Rolex: A Master In The Art of Gem-Setting
All gem-set Rolex watches sparkle with exceptional brilliance.
Rolex houses many crafts across its four manufactures, the oldest craft being gem-setting, housed in its Chêne-Bourg facility. The gemstones that it acquires are carefully inspected with specialised machines and individually checked by gemmologists to verify their authenticity and quality, before being sorted by colour for consistency. Rolex only uses diamonds that are internally flawless and fall within the colour grades of D to G — the finest hues on the Gemological Institute of America’s scale.
Once approved by the gemmologists, the precious stones are then entrusted to the gem-setters. With the precision of a watchmaker, they set each stone, one by one, onto the watches. A gem-setter’s craft is multifaceted. First, decisions are made with designers in the Creation Division about the colours and arrangement of the stones.
This is a subtle exercise in finding a balance between aesthetic and technical requirements. Then follows a consultation with the case and bracelet engineers. Together, they study the future placement of the stones in order to prepare, to the nearest micron, the gold or platinum into which the stones will be set.
An excellent example of this work is revealed in the Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust, available in 18k white or yellow gold and fully set with diamonds on the case, case sides, lugs, dial and President bracelet. A total of 1,089 diamonds are used on each watch, making it a work of haute joaillerie as well as watchmaking.
This watch truly showcases Rolex’s mastery of gem-setting, especially on the President’s bracelet, as every link is curved. The gem-setter must line the diamonds precisely on the curved surfaces while ensuring that each setting is properly secured to each diamond. Furthermore, each row of diamonds must also align with other links, making it even more challenging, and with no room for error.
Gem-setting isn’t simply a craft, it’s also a science. Beyond the initial inspection of each stone, the Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust’s case middle and dial are also set in diamonds. This means the layout of each diamond must be carefully considered to take the applied numerals on the dial into account, as well as the sides of the case middle as it tapers into the lugs.
To achieve this, a digital positioning of each gemstone is first mapped out to ensure that every part of the watch is fully clad in diamonds, including the space needed for claws to secure each gemstone. This informs the gemmologist how many gemstones of each size are required for every watch.
These diamonds have to be further matched for colour, before they are passed on to the gem-setter and placed in position.
On watches like the Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust or Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36, this is done with mathematical precision, a process that is as technologically impressive as it is breathtaking.
When it comes to rainbow-graduation bezels, such as in the example of the new Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master 40, each sapphire has to be individually selected to ensure the graduating change in colour is consistent and evenly spaced.
The gemstones also need to be carefully calculated with precision to ensure that the pressure on each gemstone is evenly distributed and each baguette-cut stone is precisely sized to ensure a perfect fit on the bezel.