Rolex has been manufacturing watches with 34mm case diameters for the majority of their long and distinguished history; however, these “mid-size” models such as the Date and Air-King often get overlooked due to the multitude of options that exist in the more standard, 36mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual case size. However, Rolex has manufactured a number of excellent watches – both vintage and contemporary – that have 34mm case diameters, and their highly versatile size allows them to look at-home on wrists of virtually any gender or measurement.Although the Datejust collection has historically had a case diameter of 36mm for the standard full-size model, Rolex also manufactures a line of watches called the Date that offers many of the same design traits and features of the Datejust – even the same movement too – only in a slightly smaller overall package.One of the most “quintessentially Rolex” watches currently in production with a 34mm case diameter is the reference 115234 Date. With a Cyclops magnification lens, stainless steel Oyster bracelet, and 18k white gold fluted bezel, the reference 115234 Date checks all the same design boxes as the Datejust, just with a slightly reduced size. Additionally, since the 34mm Date and the 36mm Datejust share the same movement, the reference 115234 is in no way a “lesser” watch compared to the Datejust, just one that is 2mm smaller.Since consumer trends favored smaller wristwatches in past decades, a number of great vintage Rolex references exist with 34mm case diameters. One of the longest-running Rolex models of all time is the reference 5500 Air-King, which boasts a super clean and minimal dial design that perfectly complements its slightly reduced case size.The reference 5500 remained in production for thirty-seven years, during which time it was fitted with both Rolex’s Caliber 1520 and Caliber 1530 movements – neither of which were chronometer-certified. Due to their long production run, reference 5500 Air-King watches were manufactured in relatively large numbers and can still be purchased for very reasonable prices. Fitted with one of the cleanest and least text-heavy dials found inside any Rolex watch, the Air-King 5500 pre-dates the widespread implementation of chronometer-certified movements and represents one of the best entry points into vintage Rolex collecting.Although the Day-Date President is the classic all-gold Rolex watch, it has never been manufactured in a size smaller than 36mm. However, throughout its history, Rolex has produced a number of all-gold watches within their Date collection that have 34mm case diameters, and lack the additional complication for displaying the day of the week that is found on the flagship Day-Date line of watches.One of the more modern incarnations of the all-gold 34mm Date is the reference 15238, which stands out due to a number of characteristics that help separate it from previous iterations of Rolex’s all-gold 34mm Date watch. While earlier examples were made from 14k gold, there reference 15238 is craft from 18k – the same as what Rolex uses to manufacture their flagship Day-Date President watch. Additionally, the Date 15238 is fitted with Rolex’s Caliber 3135 movement and a synthetic sapphire crystal, which give it all the ingredients necessary to be a fairly modern watch.
Open the case back, you can find a high quality automatic movement inside, it is an Asian ETA 2836-2, the auto rotor has uniform brushing lines, its plates on the base have beautiful fish scale patterns. There are 2836-2 numerals engraved on the movement plate. If your watch is slower or faster, adjust the regulator to + or -. You can also see the balance wheel featuring a rosy shock absorber. The replica Rolex GMT Master II watch is only 3 seconds slower each day, other specifications like beat rate, lift angle are normal.Another review about a high end replica Rolex watch, it is one of my favorite replicas. To let more people understand this replica watch, I will give a detailed introduction of AR coated cyclops and some special research on this watch, at the same time, I will objectively describe the disadvantages of this replica so give you guys an objective evaluation.The watch I will introduce is the best Rolex Yacht-Master replica in the market, it is equipped with a 25-jeweled automatic movement. The picture below displays all components of this watch, it will be reviewed from case, case back, crystal, hands, bracelet and other places, as the most representative replica, this Yacht-Master has the best quality.We can notice that the replica case is refinied, the outer bezel uses sand blasting and polishing craft, the bezel of genuine Rolex Yacht-Master is made of platinum and stainless steel, the sand blasted part is stainless steel while the raised markings use platinum. To make the replica look closer to gen, its outer bezel uses the same craft on sand blasted part, on the polished raised markers, the replica is plated with Zinc, it is the only one replica Rolex Yacht-Master using this technology.The dial is the most difficult place to replicate, this blue color used on genuine dial is concocted by Rolex themselves. While being adjusted for six times, the replica dial has been done exactly the same as genuine on depth, glossiness and saturation.Certainly, the logo engraving is perfect. The lettering on case back is engraved by laser machine. This is a great attempt in replica watch field, because it can greatly reduce scratch rate and speed up productivity.Every factory has been searching for one perfect solution for the AR Coating on Rolex cyclops in the past two years, the AR Coating has always been the biggest difficulity in replicating a Rolex. The bluish tint on Rolex cyclops ar coating is actually a combination of colors, the main color is yellow, supplementary colors are blue and red, so now you have a completly brand new understanding of this?The solution of a real invisible Rolex crown was done perfectly in mid-2014, the crown design can not be said to be hidden, it is just half invosible because of being printed, you can still see it just slightly adjust the angle. While a real invisible crown logo can only be seen under special lighting conditions, the most direct way is to use a flashlight below the 6 postion, in other cases, it is very difficult to see.Refer to the making experience of mature Submariner hands, the replica features a pure red second hand, the hands are also filled with SuperLume material like the genuine Rolex watch.The bracelet uses 316L stainless steel, so it looks more glossy than the genuine.
