There’s some rare exceptions where the last chapter ring dials had an underline but I can’t recall seeing a dial that had both the underline and the excl dot. Hence I think they have the same meaning on why they were put there.

For me earlier dials from the 50’s with excl dot/underline are early service dials put on around 1963. Right or wrong? Who knows..

Jed is usually right though...

[phillip ridley]

Originally Posted by lee fowler

I believe the same as you but know one really knows for sure and a quick pic of mine.

Nice dial!

[soicanbefree]

Originally Posted by roh123

I can’t recall seeing a dial that had both the underline and the excl dote

I can assist

https://imgur.com/a/1i8p5eb

I think a cliff notes version of the generally accepted theory is as follows:

Exclamation and Underline were used to mark dial as "safe" or "safer" due to the decision to use less radioactive material during the transitional period from 1960 up to 1963 before switching fully from radium to tritium in 1964?

At the very end of this transitional period, 1963, underlines were used which do have significantly less (5 to 10 times less) radiation than the exclamation point dials.

I have some guesses as to why in a few rare cases dials have both but it is nothing but speculation.

If anyone has interest the RPR articles on the subject are really quite good.

http://rolexpassionreport.com/15606/...olex-luminous/
http://rolexpassionreport.com/316/th...lamation-mark/

[roh123]

Originally Posted by soicanbefree

I can assist

https://imgur.com/a/1i8p5eb