‘Lemon’ Dial 116520 Rolex Daytona

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Is this the next Patrizzi dial? That is one of the most interesting, perennially-evolving questions in all Rolex. As watches progress from new to used, then neo or vintage, our relationship to them changes. Collectors are beginning to pay real attention, and sums, for ‘lemon’ dials. Now, these go equally by lemon, cream, or panna;…

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Cream Dial 25594ST Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Day Date

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For all the collectability that surrounds the cream dial 16550 Explorer II, you’d imagine a cream dial Royal Oak would see drastically more furor. After all, it was AP’s loyalists who practically burned Bennahmias at the stake, deservedly so, for the Code 11.59 release. One would imagine there would be particularly eager attention when cream…

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116520 ‘Panna Dial’ Rolex Daytona

This is the next Patrizzi. It’s not often I get to say that, so let me elaborate. Osvaldo Patrizzi was first to clock a change in some 16520 Zenith Daytona dials, where subdial rings would turn a taupe golden tan with sun exposure. Watch collectors adore a good defect. We also adore a cream or…

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Cream Dial 16550 Rolex Explorer II

The Daytona has Paul Newman. The GMT-Master has Marlon Brando and Fidel Castro. The Explorer II though? It’s never really had a unilateral poster-personality to align with. Except that’s not quite accurate, because unbeknownst to many, a cream dial 16550 has been worn for decades by one Gordon Ramsey. If you don’t see the appeal,…

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Cream Dial 16550 Rolex Explorer II

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If manners maketh man, patina maketh Rolex. Patina can arrive in many forms: wrist wear, consistent sun exposure, and manufacturing defects are the most common. It is the rare bird which displays multiple forms of weathering. Just such an example is what a have here: an early 16550 which sports both a cream dial borne…

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The Controversial Cream Dial 16570 Explorer II

Rolex-16570-Explorer-II-Cream-Dial

Few defects are as beautiful as the Explorer II cream dial. Early white dial Explorer II production runs had a paint defect which, after a few years, aged the dials to a beautiful ivory. Less than halfway through the run, Rolex corrected this and left collectors with two rare references to hunt. Like all good…

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