Tiffany & Co. & Rolex Co-Branding Relationship History

As a well-known jewelry retailer, Tiffany & Co. has had a long history of selling timepieces from a variety of top-tier Swiss watch manufacturers, including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and of course, Rolex. In fact, in 1851, Tiffany & Co. became the first store in the United States to sell Patek Philippe watches - and the relationship continues today with select Patek Philippe timepieces still featuring Tiffany & Co. branding on their dials.On the other hand, Rolex and Tiffany struck up a co-branding deal around the late-1950s. The deal allowed Tiffany & Co. to print its renowned name on the dials of the Rolex watches that were sold in its boutiques. Early Tiffany Rolex dials were done by hand at Tiffany’s flagship store in New York City but eventually, other Tiffany retail locations began stamping Rolex dials too.Furthermore, Tiffany & Co. stocked replacement dials at its service center for repair purposes. Consequently, many replacement Tiffany-branded dials were either stamped at one of its service centers or retail locations, rather than being done at its New York City flagship store like the original examples.

The Dispute over Tiffany Dials

Eventually, much of the dial branding was ultimately taken over by Rolex, where the watchmaker stamped the dials with Tiffany logos at its factory in Geneva, Switzerland. For several decades, Tiffany-branded Rolex watches could be sent to either company for servicing and repairs, but in the early 1990s, Rolex decided to stop supplying co-branded watches, and would no longer honor warranties if the dial stampings had been done at a Tiffany & Co. location. As a result, Tiffany & Co. stopped selling Rolex watches, and the two companies parted ways for good.It’s important to note that Tiffany was by no means the only retailer that had its name on Rolex dials. Other notable Rolex retailer co-branded dials include the following:- Rolex Cartier Dials- Rolex Serpico Y Laino Dials- Rolex Bucherer Dials- Rolex Joyeria Riviera Dials- Rolex Linz Dials- Rolex VC&A (Van Cleef & Arpels) Dials

Rolex Tiffany Dial Variances

As mentioned, although Tiffany & Co. did stamp its name on quite a few Rolex dials, many watches with Tiffany dials came pre-printed from Rolex. Since both Rolex and Tiffany & Co. were printing dials with the Tiffany name, a variety of inconsistencies can be found among Tiffany-branded dials, and these details can differ depending on when the dial was produced and which company did the printing.To complicate matters further, because Tiffany & Co. did not have a singular location in which all of the dial printing was done, an even greater range of incongruences exists among the various Tiffany & Co. dials in existence today. Consequently, properly authenticating a genuine example can be an extremely difficult task.Due to the disjointed dial printing process and the resulting inconsistencies between dials, Rolex Tiffany dials are some of the most counterfeited dials in the vintage watch world. Tiffany & Co. printed its name on watches from several different manufacturers, and since fonts, colors, spacing, and even the location differ from one dial to the next, spotting a fake Tiffany dial requires a keen eye and a decent knowledge of vintage watches.

Rolex Watches with Tiffany Dials

Moreover, the double-signed Tiffany and Rolex dials were not exclusive to any one particular model. Since Tiffany retailed most (if not all) of Rolex’s lineup during the years that it was an official retailer, there are examples of many different Rolex mo...

The Value of Rolex Tiffany Dials

Tiffany stamped Rolex watches are some of the most talked-about and collectible pieces in the vintage watch space. They make up a prized niche segment within the already booming vintage Rolex watch market and offer the brand recognition of both Tiffany & Co. and Rolex.The fact that Rolex Tiffany dials are no longer produced after being discontinued in the early 1990s, means that there is now a limited supply of examples available. And this pool of watches gets continuously smaller as collectors snap them up for their collections. Double-signed dials add another touch of rarity and distinction to an already sought-after reference and Rolex collectors favor models that have a little something that make them stand out.

