You could say the same about modern CAD and CNC processes, which make designing and building mechanical movements vastly easier than it was in their heyday. The Swiss brands have long since drawn the arbitrary line that putting electronics in the final product is an affront to horological tradition, but anything along the way is fair game.
I know folks are going to complain about the aesthetic. As they do literally every time Rolex does something "new".
e.g. the Skydweller in the last decade or so.
This watch is interesting in that it draws on the Genta-esque integrated bracelet (also reminiscent of their 70s-era quartz stuff). I personally like the hexagons. I think everyone "will have always loved this" in 5-10 years.
The technical details of the watch are really on brand for Rolex: they just kinda turned everything up to 11, i.e. new escapement, turning up the BPS, thinner. Overall, I think it's really a great watch.
I think you're spot on. I'm not generally a fan of Rolex, but I really like this. Feels like the first release to live up to their brand in a while. I think you're right about the hexagons too, I didn't care for them at first but they have already grown on me.
Meta: wish more watches had a day (of the week) display/complication.
Date (of the month) is fine, but Tuesday to Friday often tend to blur together nowadays (especially post-COVID hybrid), and it'd be nice to have that option.
They will really have to have good tolerances, because now there are two wheels connected via a gear instead of just the one in a Lever escapement. The wheels themselves interlock because of their shape, but there's going to be additional backlash.
I'm wondering if the hollow areas in the wheels provide some impact shock resilience with the sides flexing a tiny bit.
The design language sort of echos, to me, the Atelier Wen Perception with the integrated bracelet. Neither of these watches are for me but sort of interesting seeing this style comeback after so many years of diver/tool watches with straps.
It is. "We are not in the watch business. We are in the luxury business" - former Rolex CEO.[1]
Rolex was originally a maker of working watches for rugged environments. Pilots and divers might wear one.
Today, the watch of choice for people who need accurate time is the cheap Casio G-Shock.
For about US$100, you can get solar power, WWV corrections, good waterproofing, and resistance to being banged on. It doesn't need any attention. It just works. Popular with military types.
I'd personally love to have a Rolex just because of its craftsmanship. Because of this, I'm only drawn to the more subdued variants (all steel, plain bezel, plain dial in blue or black).
However, I have a couple of nice automatics, and don't want to expand my collection any further.
That's what seems newsworthy about this new movement, generally I would have said Rolex was just conspicuous consumption, you could get mechanically better / more interesting (and certainly more interesting-looking) watches for less, but that isn't their target market. So it's sort of heartwarming to see them making improvements that most of their customers won't notice.
Rolex is a funny brand. They have cheap models that exist exclusively for you to make a dealer happy by buying several of them, before they will consider allowing you to buy a high-end watch.
“Normal” people can’t actually buy these high-end Rolexes, even if they have the money.
It is true that some/many Rolex AD’s will allocate the most desirable watches to customers with an existing purchase history, and that some customers therefore buy less desirable models in order to earn goodwill with the AD.
However, it is not the case that the most desirable watches are necessarily (or even on average) the most expensive models. For instance, it is generally the steel models that are the most desirable and command the highest markup from MSRP on the secondary market. The Submariner, the Daytona, the GMT-Master II: almost all of Rolex’s most iconic, most in-demand, most "flippable" watches are the full steel versions, which are the cheapest versions of those model families.
To give a concrete example, it is generally considered easier to get a full-gold GMT (~$43k) or a two-tone (half steel, half gold) GMT (~$18k) at an Authorized Dealer than it is to get the full steel version ($11k).
The amount of money that has been floating around since 2020 has really exasperated the demand in the Rolex market. Dealers have been playing the "exclusive" game with customers pretending like stock is limited because of the popularity of the watches and the willingness for customers to pay above MSRP in the gray market. There has been a lot of talk recently on the web that this is starting to cool and the dealers will go back to selling to whoever wants to buy one.
Readit News
IMO that’s kind of “cheating”, fab tech makes it way too easy compared to traditional metal machining craftsmanship.
e.g. the Skydweller in the last decade or so.
This watch is interesting in that it draws on the Genta-esque integrated bracelet (also reminiscent of their 70s-era quartz stuff). I personally like the hexagons. I think everyone "will have always loved this" in 5-10 years.
The technical details of the watch are really on brand for Rolex: they just kinda turned everything up to 11, i.e. new escapement, turning up the BPS, thinner. Overall, I think it's really a great watch.
I think more subtle variants will follow in a couple of years.
Date (of the month) is fine, but Tuesday to Friday often tend to blur together nowadays (especially post-COVID hybrid), and it'd be nice to have that option.
* https://teddybaldassarre.com/en-ca/blogs/watches/day-date-wa...
Dead Comment
They will really have to have good tolerances, because now there are two wheels connected via a gear instead of just the one in a Lever escapement. The wheels themselves interlock because of their shape, but there's going to be additional backlash.
I'm wondering if the hollow areas in the wheels provide some impact shock resilience with the sides flexing a tiny bit.
https://us.atelierwen.com/products/perception
He's a gifted amateur, and it looks like a very soothing hobby (until you manage to lose one of the springs).
[1] https://www.youtube.com/c/WristwatchRevival
Today, the watch of choice for people who need accurate time is the cheap Casio G-Shock. For about US$100, you can get solar power, WWV corrections, good waterproofing, and resistance to being banged on. It doesn't need any attention. It just works. Popular with military types.
[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/why-are-rolex-watches-so-exp...
However, I have a couple of nice automatics, and don't want to expand my collection any further.
“Normal” people can’t actually buy these high-end Rolexes, even if they have the money.
It is true that some/many Rolex AD’s will allocate the most desirable watches to customers with an existing purchase history, and that some customers therefore buy less desirable models in order to earn goodwill with the AD.
However, it is not the case that the most desirable watches are necessarily (or even on average) the most expensive models. For instance, it is generally the steel models that are the most desirable and command the highest markup from MSRP on the secondary market. The Submariner, the Daytona, the GMT-Master II: almost all of Rolex’s most iconic, most in-demand, most "flippable" watches are the full steel versions, which are the cheapest versions of those model families.
To give a concrete example, it is generally considered easier to get a full-gold GMT (~$43k) or a two-tone (half steel, half gold) GMT (~$18k) at an Authorized Dealer than it is to get the full steel version ($11k).