Did I Abuse my Vintage Rolex Oyster by Painting the Dial? It's Wild!

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Spicing things up

A good friend trades in vintage watches for a living but also has an artistic side. A while back, he showed me images of a Nomos that he had decorated with dots of different sizes and colors. The result was playful and fun, and the concept suited the Nomos perfectly. That planted a seed in my mind regarding my old Oyster. I had owned the watch for over two decades and my view of it had shifted.

With my collection evolving, so did the position of this Rolex. As the dial was not original anyway, a unique opportunity emerged: modify it again and, by doing so, add something both fresh and unique to my collection to enjoy for decades to come.

My friend was willing to work on the dial of the Rolex and began by stripping it of its previous printing. This resulted in quite a surprise: gone were the badly printed railroad track and Rolex name, but the gold tone circle in the middle remained.

Martin Green’s vintage Rolex Oyster dial before painting

I decided on a bold choice of colors, including several hues of green (as a nod to my last name) combined with coral, light blue, and fluorescent yellow Super-Luminova.

Mixing the paint for Martin Green’s vintage Rolex Oyster

While it may look simple, each dot had to be carefully positioned, painted, and then dry before continuing to the next. This was a tedious task because he wanted to ensure that the result would look random but balanced and pre-determined.