For The Oyster Perpetual' New Stella Dials
In recent years, Rolex has launched Oyster Perpetual, offering more colorful options like the Red Grape dial and a bright blue dial with a neon green accent. However, no one is predicting a range of vibrant and vivid dial colors by 2021, echoing the aesthetic style of the old "Stella" dials of the 1970s.
During the 1970s and 1980s, a Rolex replica made a series of brightly colored dials for select Day-Date and Datejust replica watches. Originally intended for the Middle East market, these dials were made from lacquered, multi-layered enamel and were offered in a range of vibrant and unusual colors. Nicknamed "Stella Dials" - either in reference to American artist Frank Stella and his option of extremely bright colors or after the Latin word for 'star', these brightly colored dials were not all that popular among buyers at the time, leading to a rather short-lived production run.
To call them "brightly colored" is a bit of an understatement. Rolex Stella dials are very much vibrant, and they are about as "un-Rolex" as any dial that the brand has ever produced. Some people thought that the colors featured on the vintage Stella dials were simply representative of an experimental time in Rolex's history and that we would never see anything like it from the brand again. But, the new dial colors that Rolex added to the Oyster Perpetual line for 2021 are more than reminiscent of the ones featured on the vintage Stella dials from the 1970s.
These new vibrant Oyster Perpetual dials are not actually Stella dials - that name specifically applies to the ultra-collective, brightly colored dials found on vintage Day-Date and Datejust watches. However, some of the new fake Rolex Oyster permanent faces almost match the color of their old Strads. Also, it's worth noting that while the original Stella dials from the 1970s and 1980s were tailored specifically for the Rolex lineup with advanced options, these new bright color dials offer only Rolex's most affordable and easily collected timepieces.