Rolex Watches with Emeralds – List of Emerald Rolex watches
Rolex is a master at gem-setting. They have their own gemologists in-house and only select the finest, most flawless gemstones for their watches. Whilst Rolex is perhaps most associated with sporty tool watches, Rolex also makes some stunning gem-set creations. Finding diamonds on a Rolex watch is not uncommon.
But when it comes to other, special gemstones like emeralds, most of these watches are so-called “Off-catalog” watches. This means that they are not a part of the standard production, not showcased on the website, and not actively promoted to the general public.
Instead, these creations are primarily intended for the best VIP customers. This limited nature of emerald and other gemstone Rolex watches makes them even rare and more special to find.
But these stunning creations are so striking that they do not deserve to be hidden away, which is why we want to highlight them in this article.
And the fact is that over the years, Rolex has made a selection of different emerald watches. But because the company primarily uses diamonds or sapphires, the selection of emerald watches is relatively small. It’s also important to point out that many of the emerald Rolex watches you see may be aftermarket and not have factory emeralds. In this list, we only have factory emerald watches with factory-set emerald gemstones, just the way Rolex designed them.
Because of the special and rare nature of these gemstones, it wouldn’t do them justice to fit them on stainless steel watches. This is why all emerald Rolex watches are made in precious metal, either platinum or gold, making them even more rare and special. Overall, we can say that all Rolex watches that feature emeralds are extremely rare. They are manufactured in low quantities and tend to fetch high amounts the times they come out for auction. But at the same time, if you have the money to spend and want something that you’ll likely never see anyone else wearing, an Emerald Rolex is an appropriate choice.
Explained by Wikipedia, “Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium”.
Partially because emerald doesn’t have high hardness, unlike some other gemstones like diamonds, Rolex doesn’t widely use emeralds on exposed parts that are prone to be subject to shocks and bangs. This is why many of the watches that contain emeralds have them on the dial, where they sit protected behind the crystal.
Since green is Rolex’s signature color, emerald gemstone watches are a perfect addition to a Rolex watch that contributes to making it truly special.
Rolex watches that feature gemstones on the bezel normally have this indicated in the reference number with an abbreviation. For example, the Daytona 16598EM, where the “EM” stands for emerald. The same cannot be said about the dial, where, if it is gem-set, it is usually not indicated on the reference number.
In this article, we have compiled an extensive list of Rolex watches with emeralds. These green gemstones contribute to making some very special and unique timepieces that certainly stand out from the crowd.
List of Rolex watches with emeralds
Day-Date platinum Emerald bezel 228396TEM
116649EMBR pavé dial
116649EMBR emerald markers
16598EM
16568BR pavé emerald dial
Day-Date Oysterquartz 19178EM
Day-Date Oysterquartz 19198EM
Lady Datejust 69198EM
Pearlmaster 69308E
Pearlmaster 69309EM
Pearlmaster 80308EM
Day-Date 36 18038 emerald string dial
Day-Date 36 18308 mother of pearl emerald dial
Daytona 16528 pavé emerald dial
Day-Date 36 18038 emerald dial
Lady Datejust 6917
Day-Date 36 platinum 118206 emerald baguette dial
Day-Date 36 18039B Tridor
Day-Date 36 18038 emerald dial
Cover photo courtesy of ablogtowatch.com.