DLC/PVD Watches
Our Black Rolex watches are created using a process called PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition). This results in a thin coating tightly bonded to the stainless steel surface of the watch. Unlike paint, powder coats or anodizing, the tin coating is interpenetrated steel material so it wont flake off. This makes watches that are typically used in "active" environments like the PVD Rolex Submariner, PVD Rolex Daytona and PVD Rolex Sea Dweller even more scratch resistant than their stainless steel counterparts.
Celebrities spotted wearing PVD Rolex watches
Celebrities are often the ones who create fashion trends - blazing the way forward prior to trends hitting the main stream. Some pretty notable celebrities have been spotted sporting PVD Rolex watches - so it's no wonder people around the globe are starting to take notice.
PVD Rolex Watches In The News
The PVD Rolex phenomenon has seen multiple companies put out their "versions" of a PVD coated Rolex with some surprising reults. Here's some PVD Rolex watches from some different companies, and PVD Rolex watches that we've spotted in the news. Check back for updates!
Jacques Piccard Rolex PVD Deep Sea Dweller Sells at Christies for $39,526 USD
Only produced in a limited run of 86 pieces, this limited edition 'Single Red DeepSea' pays homage to the life of Jacques Piccard where each model stands for a year of his life. Number 60 was even more special and sold at Christie's auction in Nov. '09 for $39,526. If you were lucky enough to pick one up early (they're completely sold out now) it could have been had for about $16,500 USD. Source: SingleRedDeepSea.com
Bamford & Sons Black PVD Rolex Daytona Sells at Antiquorum for $48,000 USD
One of the first to start offering PVD coated Rolex watches, Bamford Watch Department allows customers to customize a number of different Rolex models on their site. In 2008, they offered a Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona, the flagship of Rolex sport models, coated with their version of PVD, and sold it for about $48,000 USD at Antiquorum in October, showing that many had started to recognize the PVD process as both adding value and creating a truly unique and exclusive timepiece worth paying a premium for.
Source: www.antiquorum.com
Rolex Pro Hunter Daytona Sells at Antiquorum for $42,000 USD
With an emphasis on coating Rolex watches for the professional Hunter, Pro-Hunter works exclusively with brand new Rolex watches. This particular model that came with an additional black bezel and limited to a run of 100 pieces, sold for an astounding $42,000 USD at Antiquorum in June '09.
Source: www.discoverprohunter.com
Other Luxury Swiss Brands Using PVD
Despite Rolex not officially adopting PVD/DLC to their models, this hasn't stopped many of the top luxury brands including: Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Panerai, Breitling, Bell & Ross and more from experimenting and releasing PVD versions of their most popular models. Many of these are "special edition" or limited run models and often hard to get. Check out the transformations below:
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| Cartier Santos 100 XL $14,350 | Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'End of Days' $21,500 | Bell & Ross BR01-94 $8,000 |
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| Breitling Super Avenger Black Steel $5,700 | Panerai Luminor 1950 PAM $12,995 | Richard Mille RM 011 Ti Americas White $90,000 |
One type of PVD coating is called Diamond-like carbon (DLC). PVD is the process in which the DLC coating is put on. Our DLC coating consists of combining a number of different elements with Carbon (Titanium and Nitrogen). With the right process and coating you can transform a classic stainless steel Rolex watch to something even more modern and far superior in scratch resistance than its original stainless steel form.
Taking it one step further, we can even apply the same ultra-hard coating to the classic Rolex men's dress watch, the Rolex Datejust, creating the PVD Rolex Datejust that looks both aggressive and elegantly understated at the same time.
