Rolex Rose Gold: Every Everose Watch Produced by Rolex

Rose gold has been used in Rolex watchmaking since the 1960’s, but the popularity and availability of Rolex rose gold watches has waxed and waned over the last six decades. This article covers Rolex rose gold watches from their earliest appearance through the introduction of Rolex’s proprietary rose gold “Everose”, to the modern line-up of Everose offerings across Rolex collections.

Skip the history lesson:
Every Rolex Solid Everose Watch
Every Rolesor Everose Watch

What is rose gold?

Rose gold is an alloy made from mixing yellow gold, silver and copper. Traditionally, 18k rose gold is made by blending 2.75% silver, 22.25% copper and 75% gold, the copper giving it a pink colored tint. Technically, rose gold differs from pink gold and red gold: pink gold has slightly less copper and more silver and red gold has no silver content. For the purposes of this article, we use the term “rose gold” to refer to Rolex metals that include copper to create a pink hue.

A brief history of Rolex rose gold

Today, Rolex’s lineup contains a wide range of rose gold watches. That wasn’t always the case, but Rolex does have a long history of using the alloy. When the first manual-wind Oyster was launched in 1926, a rose gold variant was available. Early automatic Oysters, known as Bubblebacks, were available in rose gold as well. Rose gold Bubblebacks often have “00000” stamped on the inside of their casebacks.

Some people may be surprised to learn that Rolex didn’t always exclusively use 18k gold; many 14k and even 9k rose gold examples can be found.

In the post-Bubbleback era, rose gold Rolexes grew more scarce. Rose gold (or pink gold) Datejusts and Day-Dates from the 1960’s-1970’s do exist, but they’re quite rare. Rolex seemed to abandon rose gold watches altogether in the 1980’s-1990’s as white gold grew increasingly popular.

Rose gold made a triumphant return to the Rolex lineup in 2000 on the Day-Date 118205 (domed bezel) and 118235 (fluted bezel) models. Rose gold, like all gold alloys, tends to fade over time and revert to the natural yellowness of gold. Here we can see an example of a pre-Everose 2003 Day-Date that has lost some of its “rosiness”:

Always aiming for excellence, Rolex wouldn’t tolerate this fading, and set out to create a more durable, lustrous alloy to use for its rose gold watches.

Introducing: Rolex “Everose”

Rolex, who operates their own foundry and produces their own 18k gold alloys, sought to minimize rose gold fading with their Everose gold alloy. Here’s how Rolex describes it:

Everose gold [is] our exclusive 18 kt pink gold alloy with a unique colour. Introduced in 2005, it is of exceptional radiance and resistance. Developed by our experts, it contains at least 75% gold, 20% copper, as well as palladium and indium. Its exact formula remains a secret.

Rolex

Visually, Everose gold isn’t radically different than any other rose/pink gold alloy, but it tends more to the reddish side. Here’s an example of a classic rose gold 1601 Datejust next to an Everose gold 118235 Day-Date:

What is the difference between Rolex Rose Gold and Everose?

When Rolex suddenly started calling its 904L “Oystersteel” a few years ago, that was just a marketing decision. No change was made to the steel. But when Rolex started calling their rose gold “Everose gold” in 2005, it was due to an actual change to the alloy: the increased palladium makes the rose gold less likely to yellow over time.

“My rose gold Day-Date 118235 experienced a gradual color shift over the years and eventually appeared to be halfway between rose gold and yellow gold. A recent service changed the color back to a more typical rose gold hue.”

Rolex Forums user AboutTime

While Everose gold does seem to fade significantly less than typical rose gold, it’s worth noting that, like any alloy containing copper, some oxidation is inevitable. Fortunately, as with all rose gold, a light polish easily restores the proper color. Here we can see how a well-worn Everose gold Daytona bracelet looks before (right) and after a fresh refinishing (left):

Once Rolex’s Everose alloy was established, rose gold became an increasingly significant part of Rolex’s catalog. In addition to solid Everose gold watches, Rolex also released many two-tone models (meaning steel and gold, or “Rolesor” as Rolex’s marketing team calls it) using Everose gold for the crown, center links, and bezel.

Rolex Everose Reference Numbers

Aside from the oddball Cellini Prince 5442, model numbers for solid Everose configurations always end in the digit “5,” while Everose Rolesor models end in “1.” Note that Everose debuted in 2005, so models that debuted before that had standard rose gold initially.

Now, let’s break down all the Everose gold Rolex references released so far.

Solid Everose Gold Rolex Model Chart

^{*Models that debuted before Everose gold had standard rose gold until 2005}

Everose Rolesor (Two-Tone) Rolex Model Chart

^{*Models that debuted before Everose gold had standard rose gold until 2005}

Yellow gold seems to be trending back into favor, as new yellow Rolesor and yellow gold models keep entering Rolex’s lineup as of late, but rose gold shows no signs of going away. Do you have a favorite Everose Rolex model? Did we forget any? Let us know in the comments!