This dial features hour markers in natural stone at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. The colours created for the Oyster Perpetual range start life as a lacquer, which must be meticulously applied in a controlled-atmosphere environment to avoid dust and other contamination. The brass plate of the dial base receives layer upon layer of lacquer, six in all, to form a regular, uniform surface. The last step is varnishing and polishing to bring out the full brilliance and depth of colour. The various inscriptions are then pad printed, and the hour markers and crown riveted by hand. The dial, gleaming in its perfection, is all set to take its place on top of the movement at the watch assembly phase.

By operating its own exclusive foundry, Rolex has the unrivalled ability to cast the highest quality 18 ct gold alloys. According to the proportion of silver, copper, platinum or palladium added, different types of 18 ct gold are obtained: yellow, pink or white. They are made with only the purest metals and meticulously inspected in an in-house laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment, before the gold is formed and shaped with the same painstaking attention to quality. Rolex's commitment to excellence begins at the source.

The Oyster bracelet is a perfect alchemy of form and function, aesthetics and technology. First introduced in the late 1930s, this particularly robust and comfortable metal bracelet with its broad, flat three-piece links remains the most universal bracelet in the Oyster collection. For the Oyster Perpetual models the Oyster bracelet is fitted with an Oysterclasp.