Rolesor is the name Rolex uses for a watch that pairs gold and steel. It first appeared on the Oyster Perpetual Datejust in 1948. The pairing of the two metals is seen as a signature look of the Rolex brand.
Which parts are gold and which are steel?
On a yellow or Everose Rolesor watch, three parts are made of 18 ct gold: the bezel, the winding crown and the middle links of the bracelet. The middle case and the outer bracelet links are made of 904L steel. White Rolesor uses less gold. On white Rolesor models, the bezel is the only part made of gold. So the same name can cover a watch with a lot of gold showing, or one where only the bezel is gold.
What versions of Rolesor are there?
The name appears in versions that include Yellow Rolesor, White Rolesor and Everose Rolesor. Everose Rolesor is also called pink Rolesor. It pairs steel with Everose, which is Rolex’s own pink gold alloy. Rolex holds a patent on it. Everose Rolesor was first used on a Professional model in 2011. On both the yellow and the Everose versions, the gold parts are 18 ct.
Where it comes from
Rolex registered the Rolesor name in 1933. The company says it chose the name to describe two different materials combined. The word is built from two parts. It joins ‘Rolex’ with ‘or’, the French word for gold. So the name points to the gold in the pairing, while the steel is left unspoken.
Not to be confused with
Rolesor is not an alloy. The gold and the steel stay separate metals, each used for different parts of the watch. In practice the word means much the same as ‘two-tone’, the general term used across the watch trade. Rolesium is a different Rolex term. It describes steel combined with platinum instead of gold. Rolesium watches are made only in the Yacht-Master collection.
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