W.O.W. Guide: What is a Rolex Buckley Dial?
The watch world is one full of nicknames and terms that enthusiasts use to refer to particular models, collections or aesthetic features. It can help to assist with memorising watches instead of having to remember the lengthy codes brands use as identifiers, and over the years there has been no brand that has gained a wealth of nicknames like Rolex. This is hardly surprising given their popularity and longevity as the most recognisable watch brand in the world. Some more commonly known nicknames include the ‘Pepsi’ which refers to the iconic blue and red bezel that can be found on Rolex GMT-Master models from as early as 1955, the ‘Kermit’ which is associated with Rolex Submariner models from 2003 that feature a popping green bezel and the ‘President’ which rather than referring to a singular model, refers to any of the Rolex Day-Date collection due to their prestigious history of being the favoured watch of world leaders around the globe.
But sometimes watches take their nickname from famous actors or collectors who become synonymous with particular models, the most famous example being the infamous Rolex Daytona ref. 6239, or as it is more commonly known, the ‘Paul Newman’. Over time more and more nicknames seem to appear but one more recent addition is that of the ‘Buckley’ dial. The Buckley dial is one that can be found on Rolex Datejust references 1601, 1603, 16014, and 16030 and in a couple of rare cases some Oysterquartz and Day-Date references from the ‘70s and ‘80s, but you might be asking where exactly it comes from and what does it mean?
What is a Buckley Dial?
A Rolex ‘Buckley’ dial is one characterised by painted roman numerals on the dial rather than applied markers. The style of a Buckley dial features a thinner font than that of its applied marker counterpart. This provides improved legibility and is said to have been created to help those who found the reflective applied markers hard to read. This style of dial never really took off at the time of it’s introduction and was phased out and thus cannot be found on any of Rolexes modern-day releases. Somewhat of a rarity, the Buckley dial Rolex is one that is now sought after in the vintage watch world and may have even been lost in time if it weren’t for the man where they get their namesake, John Buckley.
Who is John Buckley?
As a vintage watch collector from New York, John Buckley plied his trade in the NYC Diamond District in the late 1990s, trading vintage watches, parts and bracelets of many brands but the one he considered himself to be an expert in was Rolex. He went on to set up his own vintage watch company Tuscanyrose LLC which handles over 200 watches a month for a variety of reasons including valuation and appraisal. It is his 26 year plus experience that gave him exposure to the references with the painted numeral dials, and thanks to his adoration and eagerness to give them exposure, Rolex enthusiast forums and communities began to name the dial after him. If it wasn’t for John Buckley then the popularity of the Buckley dial Rolex may never have come about and we wouldn’t have so many perfect examples on the second-hand market.
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Written by Piers Mansell for Watts on Watches
