Natural materials including hardstones, wood, mother of pearl and others have always been an interesting sector to the fruitful heritage and innovative feature to Rolex timepieces and even more so when it is seen on the iconic Day-Date. With various natural hardstones each with its own distinct colour, texture and patterns, every single example is unique. While hardstones vary in hardness, the skills and techniques required to execute such a dial are formidable and often with a very high percentage of wastage.

The present example Rolex Day-Date ref. 18388 from circa 1994 featuring a diamond-set case including the lugs displays a beautiful coral dial. A very rarely seen configuration, the combination of the bedazzled case against its orangey-pink coral dial with the absence of any indexes and outer tracks certainly brings out the beauty of the dial.