Making faces

FOR ROLEX, it is the dial of the watch that gives it life. Invariably, it is the face of the watch, one that ''shines with spirit and vitality, springing to life as light falls on its surface''.

But it's not just light that exposes the character of the new dials of the latest Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36 and Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona models. Rolex describes them as endowed with ''other sources of unique, ancient energy'', coming from materials created deep within Earth.

The dials of the new Datejust 36 are inspired by more earthly sources. One is from the tropical forests that provide the palm motif of the dials. The other comes from an even closer source - Rolex's signature fluted motif.

The dials come in olive green, silver and golden and are made from age-old materials such as copper, zinc, nickel, chromium, titanium and silicon - all put together by cutting-edge technology to create deep, vibrant metallic colours.

The dials of the Cosmograph Daytona are fashioned out of meteorite - composed mainly of iron and nickel - that journeyed through time and space. ''This material displays patterns that were formed as the heart of an asteroid cooled slowly on its journey through the cosmos - a process that takes millions of years,'' Rolex says.

The brand selects metallic meteorite according to very strict aesthetic criteria. Each fragment has a unique internal structure, making every Cosmograph Daytona with a meteorite dial truly one of a kind.