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Old 25 August 2019, 07:12 AM   #1
miamiclay
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“White Stella”? I have questions ...

From time to time I’ll see a Day-Date described as having a “white Stella” dial, and ... I have questions!

First, is/was there any such thing? Did Rolex even make the Stella enamel/lacquer dials in white?

Second, two photos are below (both of these are described as having “white Stella” dials). The first, with the red Omani khanjar, seems to have more or less regular 6-digit-DD printing, with the Romans-and-railroad chapter ring in black. The second one is different, with the Romans and chapter ring (& presumably all the text also?) printed in a highly reflective gold - see it up near the 11-12 markers.

Is either of these a white Stella (if such a thing even exists)? Is the second one, with the gold chapter ring, perhaps actually a factory porcelain dial? Does the reflective gold chapter ring tell us anything - That it is a porcelain dial, a white Stella, a fake, or does it tell us nothing?

Thanks as always for the wealth of knowledge which is found here, and most especially for the consistent generosity in sharing it.
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Old 25 August 2019, 07:31 AM   #2
77T
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Never heard the white enamel or the porcelain dials called Stella because of the absence of color. Bold new colors ushered in the Stella era.

The second picture appears to be a refinished dial.


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Old 25 August 2019, 10:31 AM   #3
Richard Carver
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No white Stella, no black either.
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Old 25 August 2019, 12:34 PM   #4
JustinK
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I have seen the white dials with gilt writing referred to as Stella dials by several dealers.

Not saying they are Stella’s but they are definitely not as common as the white dials with black writing.

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Old 25 August 2019, 01:28 PM   #5
Richard Carver
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Dealers also assure you your watch is unpolished and all original. :)
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Old 25 August 2019, 11:26 PM   #6
MorningTundra
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I’m always skeptical of Arabic script dials in yellow gold watches. Islam prohibits men from wearing yellow gold. So watches in this color for Arab customers would be a pretty small market; or custom.


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Old 26 August 2019, 04:19 AM   #7
miamiclay
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Thanks all - Along with the Stella info, I learned something new about Islam.

Looking at these two pics, I also noticed one has the Roman 4 in the chapter ring as IV, the other as IIII. It seems 99% of DDs use the IIII, but not all - Are the very few with IV all repainted or otherwise not fully legit? (I posted this question, with these two more IV pics, as a new thread over in General Rolex Discussion)
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Old 26 August 2019, 11:23 AM   #8
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I'm pretty sure I've seen discrepancies in Rolex's use of "IV" and "IIII" before, although I can't remember where...
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Old 26 August 2019, 07:14 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MorningTundra View Post
I’m always skeptical of Arabic script dials in yellow gold watches. Islam prohibits men from wearing yellow gold. So watches in this color for Arab customers would be a pretty small market; or custom.


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Correct......and yet these watches have been made for this market and they are real. They were commissioned by the highest people in state and were often given as gifts.

This is a good read on the subject:
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/phot...l?page=7&img=7
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Old 26 August 2019, 08:30 PM   #10
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“White Stella”? I have questions ...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Verdi View Post
Correct......and yet these watches have been made for this market and they are real. They were commissioned by the highest people in state and were often given as gifts.



This is a good read on the subject:

https://www.arabianbusiness.com/phot...l?page=7&img=7


My understanding is Omani Khanjar, Saudi Royal crests, UAE govt dept emblems etc were applied by regional ADs for their VIP clients to curry favor, rather than at the Rolex factory. They’re authentic Rolex with “aftermarket” dial enhancements. They fall in the same class as other “logo dials”. They’re not OEM like say, the 1/4 Century Club dials for Eaton’s.


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Old 26 August 2019, 09:56 PM   #11
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You would prefer to have the serial in the caseback for watches marked with Khanjar/Qaboos logos as they were special orders. There’s however many dials around (some real, some fake) that finds their way onto watches. If no serial in the caseback I would expect the dials to have been added later. Many, if not all, of these came through Asprey and should often be marked as such on the outside of the caseback.

