FUNNY FACE

THE CURIOUS CASE OF CALIFORNIA-DIAL WATCHES.

- MATT FARAH

 

NOBODY GETS TO choose their own nickname. Think George Ruth called himself “Babe”? Certainly not. Similarly, Rolex never used the term “California dial” to describe the watch faces it designed almost a century ago with a combination of Arabic and Roman numerals. But that’s what everyone in the watch game calls them.

In 1934, Rolex started making experimental versions of its Oyster Perpetual “Bubbleback” watch, with numbers 10 through 2 along the top in Roman numerals and 4 through 8 below in Arabic numerals. Its large, luminous indicators were more legible underwater and in the dark than basic stick-style markers. Rolex chose the Roman and Arabic numerals so that each is optimized for legibility, with the top and bottom halves of the watch being clearly divided. This the company creatively dubbed the “error-proof” dial. Boring!