Rolex timepiece receives Namibia-inspired makeover
Artisans De Genève has created an unofficial version of the Rolex Submariner 116610, with a meteorite dial sourced from Namibia.
The stylish new look incorporating pieces of Namibia has been named the Heart of Namibia.
Using the discontinued Rolex Submariner as the base, the custom-made watch features a dial made from a piece of Gibeon meteorite, which is 0.3 mm thick.
The Heart of Namibia timepiece includes a moon phase indicator that uses nacre (mother of pearl) to depict the moon and a form of quartz (aventurine) to depict the sky.
Luxury investment
Paulo Coelho, a Namibian luxury watch dealer, explained that the nacre, quartz and white gold used for the watch all originate from Namibia.
“It is simply a beautiful watch and I was so impressed,” he said.
Although the Heart of Namibia is a unique watch, Coelho says the owner of the original watch agreed to let Artisans de Genève customise another Rolex Submariner 116610 to look like the Heart of Namibia.
“People need to understand that watches are an investment – their value increases over time. Watches do not lose value like a car, which loses 10% or 20% as soon as you drive it off the lot,” he explained.
Hand-made precision
According to the publication Professional Watches, the Submariner 116610 Artisans de Geneve Heart of Namibia starts with the standard 40 mm diameter 904L stainless steel Rolex case, Rolex caliber 3135 automatic movement, black dial, black ceramic dive bezel, and Oyster bracelet.
From there, Artisans De Genève disassembles the watch and begins to add their bespoke customisations.
The Rolex caliber 3135 is hand decorated (the balance bridge is hand beveled and polished), the bezel is given a dark blue ceramic insert with platinum engraving, a flame-blued center seconds hand, the black dial is replaced with a 0.3 mm thick Namibian meteorite dial. There’s a large cut-out in the dial at 6 o’clock, for the add-on moon phase module (made in-house by Artisans De Genève ), which utilises mother of pearl for the display.
Further, the case is laser engraved with a grained texture, completing the bespoke Submariner Moon Phase aesthetic. A special white gold rotor replaces the factory rotor and includes a Namibian meteorite insert that matches the dial.
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The stylish new look incorporating pieces of Namibia has been named the Heart of Namibia.
Using the discontinued Rolex Submariner as the base, the custom-made watch features a dial made from a piece of Gibeon meteorite, which is 0.3 mm thick.
The Heart of Namibia timepiece includes a moon phase indicator that uses nacre (mother of pearl) to depict the moon and a form of quartz (aventurine) to depict the sky.
Luxury investment
Paulo Coelho, a Namibian luxury watch dealer, explained that the nacre, quartz and white gold used for the watch all originate from Namibia.
“It is simply a beautiful watch and I was so impressed,” he said.
Although the Heart of Namibia is a unique watch, Coelho says the owner of the original watch agreed to let Artisans de Genève customise another Rolex Submariner 116610 to look like the Heart of Namibia.
“People need to understand that watches are an investment – their value increases over time. Watches do not lose value like a car, which loses 10% or 20% as soon as you drive it off the lot,” he explained.
Hand-made precision
According to the publication Professional Watches, the Submariner 116610 Artisans de Geneve Heart of Namibia starts with the standard 40 mm diameter 904L stainless steel Rolex case, Rolex caliber 3135 automatic movement, black dial, black ceramic dive bezel, and Oyster bracelet.
From there, Artisans De Genève disassembles the watch and begins to add their bespoke customisations.
The Rolex caliber 3135 is hand decorated (the balance bridge is hand beveled and polished), the bezel is given a dark blue ceramic insert with platinum engraving, a flame-blued center seconds hand, the black dial is replaced with a 0.3 mm thick Namibian meteorite dial. There’s a large cut-out in the dial at 6 o’clock, for the add-on moon phase module (made in-house by Artisans De Genève ), which utilises mother of pearl for the display.
Further, the case is laser engraved with a grained texture, completing the bespoke Submariner Moon Phase aesthetic. A special white gold rotor replaces the factory rotor and includes a Namibian meteorite insert that matches the dial.
– [email protected]
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