The Easiest Rolex Mods You Can Actually Do Yourself

Rolex “modding” can get complicated fast, but most owners aren’t swapping dials or chasing obscure service parts. They’re making small, reversible tweaks that change how a watch looks or wears without ever opening the case. That’s the focus here: beginner-friendly changes that keep your watch original, intact, and fully restorable if you change your mind later. As always, keep your OEM parts—you’ll want them.

A Quick Note Before You Try Anything

This isn’t an instruction manual, and none of this should be taken as advice to modify your own watch. Any physical work on a Rolex comes with risks—cosmetic, mechanical, and financial. If something goes wrong, even on a simple mod, the consequences aren’t always cheap. We claim no responsibility for any damage caused by attempting these changes. What follows is simply a look at common, reversible mods and a general sense of how they function.

If you ever feel uneasy about how a mod works or what it requires, a competent watchmaker is the safer path.

Swapping Aluminum Bezel Inserts on 5-Digit Models

Coke bezel (top) and Pepsi bezel (bottom) Rolex GMT-Master II 16710. Image Source: Reddit

On 5-digit Submariners and GMT-Master IIs, the bezel assembly is friction-fit. With the right leverage, the complete bezel pops off as a single piece. There are inexpensive pry tools made for removing bezels and casebacks, but people often use something like a broad flathead screwdriver wrapped in microfiber as a safe-contact tool. Once the bezel is off, the aluminum insert is simply tensioned into the ring; it lifts out, a new insert drops in, and the whole assembly snaps back onto the case.

That simplicity is why 16610 and 16710 owners love insert swaps. A 16710 moving from Pepsi to Coke to black can feel like three different watches. Ceramic-era inserts don’t belong in this category.

Oyster and Jubilee Swaps on Compatible References

Rolex GMT-Master III BLNR on Oyster (right) and Jubilee (left). Image Source: Reddit

Some of the easiest Rolex mods don’t touch anything structural. The Datejust is the classic example: Oyster to Jubilee or back again, all within Rolex’s own design language. The modern GMT-Master II follows that same pattern. Current references are offered on both bracelets, and if you have access to the alternate bracelet through Rolex, the swap takes less than a minute.

Rolex Datejust 41 on Jubilee (left) and Oyster (right). Image Source: Reddit

Nothing about the case changes, but the watch as a whole does. A Jubilee softens the profile, drapes around the wrist, and adds that familiar shimmer; an Oyster sharpens everything and puts the focus back on the case. You’re still well inside the boundaries of how Rolex designed your watch—you’re just choosing the version you want to wear today.

Adding an Everest Curved-End Strap

Curved End Rubber Strap For Rolex Daytona

A curved-end strap installs the same way a bracelet does: two spring bars, two lugs. The effect, though, is quite different from a bracelet. Rubber pushes a Submariner or GMT toward a sportier, more modern silhouette. Leather on a Datejust or Explorer introduces warmth, texture, and color. The curved-end profile keeps the watch and strap feeling like one unit, avoiding the loose straight-end look that breaks the case lines.

Curved End Leather Strap For Rolex Submariner

Installation is quick, fully reversible, and leaves the watch exactly as it was when you choose to return to the bracelet.

Shoulderless Spring Bars on Drilled-Lug 5-Digit Rolexes

Before the modern no-hole cases, many Rolex sports models featured what collectors now call drilled lugs. Instead of hiding the spring bars inside the case walls, Rolex drilled clean holes straight through the lugs, allowing you to access the bars from the outside. Models like the 14060, 16570, and 16710 all used this design. Strap changes were faster, easier, and didn’t require prying anything between the case and bracelet.

Image Source: aBlogtoWatch

That exposed-bar layout comes with a small quirk when you’re using pass-through straps. Standard shouldered spring bars have tiny flanges that can occasionally snag on fabric or gear and pop loose. It doesn’t happen often, but anyone who wears single-pass straps long enough has either experienced it or heard the horror stories.

Shoulderless spring bars solve that issue. With no protruding shoulders to catch on anything, they sit flush against the case and are less likely to get pulled out accidentally. We offer a version designed for exactly this setup—the Vintage Lug Hole Style Rolex Replacement Spring Bars in 2.0 mm by 20.0 mm. It’s a tiny, inexpensive change, but on drilled-lug references, especially with pass-through straps, it’s a genuinely useful one.

Aftermarket Aluminum Inserts for Color Experiments

Image Source: Bulang & Sons (Genuine 5513 ghost bezel)

Aftermarket aluminum inserts sit in the same friction-fit groove as OEM ones, which makes experimentation easy as long as you understand the trade-offs. Some collectors use them to explore colors Rolex actually made—Pepsi, Coke, black—although this creeps into counterfeiting quite quickly. Others go further into the fun, fictional, or funky territory: all-blue “Blueberry” GMT inserts, ghost-faded vintage Subs, bright-red GMT triangles, or other colorful bezels that never existed at retail.

Image Source: Watch Collectors

A genuine Blueberry insert for a 1675 is the perfect example of why aftermarket options exist in the first place. Authentic ones are extremely rare, expensive, and widely counterfeited, which makes running an aftermarket version a low-stakes way to enjoy the look without pretending it’s original. The same logic applies to faded or color-shifted Submariner inserts. If you like the aesthetic but don’t want to hunt down the perfect vintage part, an aftermarket insert lets you try the idea before committing—or not committing at all.

As always, transparency matters. These parts should be enjoyed for what they are: temporary color experiments that leave your OEM insert untouched. And if a particular shade feels off once you’ve lived with it, the entire thing can be undone in minutes.

When to Stop

Image Source: SJX Watches

There’s a natural boundary between simple, case-closed mods and anything involving real watchmaking. Sapphire crystal swaps require the movement and dial to be removed. Dial and hand changes fall into the same category. Even ceramic-bezel work can get tricky fast. If a mod feels like it might be risky, threatens your watch’s water resistance, requires more force than you’re comfortable applying, or calls for a tool you’ve never seen, that’s usually your cue to bring in a professional.

Final Thoughts

A fresh insert, a different bracelet, or a curved-end strap can make a familiar Rolex feel new again without touching what’s inside. If you’re curious about personalization but want to keep things fully reversible, these small changes are the easiest places to start. And if you want the fastest transformation of all, a well-made curved-end strap is always a safe entry point.