ROLEX DAYTONA: Rolex dials might oxidize and change colour.

list In: Collector's Corner favorite Hit: 1870
ROLEX DAYTONA: Rolex dials might oxidize and change colour.

The colour-changing, which sometimes can be very pleasant and can creates fascinating patinas, is due to Rolex's long-standing use of organic paints for their dials. When the dials were not adequately protected by a clear lacquer called "zappon," the silver in these paints would oxidize when exposed to the sulphur in the air, leading to a patina effect. These colour shifts are gradual and do not settle over time, making these dials unique examples. Collectors refer to them as "TROPICAL." The black dial of the 16520 reference from the 1993-1995 period serves as the best example. Osvaldo Patrizzi first noticed this anomaly in a watch belonging to Guido Mondani. Despite the watch being stored in a safe, the counters had clearly turned brown. Patrizzi's discovery and its presentation in an auction catalogue, led collectors to refer to it as the "Patrizzi dial."
This "technical error" in protecting the silvering of the counters gives the dial a unique “cachet”. It has the flaw, or perhaps the merit, of not stabilizing and continuing to change over time. We can definitely state that almost all black-dial watches with silver auxiliary counters, tend eventually to a transition to gray and then to brown.
This less pronounced anomaly, which shifts toward beige, can also be found in some gold models with reference 16528. This "discovery" has undoubtedly changed the way of collecting Rolex and has made the brand even more unique in its kind; what many would consider a manufacturing defect and a limitation becomes, for Rolex, a virtue and an added value.

Read more in the SELF-WINDING DAYTONA edition.

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