What is a Rolex Rail Dial?
The vintage Rolex world is full of terms and names that describe various features of the watches. For someone who is just starting to explore the vintage Rolex space, there is certainly a lot to take in. Tons of watches, but more importantly, tons of terms that, to most people mean absolutely nothing.
One of those terms is “Rolex rail dial”. If you have done some research on vintage Rolex watches, there’s a good chance that you have come across this term. But what does it really mean?
That’s what we are going to figure out in this article.
What is a Rolex rail dial?
Firstly, let’s begin that, unlike many other terms relating to Rolex watches, the term rail dial is not something that was invented or created by Rolex. In fact, whilst Rolex is generally quite good at creating its own terms and names, the vast majority of terms used to describe Rolex watches have been coined by collectors and enthusiasts, and then stuck.
It’s unknown who is the creator of the term, but likely that it was started being used in collector’s circles, and has then stuck.
The term Rolex rail dial refers to a small detail on Rolex dials, which, to most people will go unnoticed. Rail dial refers to the text:
”SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER
OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED”
which is printed at 6 o’clock on the dial.
As you can see from the text, the two lines of text create a ”rail” via the gaps between these lines of text, demonstrated below.
The concept is used to describe when the letter ”C” in Chronometer, aligns perfectly with the ”C” in ”Certified”.
Most Rolex watches do not have rail dials, and it is, therefore, the ”anomalies” and the rare and unique small details that vintage Rolex collectors tend to pay attention to when looking for particular watches. The rail dial, although a very small detail, is one of those details that makes a vintage Rolex watch more collectible and rare.
The rail dial can only be found on some watches, including the Explorer II reference 1655, Sea-Dweller reference 1665 “Great White”, Explorer II 16550, and Sea-Dweller reference 1665 “COMEX” models. There are, however, exceptions to this, for a number of reasons. Firstly, in the industry, there is no common ”agreement” of what is allowed to be called a rail dial and what is not. With that said, some dials are called rail dials because they (almost) have the rail dial feature. But because there is no official definition, it is difficult to draw the line. Some people argue that only dials made by the Stern Freres can be called rail dials.
This brings us to the next point.
Rolex rail dials are not produced by Rolex
Here’s an interesting fact that isn’t widely known.
In the recent half-decade or so, Rolex has worked hard to bring more and more parts of its production in-house. Some of these efforts include buying the companies that have made the parts for Rolex watches earlier or simply establishing their own production facility. During the time that the rail dials were in production, the dials were in fact not manufactured by Rolex. Instead, Rolex’s dials were made by Stern Freres. And if you are wondering, yes, that is the same Stern family as in Patek Philippe.
It is believed that the Rolex rail dials were in production from around the 1970s up until the 1990s.
But as you know, with Rolex, it’s difficult (impossible) to get any information from them regarding an exact production period. What we do know, however, is that the rail dial of the Sea-Dweller was in production between 1977 and 1979, making it the shortest rail-dial production of them all.
Rolex rail dials and service
What makes Rolex rail dials even rarer is the fact that if you bring your watch to be serviced by Rolex, and the dial needs to be replaced, the watch will get a service dial, which is not a rail dial. With that said, the available rail dials on the market will continue to decrease.
Conclusion
This article is for informational purposes only and is to the best of our knowledge correct? We reserve the right to typos and mistakes.
Today, rail dial printing is an aspect of vintage Rolex watches that makes them even more collectible. Due to their limited production, the rail dials are few (relatively speaking), thus making them more sought-after.
