It's no secret that Rolex watches set the standard for luxury timepieces, being the choice for
discriminating individuals for over a century. Indeed, the Rolex name has become synonymous with
superb design, craftsmanship, reliability, and performance and people all over the world choose
Rolex chronographs not only because they measure time with exquisite accuracy, but they also measure
the wearer's sense of style and professional accomplishments. A Rolex chronograph gracing a wrist
anywhere throughout the world implies that the wearer will settle only for the very best and has the
financial means to get it.
Customizing your Rolex Watch
These days, Rolex owners have many more options for customizing their Rolex watches than were
available just a generation ago. Rolex customization options not only express a sense of
individuality and style, but also add significant value to an owner's investment. Artisan jewelers
are responding to this demand by offering customized Rolex dials, bezels, bracelets, lugs, clasps,
and other watch components inspired by the Rolex owners imagination and the jewelers skills.
Customized Rolexes sport precious and semi-precious gemstones on the clasps, mother of pearl dials
inlaid with different cuts of diamonds, bracelets crafted from precious metals, and bezels accented
with a variety of gems. This article focuses on customizing your Rolex watch with a variety of
different bezels to add a bit of panache and make it uniquely yours.
Rolex Bezels
A bezel is the ring that surrounds the watch face and holds the crystal in place. In many cases, the
bezel rotates and enhances the functionality of the watch. But for many Rolex owners, the bezel
presents another opportunity for customization. Initially, customized Rolex bezels were commissioned
by fashion-conscious ladies who wanted to make their Rolex truly unique and challenge their favorite
jewelers with increasingly elaborate designs. Today, many men are choosing to enhance the value of
their Rolexes with customized bezels and skilled jewelers the world over are responding to this
trend and making Rolex bezels that catch the eye from across a room.
Let's start with the metal options for bezels. 18K gold is the most popular choice year after year
as its luster, feel, and ability to enhance the look of precious gems have endured for millennia.
18K white gold bezels are the second most popular as they impart the same warm feel on the skin as
yellow gold but have a beauty that is more understated while still providing the desired properties
of elegance and malleability. In recent years, artisan jewelers have responded to demand by crafting
custom Rolex bezels in other metals such as platinum, titanium, and even stainless steel.
Rolex bezels customized with gemstones elevate the trend to another level. Diamonds are, and always
have been, the gemstones of choice for Rolex bezels, with emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and other
precious gems rounding out the field. Rolex owners are also increasingly commissioning custom bezels
with other gems, namely amethyst, topaz, moonstone, garnet, citrine, peridot, tourmaline, polished
coral, ivory, and even fossils!
The cut of the Rolex bezel also displays a wearer's personal taste. The gemstones are fashioned in
the traditional marquise, crown, pavilion, Old Single, Briolette, emerald, pear, and baguette cuts.
However, demand drives innovation and new gem-cutting equipment and techniques allow even more
elaborate designs, such as Navettes, French cuts, trapezes, triangle cuts, octahedrons, and gems
cuts with concave facets.
Today, there are more options for customizing your Rolex watch than ever before and jewelers must
take extra care that the customized bezels and other watch components are crafted with the same
workmanship, quality of materials, and precision that is synonymous with the Rolex name. This
craftsmanship and attention to detail presents a unique challenge for artisan jewelers all over the
world, inspiring them to rise above and beyond their current mastery of the trade to please the
creative quest of their discerning clientele. If there is one prevailing theme to customizing your
Rolex, it wouldn'nt be ?form follows function?; it would be ?form fuels the imagination!?
