For a few decades, Rolex applied a sun-protective chemical finish to its watches with black faces. But the coating, instead of preventing fading, actually accelerated discoloration, writes Esquire. Because of this flaw those watches have turned a complex chocolate brown hue over time. And now, these watches are highly sought after by a small but devoted group of collectors, and because the “flawed” dials were often replaced when brought it for service, the few remaining, ‘uncorrected’ watches are incredibly rare. Some Omega watches also suffered from a similar fate. An even cooler fact: the intensity of the brown color varies based on the intense equatorial sun of certain regions, making each “tropical” dial unique.
Esquire writes that these iconic watches can sell for more than three times what their non-flawed counterparts do. Robert Maron, a renowned vintage-watch dealer, said that in 35 years of selling, he has “never seen two identical ‘tropical’ dials.” He told Esquire, “I remember them all and wish I had each and every one of them back.”
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