Rolex metals explained: Oystersteel, Rolesor, Everose and more

Rolex gives its metals their own names, which makes listings harder to read than they need to be. "Oystersteel", "Rolesor", "Everose" and "Rolesium" are all trademarks for specific materials or combinations, and each one changes how a watch looks, how heavy it feels and what it costs. This guide explains each metal using the descriptions on Rolex's website, shows where it appears in the range, and gives you the reference digit that identifies it.

The metals at a glance

The digit column follows the material code described by Bob's Watches. It holds for most modern five- and six-digit references, with exceptions explained in our guide to Rolex reference numbers.

Oystersteel

Rolex calls Oystersteel a high-performance steel of grade 904L, produced for the brand since 1985. It is rich in chromium and molybdenum, which Rolex says makes it very resistant to impact and corrosion, and it keeps its shine once polished. Rolex uses Oystersteel for its steel watches today, from the Oyster Perpetual to the Submariner.

Older steel references in our catalog are often recorded simply as "stainless steel", because that is how dealers and auction houses describe them. For buying purposes, a steel Rolex is steel; the name matters less than whether the case has been polished heavily.

Rolesor: steel and gold together

Rolesor is the combination of Oystersteel and 18k gold, which Rolex says it developed in the 1930s. Rolex describes it as putting gold on the parts that define the watch: the bezel, the bracelet and the crown. There are three versions, one for each gold color.

• Yellow Rolesor pairs steel with yellow gold. On a Datejust such as the Rolex Datejust 36 126233, the fluted bezel and crown are gold, and so are parts of the bracelet.
• White Rolesor pairs steel with white gold, often only on the fluted bezel, so the watch looks like steel from a distance. Rolex says its fluted bezels are made only in gold or platinum, which is why a steel Datejust with a silver-colored fluted bezel is white Rolesor, not plain steel.
• Everose Rolesor pairs steel with Everose gold, as on the brown and black Rolex GMT-Master II 126711CHNR “Root Beer”.

When buying a Rolesor watch, look closely at the gold parts for wear and heavy polishing, and check that the bracelet is the Rolesor version that belongs to the reference rather than a steel one.

Rolesium: steel and platinum

Rolesium is Rolex's name for an Oystersteel case and bracelet paired with platinum, introduced on the Yacht-Master in 1999. On the Rolex Yacht-Master 40 126622, our catalog records the bidirectional bezel in 950 platinum. Rolesium is rare in the range: outside the Yacht-Master, our catalog records it on the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 126502.

Yellow and white gold

Rolex says it makes its 18k gold in its own foundry in Geneva, blending pure gold with silver and copper so that it becomes hard enough for a watch. Gold and platinum watches are noticeably heavier than steel ones. The clearest sign of a precious-metal watch is the President bracelet, which Rolex says has been made only in 18k gold or 950 platinum since it appeared on the Day-Date in 1956.

White gold looks very close to steel. If you are buying a white gold watch, the reference number (ending in 9) is a better guide than the color.

Everose gold

Everose is Rolex's exclusive pink gold, an 18k gold alloy introduced in 2005. Rolex says it contains gold, copper, palladium and indium, that the exact formula is secret, and that it casts the alloy in its own foundry to keep its color from fading. Our catalog records Everose on references across the range, from the Daytona and GMT-Master II to the Sky-Dweller and Yacht-Master.

950 platinum

Platinum is reserved for Rolex's most expensive watches, such as some Day-Date and Daytona references. Rolex says it took real effort to shape platinum into a fluted bezel. In our catalog, the platinum Daytona Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 126506 pairs the metal with a brown Cerachrom bezel. Rolex also names certain platinum Daytonas among the few models with a transparent caseback.

RLX titanium

RLX titanium is a grade 5 titanium that Rolex selects for strength and lightness. Rolex says it is lighter than steel, denser than aluminum and very resistant to corrosion, and that it developed new finishing steps to polish it. In our catalog it appears on the Rolex Yacht-Master 42 226627 and the Rolex Deepsea Challenge 126067. Rolex's newsroom also shows an Oyster bracelet and Oysterlock clasp in RLX titanium, and our catalog records an RLX titanium caseback on the gold Rolex Deepsea 136668LB.

Same watch, different metal: how far apart are prices?

The Cosmograph Daytona is made in every main metal, which makes it the clearest way to see what metal does to price. The case, movement and dial layout stay the same; the metal of the case, bezel and bracelet changes, and with it the price. These are the references with a published range on our data:

The current GMT-Master II generation spans six metals, from all steel to solid white gold, and each version also has its own bezel colors and nickname:

Metal is only one input. Demand for a particular dial or bezel, and how many examples come up for sale, also move the ranges, so a gold version is not always priced in proportion to its metal. How each metal holds up on the secondary market is covered in our post on steel vs gold resale.

Which metal suits you

Try the metals on before you decide if you can. Weight and color are easier to judge on the wrist than in photos, and white gold and steel can be hard to tell apart in a listing. Whatever you choose, read the last digit of the reference and check it against the metal in the photos. A mismatch is the first thing to ask the seller about, before price or condition.