5 Great Platinum Rolex Watches at European Watch Company

Platinum Rolex watches are a  symbol of luxury. Subtle in tone— nearly mistakable for stainless steel or even white gold— platinum is beloved for its reassuring heft, muted coloring, and incredible hardness and durability. Platinum as a watch material has always been a stealth way of expressing luxury. While not as flashy or outwardly showy as yellow and rose gold, like white gold, the platinum watch experience is incredibly unique, and in some respects a bit more personal. While not everyone on the street will recognize your watch is executed in an elevated material, collectors will know, and so will you. And there’s something incredibly special about that. 

Rolex doesn’t use platinum extensively. That said, a number of the brand’s most significant pieces (especially Day-Dates) are executed in platinum. Today, we are looking at a few of our favorite platinum Rolexes that have come through our doors here at European Watch Company.

Rolex Platona Ref. 126506 (Platinum Daytona)

Perhaps the most known and beloved platinum Rolex in recent years has been the platinum Daytona. With its unique ice blue dial, the “Platona” was finished with a unique brown ceramic bezel. Contemporary iterations of this model feature a platinum bezel surround, while earlier variants had the bezel insert extend to the very edge of the bezel. Additionally, we have seen iterations with applied standard lume plots, applied baguette markers, and most rare, the arabic dial. This is one of the most legendary modern Daytonas, and is especially beloved in dedicated Rolex collecting circles. 

Rolex Day-Date Ref. 228206

Next, it’s helpful to look at a few references from the most common collection for platinum in the Rolex catalog– the Day-Date models. This particular example is one of the better known references, featuring the familiar icy blue dial coloring we saw previously, this time overlaid with a diamond motif. The Day-Date collection has the potential to be one of the flashiest collections, and this example is one of the most striking yet subdued at the same time. It’s a really pretty watch, and wears extremely comfortably at 40mm on the wrist. 

Rolex Day-Date Olive Dial Ref. 228206

Next up is another variant of the 228206, another classic that has received a lot of attention in the last few years. Featuring a gorgeous olive green sunburst dial, this reference flaunts applique Roman numerals. The dial color contrasts really well with the incredibly quiet tones of the platinum, and this combination makes for a really exceptional reference. Once again, we have a subtle, yet strikingly beautiful wrist watch that works really well in both dressy and more casual environments. It is interesting to note that this piece comes with a smooth bezel, since at the time, Rolex did not yet have the tooling to create a fluted pattern on the hard platinum material. 

Rolex Day-Date Meteorite Ref. 228236

Our final Day-Date is my personal favorite, the meteorite dial platinum Day-Date. Meteorite dialed Rolexes are a special and rare intersection of a general production Rolex design with a natural material that will in effect create piece unique watches. Since no two slices of meteorite are identical, every Rolex meteorite watch is a beautiful 1/1. This watch is also likely the most graceful integration of baguettes on a dial in the industry. So much so that you might not even recognize the presence of baguettes on the dial at all until you take a second look. 

Rolex 1908 Ice Blue

One of the most recent platinum additions to the Rolex catalog, the new 1908 collection includes a platinum example with a guilloché ice blue dial. The 1908 was introduced as a return to classical automatic dress watches, featuring an elevated movement finish visible through an exhibition caseback, softly knurled bezel, and subsidiary seconds dial. It’s a cool model, and we have yet to see how it performs over time! 

Rolex Yacht-Master Ref. 116622

This last piece is actually not a platinum watch, but does make interesting use of the material! The Yacht-Master collection often will use stainless steel cases with platinum bezel inserts. This is an extremely uncommon approach to watch design, and formulates an exceptionally durable, monochromatic bezel. These Rolex Yacht-Masters are an excellent access point to Rolex design and technical spec at an accessible price point. Plus they utilize platinum in an unlikely and unique way!