Review: First-Ever Fully Iced Out White Gold Rolex Sky-Dweller ref 326139

Have you ever seen a fully iced out white gold Sky-Dweller before? You haven’t, because this is the first-ever white gold Sky-Dweller to be completely flooded with aftermarket diamonds. This Sky-Dweller reference 326139 features an advanced micro-pave diamond flower setting, so every single millimeter of its white gold case, bezel, and clasp are covered with diamonds. If you like what you see, you can purchase it now at Diamonds By Raymond Lee in Boca Raton.

THE ROLEX SKY-DWELLER

The Sky-Dweller was debuted at Baselworld in 2012. It was the first new Rolex collection in two decades. It was also one of the most complicated watches Rolex ever made. Rolex really flexed their watchmaking muscles with this one. 

The first run of Sky-Dwellers featured 3 models – an 18k yellow gold Sky-Dweller with a matching bracelet and a champagne dial, an 18K white gold Sky-Dweller with a matching bracelet and an off-white dial, and an 18k rose gold Sky-Dweller with a brown leather strap and brown dial. 

The watches were an instant classic. People all over the world couldn’t wait to get their hands on the impressive Sky-Dweller collection.

Two years later, 3 new Sky-Dweller models hit the scene, one of which was the reference 326139 that you see here. 

ROLEX SKY-DWELLER REFERENCE 326139

The Rolex Sky-Dweller reference 326139 has an 18k white gold case with a black leather strap, white gold clasp, and black dial. 

On the surface, the watch (pre-diamonds) has an understated, modern aesthetic that makes it a tremendously versatile watch. You could take it from a business meeting to a cocktail party without a second thought. 

However, deep down, this watch is as luxurious as it gets, being crafted from solid gold. That’s the beauty of white gold, it’s pure understated-luxury. 

Of course, this particular Rolex Sky-Dweller 326139 watch takes the ostentatious level from low-key to off the richter scale with a never-before-seen, fully iced out, exquisite micro-pave diamond flower setting. Thus, understated it is no more. But awesome it most definitely it. If you see this watch in person, your heart is sure to skip a beat. Its brilliance is almost unreal. 

Anyway, before we talk more about the aftermarket micro-pave diamond flower setting customization, let’s discuss some of the key features of the Rolex Sky-Dweller. 

LARGER THAN ROLEX-NORMAL CASE SIZE – 42MM

Up until relatively recently, it almost seemed as if Rolex was wholeheartedly in opposition to larger watches, unlike much of the industry. Their sports watch collections never pushed past 40mm case sizes.

That is, until 2007 when the Yacht-Master II was released, and then the Deepsea the following year. Clearly, Rolex was finally ready to blow up the catalog a bit. 

The Sky-Dweller ended up being the third most sizable watch Rolex has ever made. 

At 42mm, which is already quite considerable, especially by Rolex standards, it actually wears even larger thanks to the robustly spaced yet sharply curved lugs. 

What’s more, it’s pretty thick at 14.1 millimeters. 

To top to off it, it’s not just big, it’s big and precious. The case is solid 18k white gold. A white gold that Rolex makes themselves at their own foundry. So you know it is of the highest quality.

All in all, this makes it one of the biggest Rolex watches you can buy. This thing has immense wrist presence, and that’s before it was completely iced out. Now, “immense” doesn’t even begin to describe this watch’s demeanor. Out of this world or “cosmic” would be a better descriptive.

COMPLICATIONS

Size isn’t the only characteristic the Sky-Dweller shares with the Yacht-Master II, like the Yacht-Master II, the Sky-Dweller is one of Rolex’s most complicated watches. 

The Sky-Dweller has three complications:

• Date
• Annual Calendar 
• Dual Time Zone (GMT)

As the Date complication is straight forward – there’s a date window at the 3 o’clock – we will quickly discuss the two other more unique complications. 

Annual Calendar

If you aren’t familiar with the Sky-Dweller, you might not even be able to spot the annual calendar. Rolex really brought out their creativity hats with this one. The Annual Calendar is displayed using slots above the hours. If you look at this watch, above each Roman numeral, there is a horizontal slot, when the slot is filled with black (on other Sky-Dwellers it is red), that indicates the month. So, 12 months in a year, 12 hours on a watch.

Needless to say, 1 o’clock represents January, 2 o’clock represent February, and so on and so forth. That’s what you call simply brilliant. 

Very cool Rolex…

Dual Time Zone

The Sky-Dweller displays two time zones simultaneously thanks to the highly innovative off-centered disc on the dial. You can see the disc displays 24 hours. 

While the engineering for this is complicated, the functionality is quite simple. The disc rotates as the hours proceed and the red arrow indicates the time in the second time zone. The second time zone is always running. 

As the name of the watch suggests, this function is made for those who are “sky dwellers”. If you travel through different time zones frequently, this function becomes very useful.

Ring Command Bezel

One could argue that the Sky-Dweller has 4 complications because of the Ring Command Bezel. But, technically it’s not a complication. That said, it does make the creation of this watch all the more complicated. 

The Ring Command Bezel, which was first featured on the Yacht-Master II, is intrinsically linked to the watch’s internal movement. It acts as an analog function selector. In essence, it’s a three-position switch to unlock the different actions of the complications, which are then controlled by the crown. The Ring Command Bezel does away with the need for pushers, allowing the watch to keep a clean, refined, sophisticated look, similar to a dress watch. 

