Reference:1016: Difference between revisions

Serial range: approximately 90xxxx-105xxxx. This is a significant visual change: the chapter ring disappears. The minutes track is no longer enclosed in a circle — it opens up, giving the dial a cleaner, less busy appearance. The lacquer on Type 4 dials is described as thicker and more mirror-like than earlier types. Gilt hands. This is the dial that establishes the look most people think of when they picture a gilt 1016.

Two distinct subtypes exist within Type 4: early examples with “Swiss only” at the bottom (with underline), and later examples with “Swiss T<25” (where the T<25 text is positioned low on the minute hash marks). The underline-to-T<25 transition within a single type illustrates how the lume changeover cut across the Type classification rather than aligning neatly with it.

Production: 1964-1965. Open chapter. The coronet has non-tapering “stringy” projections, and the “E” in Rolex has 90-degree serifs (straight, not diagonal). “Swiss T<25” replaces the top third of the bottom three minute hash marks at 6 o’clock. The distinguishing feature is text that appears almost handwritten or stylized — a different typeface treatment from the clean printing of Types 1-4 and the later Type 6.

Type 5 sits in a narrow production window and can be difficult to distinguish from late Type 4 or early Type 6 examples without examining the specific serif angles on the “E” — 90-degree on Type 5 versus slanted on Type 6. This serif detail is the primary differentiator between the two. Type 5 is the least discussed of the gilt types in collector circles, though it is well-documented by Hantel.

Serial range: approximately 10xxxxx-174xxxx. Open chapter, no chapter ring. The identifying features: SLANTED (diagonal) serifs on the “E” in Rolex — this is the key identifier that separates Type 6 from Type 5’s 90-degree serifs. Tapering projections with prominent pearls on the coronet. “T<25” replacing the upper portion of the minutes hash marks at the 6 o’clock position. This is the last gilt dial type, bridging into the matte era.

The coronet on Type 6 dials has its own character — the diagonal serifs on the “E” extend to the coronet proportions, which tend to be wider and more settled than the earlier types. By this point in gilt production, both the coronet shape and the text style have stabilized into what feels like a mature design, which makes the impending shift to matte dials feel abrupt by comparison.

Type 6 is where tropical dials become part of the story. Exposure to light and heat over decades turned the black dial surface to brown — dark brown or light brown depending on the degree of exposure. Tropical 1016 dials are not a separate type; they are Type 6 (primarily) dials that have aged into a different color. The effect is prized by collectors, and a well-aged tropical gilt 1016 carries a substantial premium over a standard black example.