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Rolex’s new crop of watches are set with so many dazzling diamonds, they should come with sunglasses. There are 1,089 brilliant-cut sparklers blanketing the Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust, more than half of them on the 18-k yellow-gold “President” bracelet alone.
The Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36, on the other, er, wrist, boasts over 800 diamonds on each of three new colorful designs, with enameled Roman numerals that match the polished alligator leather straps (choose from coral and 18-k yellow gold; turquoise and white gold; or burgundy with 18-k Everose gold).
In-house gem setters spend hours painstakingly positioning every single colorless sparkler (gemologists note: they range in clarity from D to G) by hand with a pair of tweezers, ensuring that each is perfectly aligned with the stones around it; the company mandates variances of no more than two-hundredths of a millimeter — or about a quarter of the diameter of a single human hair.
Both models were revolutionary when they first debuted — the Datejust in 1945 (with a woman’s version following 12 years later) was the first self-winding waterproof chronometer to display the date in a window at 3 o’clock on the dial. Over the years it’s become a jet set must-have, spotted on the wrists of the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Bono, Nick Jonas, Roger Federer and Hailey Bieber.
The Day-Date, a 65-year-old design that’s nowhere near retirement, was the first to boast the day of the week, spelled out in an arc-shaped window at the top of the dial, in a choice of 26 languages no less. Rihanna, Drake, several Kardashians, and even the Dalai Lama have been spotted sporting this classic design, often with the “President” or metal bracelet.
While it remains to be seen which celebs will embrace these blingy new styles, the triumphant return of live events and awards shows guarantees we’ll be seeing these showstoppers on red carpets the world over.
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