As if a Rolex wasn’t already instantly recognizable on your wrist, the addition of diamonds takes things up a notch and makes it absolutely impossible to ignore. In fact, Rolex uses some of the very best diamonds and expert setting techniques to ensure that your icy watch shimmers brighter than the rest. Today, we’re going to take you behind the scenes of what goes into the process of creating diamond Rolex watches.
What Kind of Diamonds Does Rolex Use?
It probably comes at no surprise that Rolex only uses the highest quality diamonds available on the market. When you buy a diamond Rolex watch, it will only feature diamonds that are IF in clarity. To give you some background, the clarity scale ranges from 0 to 10. Zero (aka IF) is the clearest and is considered to be flawless. To get this IF certification, a diamond must have no inclusions or blemishes, even when visible under a 10x microscope.
Another feature that Rolex considers when choosing their diamonds is color. While you may assume all diamonds are just white, there is actually quite a natural range in color, even within the white diamond category. When it comes to grading the color of a diamond, the scale ranges from D to M, with D being so white it’s considered ‘colorless’ and M having a quite noticeable yellow hue.
When choosing diamonds for their watches, Rolex only uses the top four color grades, D, E, F, and G. So, why doesn’t Rolex only use the totally white, colorless diamonds? Well, the reason is that D, E, and F are actually identical to the naked eye, meaning that only a trained gemologist can tell the difference upon close inspection. Additionally, diamonds naturally reflect color. Therefore, using a diamond that’s in the G-grade, for a yellow gold diamond Rolex watch won’t really affect how your eye perceives its color. However, we can only imagine that for their white gold and platinum watches, Rolex probably only uses D grade diamonds to ensure they are as bright and icy as possible.
How Diamond Rolex Watches Are Made
While color and clarity are major factors in determining the value and overall appearance of a diamond, the way that is set also greatly influences a diamond’s ability to catch the light and display all of its best qualities. To ensure that their diamonds sparkle the brightest, Rolex uses two important techniques when setting them into their watches.
While Rolex doesn’t release a lot of information about how they choose or set their diamonds, experts agree that Rolex uses two types of high-grade settings, the first being the ‘4 Claw’ setting. This unobtrusive setting allows you to see more of the diamond by keeping metal coverage minimal. In doing so, Rolex is able to allow more light to shine on the diamonds, making them sparkle brightly.
Rolex is also known for the use of the channel Setting, which is an incredibly secure way of setting smaller diamonds by placing them close together in the grooves of the channel. To ensure that there is a flush aesthetic and secure setting, Rolex adheres to a 100% size match for all of the diamonds that get used on their watches, which are individually sorted by a specially-made computer program to ensure complete accuracy.
Together, the high-grade diamonds with top-notch settings make all diamond Rolex watches icy cool and unmistakably luxurious. However, to really appreciate just how brightly they shine, we recommend getting one up close to admire it in person. Better yet, shop around and buy one for yourself. We’ve got plenty to choose from.