No, I’m not talking about the Submariner and Explorer II’s famously good looks – we’ll get there in a minute. Both timepieces have a pretty long history with Rolex, and over the years, they have been worn and beloved by many famous faces.The Submariner is famous for its James Bond appearances, author Ian Flemming writing, “He could not just wear a watch. It had to be a Rolex.” Over the years, Sean Connery’s 007 wore a Submariner ref. 6538 and Roger Moore sported a ref. 5513. And as one of the most popular Rolex models ever, we often see the Submariner sported today on the wrists of celebrities and dignitaries alike – whether they’re scuba divers or not.The Rolex Explorer II has graced its fair share of celebrities and famous explorers too. Hollywood actor, Jason Statham can frequently be spotted at red carpet events sporting a vintage ref. 1655 – the very first Explorer II reference. Meanwhile, Prince Harry prefers the modern version of the watch, and owns the 42mm Explorer II ref. 216570 with a white “Polar” dial.This is where the differences between the Submariner and the Explorer II become very apparent. First up, the Submariner has a colored unidirectional timing bezel that today is available in black, blue or green. And before Rolex started using modern, scratch-resistant Cerachrom (aka ceramic) bezels on the Submariner in 2007, it featured an aluminum bezel. The bezel is really one of the main selling points of this watch, as its color really adds some great personality to the wrist, and is one of the defining characteristics of the Rolex Submariner collection.The waterproof Oyster case on the Submariner clocks in at 40mm, and along with the bracelet, can be either constructed from Oystersteel (904L stainless steel), solid 18k yellow gold, or Rolesor (two-tone steel and gold). This is another big selling point for a lot of collectors, as the combinations of alloys and bezels really allow for a lot of style and creativity. And before I forget: the Submariner has always featured an Oyster bracelet, but in recent years was updated with the improved Glidelock clasp, which allows for tool-free adjustment for a perfect fit.
It’s the kind of watch that when you slip it on, you instantly feel elevated. Hard to ignore, this bezel is a real head turner.When the green bezel was first introduced in the 50th Anniversary edition of the Submariner, it took the world by storm. Never before had a color like that been used by Rolex, and soon, it became beloved. So in 2010, Rolex upgraded their green bezel Submariner to feature Cerachrom, making the bezel more bold and durable than ever before. The improved bezel also matches a stunning green sunburst dial, which gives this watch a bold and very imposing look – hence the “Hulk” nickname.The Rolex Daytona and the Monaco Grand PrixThe Monaco Grand Prix and the Rolex Daytona are two icons in the world of automobile racing. Today marks the 90th anniversary of Monaco’s legendary F1 race, and in the spirit of celebrating motorsport icons, we also turn our attention to the Rolex Daytona – widely considered to be one of the greatest driving watches ever made.The Submariner, on the other hand, is a classic three-handed watch – hours, minutes, seconds. It’s available with or without a date function. It’s available in all-steel, two-tone steel and yellow gold, yellow gold, and white gold, each with the revolutionary ceramic “Cerachrom” bezel.The Monaco Grand Prix is regarded as one of the most iconic and important automobile racing events in the entire world, and today it celebrates its 90th anniversary. Held each year since 1929 on a narrow course laid out through the streets of Monaco, the race includes numerous elevation changes, tight corners, and even a tunnel, making it one of the most dangerous and demanding tracks in Formula One racing.Due to the hazardous nature of the Monaco circuit, it is the only Grand Prix that does not adhere to the FIA’s mandated 305-kilometre (190-mile) minimum race distance for F1 races. Additionally, along with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Monaco Grand Prix forms the Triple Crown of Motorsport.Another motorsports icon, the Rolex Daytona is widely considered to be one of the finest racing chronographs ever made. Launched in 1963, the Daytona was named after the American race that Rolex sponsors. Being introduced shortly before the ‘Quartz Crisis’ the Rolex Daytona was not an immediate success; however, it later gained an immense amount of attention from collectors, with