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This time, I want to talk about Rolex’s plastic watch glass. Except for a very small number of antique Rolex watches, most are equipped with plastic watch glasses. In fact, plastic glass is indeed much cheaper than sapphire glass. While its durability is slightly lower, it is also often found on some popular antique watches by Patek Philippe and others worth millions, and it has many enthusiastic fans.

Many brands use plastic crystals for new watches, which shows how popular they are. Unfortunately, Rolex does not use plastic crystals for its current models, but some watchmakers will change or transform their watches to use plastic crystals. Plastic glasses have a long history. Rolex probably used plastic glasses from the 1920s to the 1990s and began using sapphire glass around 1975. Thus, the period from 1975 to 1990 can be considered the era of using both sapphire glass and plastic glass. Popular models like the Explorer Ref. 1016, the Explorer II Ref. 1655, the Scarlet Water Ghost Submariner Ref. 1680, Greenwich Ref. 1675, as well as hand-scrolled Ref. 6263, Ref. 6265, and even a special model [Paul Newman], all use plastic crystals. It is said that the antique sports watches, which are currently very popular worldwide and have high value, would not be as popular as they are today without plastic crystals.

Plastic glass looks less shiny and feels softer. Compared to sapphire, it reflects less light, making the dial more distinct. Additionally, plastic glasses with magnifying glasses are flat with a certain thickness, while arched plastic glasses have many supporters because of their cute rounded shape.

At the same time, compared with sapphire, fingerprints are less noticeable when touching. Those who have handled them know that the fingerprints on plastic glass are not very obvious. However, because plastic glass is a relatively soft material, it is easier to scratch than current sapphire glass.