When a man has a world in his hands, you expect to find a Rolex on his wrist.
The Rolex Panna Dial
It was believed that it wasn’t possible for modern watch dials to turn tropical..
Most watch collectors have heard about “tropical” dials - we’ve also wrote a blog about them, read it here – and are highly sought after and fetch a big premium. It was believed that it wasn’t possible for modern watch dials to turn tropical, because of improved paint and dial finishing. However – and luckily - the contrary is true.
A bad batch
Several white painted Rolex dials that are produced between 2000-2002 (P and K serials) have been varnished with a bad batch of white paint. The mixture contained an anomaly causing the dials discolor over time. Now twenty years later some of these white dials developed a nice creamy patina. These dials are nicknamed “Panna dial”. Named after the creamy color of the famous, sweet and delicious Italian desert. Rolex probably wasn't happy with this bad batch and ended up replacing the paint. We however are happy with this defect as it makes these watches even more special.
References.
The Panna dials can be found on several models, the Rolex Daytona with reference 116520 and the Rolex Explorer II with reference 16550. And they have to be produced between 2000 and 2002.
Added value?
Currently the Panna dials fetch a small premium compared to the regular white dials. However some collectors believe they will be the next "Patrizzi" dials and will fetch a bigger premium in the future.