values exponentially shooting up within the last several years.Watches that once lingered on dealer’s shelves are now highly sought-after collectibles, and arguably no other watch is as fiercely collected as the Rolex Daytona. At the present time, it is a Rolex Daytona (Paul Newman’s personal Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6239) that holds the record of being the most expensive wristwatch ever sold, with a whopping final sale price of $17.8 million.Due to their similar names, near-identical style, and matching functionality, there is often some confusion surrounding the Rolex Datejust and Date watches. However, since these two similar watches are considered different Rolex watch collections, we will discuss the differences between the Rolex Datejust vs. Date to clear the confusion once and for all. The History Of The Rolex Datejust And Date Watches To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the company, Rolex unveiled the Datejust in 1945 as the world’s first chronometer-rated wristwatch with a date window on the dial. The then-new Rolex Datejust also brought together the brand’s other groundbreaking innovations such as the waterproof Oyster case (invented in 1926) and the self-winding “Perpetual” mechanical movement (invented in 1931). As a result, the watch’s official name is the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust.Another novelty of the Datejust was its five-link bracelet design, called the Jubilee bracelet. The inaugural full yellow gold Datejust model combined a 36mm case with a fluted bezel and a Jubilee bracelet – design elements that are still popular within the modern Datejust collection even if the lineup has flourished with a vast assortment of different metal, bezel, bracelet, and size options.The Rolex Date joined the company’s catalog in the mid-1950s as a slightly smaller alternative to the Datejust. Rather than a 36mm Oyster case, the Oyster Perpetual Date watch sported a 34mm case housing a dial with a date window at 3 o’clock. Although there were a handful of other style options available such as solid gold models, the majority of early Date references were stainless steel with smooth bezels and three-link Oyster bracelets.Right off the bat, we see that the Rolex Date was not just a smaller iteration of the Datejust, but also a somewhat more casual option too. By the time Rolex released the Date model, the Cyclops date magnification lens had already been introduced in 1953. The Cyclops bubble serves to magnify the date window by 2.5 times and it has become a fixture of all Datejust and Date watches since its inception.Rolex Datejust Vs.
The ref. 16710 is outfitted with a standard 40mm Oyster case with water-resistance up to 100 meters and a protective sapphire crystal over the dial. The bezel is equipped with an aluminum insert in either all-black, red and blue, or red and black. Depending on the year of production, the watch is also available on the secondary market with cases that have either lug holes or no lug holes, and the luminous material on the dial will vary, as Rolex made the switch from Tritium to LumiNova during the production of the reference 16710 GMT-Master II.With the release of the ref. 116710 came a brand new case design that includes the upgrade to a triple-sealed Triplock screw-down crown, a new bezel mounting system that operates on 24 clicks instead of 120, a tougher “Cerachrom” bezel insert crafted from a scratchproof ceramic material, and a “Maxi” dial topped with larger hour markers and wider hands. The 40mm case also received a larger crown guard and wider lugs, earning it the nickname the “Super Case” among collections due to its thicker and more aggressive overall appearance.The ref. 16710 is equipped with the self-winding Rolex Caliber 3185 perpetual movement, which includes a Quickset function for easy adjustment of the date mechanism, hacking, an independent 24-hour hand, and a 48-hour power reserve. However, near the very end of production of the ref. 16710, Rolex switched movements, and later-era examples of the reference 16710 were equipped with the Caliber 3186 movement. The Caliber 3186 has the same specifications as the Caliber 3185 but is now equipped with Rolex’s newer paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring and a smoother operating jump-hour hand. With that in mind, all reference 116710 GMT-Master II watches run solely on the Caliber 3186.
Previous:Previous:watch replica Next:Next:Used replica rolex Daytona Watches for Sale
