If you have browsed for vintage Rolex watches, you may notice that certain models feature hour and hand markers that have turned a shade of orange. Among other attributes, this pumpkin-like patina is precisely what vintage lovers look for in a Rolex.
While the shade is beautiful, one might wonder exactly why vintage Rolex watches have this discoloration.
In this blog, we will break down what makes the hour and hand markers turn this shade, and their secondary market value.
Vintage Rolex Patina and Tritium
From the mid 1960s to 1998, Rolex switched from radium-based to tritium-based lume on its watches. This switch was made in an attempt to phase out the radio-active radium for its better performing tritium, which glowed brighter and longer in the dark.
This change from radium to tritium is what would cause an unexpected change to reveal itself in later years.
Though some people believe the orange shade of vintage hour markers and hands are a result of sun exposure, it is actually a cosmetic result of the tritium paint’s radioactive decay.
Tritium has a half-life of about 12 years, after which the material begins to break down. What were once white-colored hour markers and hands would slowly turn a shade of orange.
Nowadays, Rolex uses non-radioactive Luminova material that will not discolor over time. This is a huge upgrade, but for vintage collectors: owning a Submariner, Sea-Dweller or GMT Master with an orange patina is the dream.
Rolex Pumpkin Submariner Market Value
As with all vintage collectors, Rolex buyers love to see age and imperfections present on their watches. Patina on the hour markers and hands means that the watch has survived for tens of years, without having parts serviced and replaced.
These watches that survive through time and are sold by the original owner with box and papers command a large premium on the secondary market.
A vintage Pumpkin Rolex Submariner, that is able to remain 100% original with box and papers, can fetch for anywhere up to $45,000 on the secondary market.
In comparison, a vintage piece that has been serviced and had parts updated can immediately lose appeal. For example, if a dial is replaced, the hands and hour markers may be different shades of orange—which would indicate that it is not 100% original.
Newer reference stainless steel Submariners sell for around $12,000, while a Pumpkin Submariner can sell for $16,000.
Vintage Rolex Remains Timeless
A simple scientific reaction in original vintage Rolex models produced between the mid 1960’s to late 1990’s has created something of a frenzy among Rolex collectors. This ever-dwindling supply of Rolex watches will continue to make them a hot collectors item.
