As they are with most of their materials, Rolex is meticulous about the selection and setting of their precious stones. All of the diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires used in their watches are inspected by their in-house gemology department to ensure quality. 

Rolex Precious Stones (photo: Rolex/Cédric Widmer)

The criteria used by Rolex to determine diamond quality are carat, cut, clarity and color. All diamonds must be clear and colorless. In terms of cut, they only use full, brilliant, trapeze or baguette cut stones from the top of the professional classification scale. For colored stones, they use professional machinery usually only found in gemological laboratories to make sure that all stones selected are uniform in color.

Aside from choosing the highest quality precious stones, Rolex also ensures that the stones are set properly by hiring skilled gem-setters who specialize in bead setting, channel setting, bezel setting and prong setting. Their gemology department is located in their Chêne-Bourg site in Geneva, Switzerland.

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