The Nipple Dial And Its Significance In Rolex History

‘Nipple dials’: it’s a term that seems to be highly inappropriate for this day and age when extreme measures are taken to be non-offensive to literally everyone and everything. It brings back memories of the early Bond movies when 007 fought larger-than-life villains with the help of ladies with names like Kissy Suzuki and Pussy Galore. As sexist as this may sound, especially the latter had no problem handling herself. Pussy Galore, played by Honor Blackman, was more than capable of handling herself, being a licensed pilot with on her wrist a GMT-Master Ref.6542. This watch did not have a nipple dial, but it was the GMT-Master, together with the Submariner, on which they could be found.

Rolex only used these so-called ‘nipple dials’ on their Rolesor (stainless steel combined with yellow gold) and full-gold models. They are important because they stand for the brand’s transition after WWII. After making quite a name for itself as a maker of robust and reliable tool watches, Rolex wasas solidifying its position imore and more so that even its hard-core products are observed as items of great prestige. With the nipple dials, it wasn’t function over form anymore, but a beautiful blend of both. Made out of gold, they form small mountains on the dial and are filled with luminous material. This gives them a very luxurious look while also adding a great deal of depth to the dial.

Rolex, of course, never referred to this type of dial as ‘nipple dials’ themselves, as we have their enthusiastic collectors to thank for this nickname. Aside from this, they represent a significant era in the history of Rolex while being aesthetically very tempting. While their name might not be the most politically correct, wearing a Rolex is that probably not anyway, but we don’t love it any less!