Regarding the authencity of these dials I leave that to someone else. If I were to guess the first dial is just a normal silver dial and the second one feels redone. I would not call any of them a Stella.
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Old 26 August 2019, 10:36 PM   #12
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So looking at the second dial it does look a little sloppy. Here is a picture of a dial I have seen called a Stella.

I am sure as stated its just marketing by the dealers but in trying to research it myself I was able to find very few dials with gilt printing. The ones I did see were being marketed as Stella's.

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Old 27 August 2019, 04:35 AM   #13
miamiclay
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MorningTundra View Post
My understanding is Omani Khanjar, Saudi Royal crests, UAE govt dept emblems etc were applied by regional ADs for their VIP clients to curry favor, rather than at the Rolex factory. They’re authentic Rolex with “aftermarket” dial enhancements. They fall in the same class as other “logo dials”. They’re not OEM like say, the 1/4 Century Club dials for Eaton’s
Really? So virtually all of the 100+ logo dials listed and shown HERE were applied aftermarket by ADs, not by Rolex? The post linked above says “At one point [Rolex] advertised corporate-branded Rolexes as a good service award for loyal employees, so they weren't just reluctantly fulfilling special requests--they were actively seeking out clients for it.” It seems improbable somehow that Rolex would advertise a service performed only by the ADs. Is there some distinction between “government” dials and corporate ones?

OTOH, it wouldn’t be the strangest decision Rolex has made ... Probably not the strangest one today!
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Old 27 August 2019, 05:01 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MorningTundra View Post
My understanding is Omani Khanjar, Saudi Royal crests, UAE govt dept emblems etc were applied by regional ADs for their VIP clients to curry favor, rather than at the Rolex factory. They’re authentic Rolex with “aftermarket” dial enhancements. They fall in the same class as other “logo dials”. They’re not OEM like say, the 1/4 Century Club dials for Eaton’s.


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That is incorrect.
These are Rolex commissioned watches that came out of Rolex factory as such. They were no facilities in the Middle East ‘70s and ‘80s to add the print to the dials of these models.

They are factory dials......Rolex stopped doing it in the 90s.
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Old 27 August 2019, 06:23 AM   #15
miamiclay
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JustinK View Post
So looking at the second dial it does look a little sloppy. Here is a picture of a dial I have seen called a Stella.

I am sure as stated its just marketing by the dealers but in trying to research it myself I was able to find very few dials with gilt printing. The ones I did see were being marketed as Stella's.

I wondered at first whether that second one was bad printing or just a blurry photo, but the hands are sharp. The reflective gold* reminds me of gilt in porcelain - Are these perhaps porcelain dials?

*-In my original message, I had first typed “gilt,” rather than reflective gold, but I know that gilt is a term of art in vintage Rolex, presumably not the same as these.
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Old 27 August 2019, 10:01 AM   #16
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No such thing as white or black Stella end of story. All sales hype


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Old 27 August 2019, 11:59 AM   #17
seattleal
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My understanding is that Rolex did furnish dials that are porcelain on early five digit DD's and DJ's, but these are definitely not stella dials. Here is one I had a few years ago that was sold to me as porcelain. I have no reason to doubt that, and it certainly looks like pocelain. Also note the smoother edges at the day and date windows, reminiscent of stella dials, and perhaps a source of the confusion.
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Old 3 September 2019, 06:03 PM   #18
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Is this a stella dial? My 1987 datejust has an unusual white gloss dial.
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Old 3 September 2019, 06:44 PM   #19
miamiclay
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oysterquartz17000 View Post
Is this a stella dial? My 1987 datejust has an unusual white gloss dial.
If crowncollection says no such thing as white or black Stellas, that’s gospel in my book. Rolex made other colors of non-Stella dials in gloss and matte, maybe white too?
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