How Much Is a Rolex Tiffany Dial

It is not uncommon for a Rolex watch with a Tiffany dial to sell twice or three times the price of a comparable model with a standard dial. Additionally, if the watch happens to still be accompanied by its original Tiffany & Co. paperwork from back when it was originally purchased, it is almost guaranteed to benefit from a further increase in resale value and collectibility.In August 2020, Christie’s sold a Tiffany dial Rolex Submariner ref. 1680 for $43,750, which is well above the value of a vintage Submariner 1680 with a standard dial. In November 2018, Phillips sold an Explorer II ref. 16570 with a Tiffany dial for over $32,000 and in December 2020, Sotheby’s sold a steel GMT-Master 1675 with a black bezel and Tiffany stamped dial for $44,100.For vintage Rolex collectors, Tiffany dials represent a past era in the company’s history. Rolex now prides itself on an entirely in-house production process and a tight level of quality control. Co-branded dials, let alone the highly inconsistent dial printing process that took place during the Tiffany & Co. partnership, are not something that Rolex would ever tolerate today - and that is exactly why collectors will pay a premium for them.

A Few of our Favorite Rolex Tiffany Dials

Below we take a closer look at three fantastic examples of vintage co-branded Rolex watches that were originally retailed by Tiffany & Co. - a GMT-Master “Pepsi” ref. 16700, a stainless steel Submariner ref. 1680, and an 18k yellow gold Submariner ref. 1680/8.

Tiffany & Co. Rolex GMT-Master 16700

The Rolex GMT-Master ref. 16700 was launched in 1988 to replace the reference 16750 and it offered some enhancements over its predecessor including a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, the Caliber 3175 movement, and a slightly redesigned case. The GMT-Master 16700 was interestingly introduced after Rolex had already introduced its then-new GMT-Master II collection, offering a less expensive alternative to the ref. 16710 GMT-Master II model. Compared with its GMT-Master II counterpart, the GMT-Master reference 16700 appeared similar but did not have independently adjustable hour hands and lacked the jump-hour feature of Rolex GMT-Master II watches.This particular Rolex GMT-Master 16700 has the famous red and blue “Pepsi” bezel and on the lower half of its black dial, you will spot the “Tiffany & Co.” stamp. Like all reference 16700 watches, this example is crafted from stainless steel and its papers show that it was purchased in 1992 from a Tiffany & Co. boutique.

Tiffany & Co. Rolex Submariner 1680

The Rolex Submariner 1680 surfaced to the scene around 1967 and was manufactured until the end of the 1970s. It was a landmark reference within the Submariner collection as it was the very first reference of Rolex’s iconic dive watch series to be equipped with a date complication, complete with a cyclops magnification lens on the surface of the crystal.The text on the dial of the Submariner 1680 was modified a few times during its production, most notably the “SUBMARINER” label went from red to white and the reversal of the feet and meters depth measurements. This particular vintage Submariner 1680 has the all-white writing, the 660ft written before the 200m water depth indications, and the Tiffany & Co. logo. Being a later version of the reference 1680 Submariner, this particular watch is equipped with the Triplock crown rather than the Twinlock variety found on earlier examples of the same reference.

Tiffany & Co. Rolex Submariner 1680/8

Shortly after the stainless steel version of the 1680 was released, Rolex presented a yellow gold version of the same diver’s watch with the reference 1680/8. Since the Rolex 1680/8 was the first Submariner offered in full yellow gold, to mark the occasion, each yellow gold piece came with a little gold anchor attached to the watch labeled with “200” on one side and “660” on the other side denoting its water resistance rating.This particular Rolex Submariner 1680/8 features a black “nipple dial” with gold hour markers and has gold text including the ever-important “Tiffany & Co.” logo. Most Submariner Date watches from the 1960s and 1970s were produced in stainless steel, making the yellow gold ref. 1680/8 versions quite a bit more rare - especially those fitted with Tiffany dials. Vintage Rolex watches like this are always special in their own right, but when they feature watches with the Tiffany & Co. logo, it just makes them even more distinct and exciting.