Although the seamlessness of the Sky-Dweller’s functions is painlessly easy, the fact of the matter is, this is clear proof of Rolex’s engineering prowess. The development of these complications is no easy feat and can only be worthy of the term ‘haute horology’. 

What’s more, comparing to moonphases, minute repeaters and even tourbillons, the Sky-Dweller’s functions are undoubtedly more useful for the majority of us…

Add countless diamonds to it and you have both saucy aesthetics with practical functionality. 

Now, let’s discuss the aftermarket customization, a micro-pave diamond flower setting…

FULLY ICED OUT WHITE GOLD SKY-DWELLER

It goes without say, this watch did not come with diamonds. Rolex has never put out a Sky-Dweller watch with diamonds. Therefore, you are looking at an aftermarket creation. 

Note: The movement has not been touched and everything is original on this timepiece, the only work that has been done is the white gold has been drilled and filled with diamonds. 

The setting for the diamonds is called a flower setting, which is also known as the honeycomb setting.

The flower setting is a type of micro-pave diamond setting. This is the hottest, most up-to-date kind of setting for an aftermarket diamond luxury watch. 

So, while baguettes were the hottest look a couple years ago, it’s all about that honeycomb-tight micro-pave diamond setting that you see here. 

And it should be noted, this is not a passing fad, micropave is and will remain in demand. It represents the highest quality work you can do for a diamond setting.  

Micro-Pave Diamond Flower Setting (aka Honeycomb)

The precision that it takes for this type of flower setting is only possible using high magnification. Our gem-setter fastidiously drilled into the white gold to set small round brilliant diamonds of uniform size and quality in a row-to-row offset pattern. This creates a honeycomb-like appearance of diamonds and makes it so the entire surface is covered in diamonds.

The diamonds are held in place using a Four Bead Pave setting that has an impeccable balance between diamond security and size. The size of the four bead pave setting allows the diamonds to be set securely yet without too much metal (the prongs) getting in the way. The prongs go unnoticed unless you look very closely. Thus, each diamond stands out prominently, even from a distance. The rows are densely packed, perfectly hugging the curvature of the surface. 

The standard pave setting, which uses parallel rows of diamonds, was popular for aftermarket diamond watches many years ago, but it simply can’t compare to this. The micro-pave diamond flower settings make it so not a sliver of metal can be seen. The diamonds are also just as secure. Overall, this allows more diamond carat weight to be set into the watch and it also creates a much fuller, more complex look. It doesn’t get more “flooded” than this. It would literally be impossible. This is the latest and greatest in gemstone setting advancements, which is, in essence, a science in the field of diamond jewelry. 

Craftsmanship of this caliber is no easy feat. The iced out white gold Sky-Dweller Aftermarket Diamond watch you are looking at took numerous hours to complete. From choosing flawless diamonds of identical size to precisely drilling the white gold to fitting the stones with a four bead micro-pave diamond flower setting, you are looking at a pure masterpiece. 

Round Brilliants

We used the most exquisite round brilliant diamonds when customizing this white gold Sky-Dweller. Our goal was to live up to the strict standards that Rolex adheres to, both in terms of the gemstone quality and the gem-setting. We spared no expenses on this timepiece and we took the time needed to make it perfect. 

Between the superb quality of the diamonds and the masterful setting, this watch sparkles with the power of a thousand suns. Accumulatively, the diamonds give this watch a light performance rating of 100, easily.

If you see this watch in person, you will know what we mean. It’s insanely stunning and damn-near blinding. It’s a showstopper, neck-breaker, conversation-starter…words simply can’t do it justice, and neither can pictures. 

Contrasting Features

This iced out white gold Sky-Dweller has powerful contrast on two fronts, first in the size of the diamonds and second in the black and white color. 

Each element of the watch uses a specific diamond size to create a distinction between the pieces. The bezel’s diamonds are slightly larger than the case’s and the dials are so small that it looks almost like packed snow. 

Then you have the leather strap and black appliqués on the dial. The leather strap sets off the diamonds perfectly. With the black Roman numerals and leather strap juxtaposed between the micro-pave diamond flower setting of the case and clasp, you are left with a polarity that can only be produced by that ever-dynamic, classic black and white contrast.

When this white gold Sky-Dweller watch is on your wrist, it will be hard to take your eyes off it because of all the diamonds. You might get used to it since it’ll be yours, but those around you won’t. Be prepared for people to straight up stare and gawk at a one-of-a-kind watch like this. 

Price? Unbeatable

The diamonds and the setting are as good as an original Rolex creation, bar none. However, the price is a fraction of what Rolex would charge. If this was a Rolex creation it would be 4-5 times the price.  That said, Rolex doesn’t really make watches this showy, with exception to a few Pearlmasters, and we’ve yet to see them use a micro-pave flower setting on any watch. 

In any case, for reference, the white gold Sky-Dweller 326139 retailed for $32,000 before it was discontinued in 2018. As of now, it resales for anywhere between $32,000-$35,000, with prices continuing to rise. Of course, that is not considering the diamond customization.

DIAMOND WHITE GOLD ROLEX SKY-DWELLER PRICE 

This wholly exclusive fully iced out micro-pave flower diamond setting Sky-Dweller reference 326139 is selling for $59,995 at Diamonds By Raymond Lee in Boca Raton. It comes with its original Rolex card.

If you have any questions about this iced out white gold Rolex Sky-Dweller, please contact us.