Stella Dial Rolex Watches – Complete Guide & List of Rolex Stella Dials

Stella Dial Rolex Watches – Complete Guide & List of Rolex Stella Dials

Over the years, Rolex has made an endless selection of different dials. The dial is one of the key visual components of a watch. After all, it is the face of the watch and the thing that you look at the most.

Whilst most of Rolex’s dials have been simple and classic, Rolex has done some bold and interesting moves over the years when it comes to its dials. Rolex has experimented with different materials such as wood, stone, meteorite, and coral. But they have also made some really interesting bright and bold colors.

One of the rarest and sought-after dial types amongst collectors is Rolex’s so-called “Stella” dials. Stella dials are lacquered dials that are made with enamel paint, mixed by hand for each dial. The name comes from a company named Stella which was based in Châtelaine and Geneva. This company provided Rolex with the special lacquer used for these special dials during the 1970s.

Unlike what many people think, the name “Stella” is therefore not a nickname that was coined by collectors, like so many other Rolex terms. Instead, Rolex actually used the term term ‘Lacquered Stella’ in their catalogs in the 1970s.

History of Rolex Stella dials

The peak of the Stella dials in Rolex’s production was in the 1970s and 1980s. Rolex predominantly made the Stella dials for the President Day-Date, but other models can also be found with this enamel lacquer dial, such as the Date and the Datejust, although they are very few.

Over the years, Rolex made the Stella dial in a large selection of different colors, often extremely bold and bright, including colors light bright green, pink, bright red, orange, and many more. This is perhaps one of the most significant things Rolex has ever done considering the fact that they added these dials to what is one of the most traditional and classic models in their lineup.

It is believed that the Stella dials were initially intended for the Middle East market and some other markers such as Asia but during the time that they were in production, they never really broke through and didn’t gain the popularity that Rolex was hoping for. Perhaps because they simply were too bold. Bear in mind that they were released during a time when things were much more traditional and classic than they are today. A real gentleman carried an elegant and classic timepiece, not a bold and colorful watch.

The market limitations were not completely strict, however, and some Stella watches found their way into other markets as well.

Furthermore, Rolex retailers would allegedly replace the Stella dials for classic dials simply because they didn’t sell. Many of the Rolex Stella dials were also supposedly destroyed by Rolex simply because they were not sellable.

With the limited popularity and limited production, it’s easy to see why Stella dials today are so extremely rare and sought-after.

The Sella dial underwent a few changes over the years. The first iterations of the Stella dial were so-called “Pie-Pan” dials which were not completely flat but recessed at the outer part of the dial. The second iterations do not have this pie-pan design and are instead completely flat.

The Stella dial was only manufactured in solid gold. This has made the Stella dial even rarer today as the majority of Rolex buyers back in the days either couldn’t afford or justify buying a full gold watch due to their hefty price tags in relation to stainless steel.

Rolex made the Stella dials available for yellow gold, rose gold, and white gold watches. Some rare examples were also made in platinum. This also means that the hour markers are also made in the respective metal depending on the watch, with platinum using white gold markers. Furthermore, the print on the dial also varies depending on the metal of the watch that the dial is made for. With that said, the Stella dials are not interchangeable across models.

There is not a public number of how many Stella dial watches Rolex actually made. But we can also expect that even if we did have a number, the actual number of Stella watches still remaining today would be considerably lower due to the factors discussed earlier. Some retailers exchanged the Stella dials for something else and perhaps even destroyed them, Stella dials have broken and had to be replaced throughout the years, and so on.

But one thing we do know is that with the above-mentioned factors, together with the fact that the Stella dial watches never gained huge popularity, the total production number is very low. This has contributed to making them extremely rare today. As a matter of fact, the Rolex Stella dial watches are amongst the most sought-after by collectors today.

In terms of the overall design, the Stella dial was made with two key designs (apart from colors). It was made with either regularly applied hour-markers or diamonds and baguettes for the hour markers. Some have printed logos, for example state of Qatar but these are extremely rare.

When collectors look at a vintage item, they look first and foremost about the condition. And as if finding a Stella dial Rolex wasn’t difficult enough, it is even more difficult to find one in perfect condition. The paint used is a lacquer and this has proven to have a tendency to crack over time. The enamel used is very sensitive to impacts or other damages and this can cause cracks or hairlines which devalues the watch for collectors.

Today, Stella dial wathes are more popular and sought-after than ever before. And it is perhaps exactly the reason why they weren’t popular back in the days, that they are so popular today. Stella dials are unique and stand out from most other Rolex watches and are truly unique.