Diamond bracelet for Rolex Datejust watch

Rolex is the largest watch brand in the world and certainly the best known to the lay public. Although Rolex is not the most luxurious watch brand, as there are much more expensive watch brands than Rolexes, it maintains a centuries-old image as a pioneering and respected watchmaker.

Rolex watches use quality mechanisms that are tested, reliable and above all whose prices remain stable over time or even increase for many models, so much so that Rolex has managed to transform its jewel watches into a profitable investment.

In the case of our project, our task was to customize a watch Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust model belonging to our client.

Please note that we are not watchmaking experts and that if errors appear regarding the Rolex brand, its models or the world of watchmaking in general, we invite you to share your comments in the comments to update our article.

Views of the customized Oyster Datejust watch with a new 18k yellow gold bracelet with diamonds. Original Rolex watch on the right. A total of 66 1.5 millimeter diamonds are set on the watch strap, for a total diamond weight of 0.8 carats.

We remember that we had already had the opportunity to work on customizing watches for other clients, in the form of a 14k gold Milanese mesh bracelet or an 18k yellow gold watch dial, visible below.

Discover our bespoke jewelery service here

Creation of the gold and diamond watch bracelet

As we received it from the sponsor, the watch is a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust with an 18k gold (acid tested) dial set with 40 1.7mm diamonds with a 14k gold (acid tested) bracelet that was not original Rolex.

The overall condition of the watch was worn, with scratches on both the gold and stainless steel links and with some loose links, on the verge of breaking within a few months.

The goal of our watch strap customization work was as follows:

• Replace the 14k gold bracelet with an equivalent 18k gold one
• Set a 1.5mm diamond on each link of the bracelet (66 diamonds total)
• replace the external clasp of the stainless steel bracelet with an equivalent one in 18k yellow gold
• Ensure complete polishing of the entire watch

Solid gold watch bracelet

Because 18K gold is more malleable than 14K gold, and because we needed to set diamonds on each link of the watch bracelet, it was necessary to make the new links 80% thicker than the old bracelet links.

The first step of our work therefore consists in completely dismantling the bracelet and measuring the thickness of the links.

Several views of the dismantling of the steel and gold watch strap, revealing the bracelet’s old 14k gold links. Above you can see the 18k gold bar that will be rolled to make our links

View of future thicker 18k gold links and disassembled stainless steel links

All steel links are weighed in order to subsequently determine the actual gold weight of the bracelet.

Weight of the steel links of the original watch bracelet

Making such a bracelet is laborious as each of the 68 links (66 identical plus 2 links connecting to the dial) are made individually by hand. They are cut from rolled gold plates, then filed and polished.

Even though we have already had experience in making a 14k gold bracelet for a Patek Phillilp 5054 watchthis job was totally different.

View showing the preparation of the 18k gold links before their assembly onto the steel links of the watch

The position of the diamonds on the links is then highlighted and two lateral lines are drawn in order to respect the centering of the diamonds, as you can see below.

View of the 18k gold links before assembly and once mounted on the steel Rolex bracelet, showing diamond pointing and centering lines

Once the links have been placed on the steel bracelet, the diamonds are fixed using prongs, then the entire link is decorated with other prongs before increasing the luminous effect and «furnishing» the links so as not to appear empty.

Close up view of the diamond gold links with the 4 claws used to set the diamond and around, the decorative claws

All gold links, once finalized and set with diamonds, are individually polished before being assembled on the bracelet. This is a time consuming process before you can see the fully assembled bracelet again.

View of the finished and diamond-set links during polishing and before assembling them onto the bracelet

Assembling the diamond-set links of the Rolex steel bracelet in progress

After polishing the links, we were able to assemble them in groups of three to finalize the watch strap. We can now weigh the entire bracelet and deduce the weight of the 18k gold used to make it. Remember that the weight of 0.8 carats of diamond is equivalent to 0.16 grams.

To make the bracelet we used 20.45 grams of 18 karat gold. Once the bracelet is thus finalized, we still need to make the solid gold clasp before proceeding with the complete reassembly of the watch bracelet onto the watch case.

Solid gold watch clasp

Making the solid gold clasp is relatively simple and quick, compared to the work of making the bracelet presented previously. In this case we reproduced the external part of the steel butterfly clasp with the same dimensions.

If you would like to see the making of a butterfly watch clasp entirely in gold, I invite you to consult our article on the subject here.

As you can see, despite its compact design, this part of the closure is relatively heavy. You can see perforations on the sides of the clasp that allow you to adjust the overall length of the watch band.

You will notice the brushed finish of the closure giving it a rough and sober appearance, preventing scratches (inevitable over time) from ruining the final result.

Below are some photos that allow you to appreciate the final result of the manufacturing work.

Views of the final rendering of the diamond setting on the watch’s gold bracelet

View showing the diamond setting and gold clasp of the watch

Close-up view of the diamond setting of the 18k gold watch bracelet

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