Rolex Daytona Stone Dials

The Rolex Daytona was created as a utilitarian sports watch, invented for the use of professional racers. Today, it is without a doubt the most famous and coveted luxury chronograph out there.

In the 1990s, Rolex emphasized the luxury nature of the Daytona by pairing its robust construction with solid gold finish and diamonds, gems, and precious stones. Together with the beefed up 40mm case and automatic movement, Rolex succeeded in creating highly sought-after models that ‘waiting lists’ became the norm.

The Rolex Daytona has been commercially available with five different hard stone dials – sodalite, grossular garnet, chrysoprase, turquoise, and meteorite – as well as a number of hues of mother of pearl. Let’s take a closer look.

Rolex Daytona White Gold Sodalite Diamond Dial 116519

Rolex Daytona Sodalite Dial

Sodalite is a blue crystalline mineral used in jewelry as an ornamental gemstone. First discovered in Greenland in the early 1800s, it gained popularity as a decorative stone after a significant find in Ontario, Canada. This material is frequently confused with lapis lazuli, but what gives it away is the presence of white streaks veined through its body.

Rolex introduced the Daytona on a leather strap (ref. 16518) in 1992 in yellow gold, but it wasn’t until 1997 that the white gold edition (ref. 16519) was made available. It was this model that began the Swiss brand’s creation of exotic versions of their traditional chronograph. The sodalite dial made its way into the Daytona line as the ref. 16519.

A sodalite dial Daytona is a rare kind and is available with either diamond‐set or applied Arabic hour markers. The latter can be read as minutes or as seconds when the chronograph is in use.

Rolex Daytona White Gold Sodalite Diamond Dial 116519

Grossular Garnet, Chrysoprase, Turquoise

Even rarer stone dials have been made available throughout the post-2000s when the Daytona movement became in-house. Alongside the ‘Sodalite’, Rolex introduced the ref. 16519 with a white gold finish and grossular garnet rubellite dial. This material is available in a number of color variants, but the Swiss brand only used red. The Daytona ‘Grossular’ also featured brilliant-cut diamond markers with white gold surrounds.

In the early 2000s, Rolex also introduced a quartet of white gold ref. 116519 Daytonas with colorful dials. These watches are collectively known as the ‘Beach Daytona’ series due to their vibrant dials in blue, yellow, green, and pink. The first two were made of yellow and pink mother of pearl, while the two others were made of stone dials – chrysoprase and turquoise.

Chrysoprase is a chalcedony gemstone that can range in color from pale to dark green. Its name is Greek in origin and translates to “golden apple” – a fitting description for the apple-green tint of the dial. Turquoise, on the other hand, is an opaque mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum. It occurs in varying shades of blue and green and is well-loved for its intense hue.

Both the chrysoprase and turquoise Beach Daytona come with applied Roman numerals, recessed sub-dials, and lizard leather or metal bracelets. The red “Daytona” text at the center adds a playful touch.

Rolex Daytona Meteorite Dials

Another stone that Rolex is known for working with is Meteorite. Rolex was the manufacturer first to use meteorite slices to create completely unique dials, combining them with other precious metals like 18k gold or 950 platinum to produce genuinely collectible versions of their most notable watches.

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Meteorite Dial Rose Gold Mens Watch 116515

Rolex Daytona White Gold Meteorite Dial 116515

Meteorite comes from the core of an asteroid or potentially even a planet, driving the material throughout the Solar System until chance takes it into our planet’s orbit. Meteorite dials are etched from iron and nickel, which eventually reveals patterns reminiscent of the Moon’s surface.

Rolex first produced meteorite dials for the Daytona in 2014, accompanied by 18k white gold cases, Roman numerals, and leather straps. For Baselworld 2021, Rolex introduced a new trio of gold Daytonas with either Ceramic or metal bezels, Oyster or Oysterflex bracelets, and a beautiful meteorite dial. This type of watch face adds an interesting flair and makes the black sub-dials in the center and red “Daytona” text pop.

Rolex Mother of Pearl Dials

While not made of stone, mother of pearl (MOP) lends the same amount of exoticism as precious stones. Rolex began incorporating mother of pearl in dial designs in the ‘80s and it has since become a popular element of many models. Some jewelry designers even artificially modify mother-of-pearl colors, but that’s never the case for Rolex.

Rolex Daytona Steel Yellow Gold MOP Dial Chronograph 116523

Mother of pearl, also known as nacre, is the iridescent lining within a mollusk shell. It is predominantly found in pearl oysters, mussels, and abalone and keeps unwanted elements from irritating the insides of the shell. Light reflects off these layers, resulting in multicolored iridescence that might seem pink, white, black, or yellow depending on the portion of the shell from which it is taken. As a result, no two MOP dials are alike.

For the Daytona range, Rolex makes use of two types of mother of pearl – white mother of pearl and Tahitian or black mother of pearl, which has a deep purple hue with pinkish and green tones. They are often punctuated with gold-outlined diamond hour markers with an option of hammered gold sub-dials for added elegance.

Rolex Daytona Tahitian Mother of Pearl Watches

Rolex Daytona Steel Yellow Gold MOP Diamond 116503

Each of these rare and unique stone dials pairs well with a multitude of metals and gives any Rolex Daytona an identity of its own. Explore our collection of Rolex Daytona stone dial watches at Buy Best Quality Watches .com.