Mark March 27 on your calendars, collectors.
Rolex has just announced it will be unveiling its “latest creations” on that fateful Monday. The Crown shared a teaser video via its various social media platforms with the somewhat cryptic caption: “Excellence is a perpetual challenge.”
In the short 20-second clip, there is a shot of a bright-orange dial and a dark-green dial. Colored dials are nothing new, of course, but the trend is experiencing something of a renaissance. As a result, watchmakers have started delivering an array of vibrant faces. Indeed, Rolex itself released a line of colorful Oyster Perpetual models in 2020. Omega, Zenith, Bovet, IWC, and H. Moser & Cie all followed suit with kaleidoscopic designs. And who could forget Patek Philippe and the Tiffany-Blue Nautilus it released in December in 2021?
The Swiss behemoth didn’t say which models will feature the respective hues and didn’t immediately respond to Robb Report’s request for further information. The company’s newsroom also doesn’t give anything away. That hasn’t stopped the internet from speculating, though. One user claimed the clip showed a Datejust with an orange dial, another said they spotted a yellow-gold Cellini. The Yacht-Master and Explorer were also popular guesses. The line that would make the most sense for the new additions is the Oyster Perpetual; the colorful models are super popular and collectible. It would also explain the use of the word “perpetual” in Rolex’s tagline.
What we can say for certain is that the new models will be in high demand. The Instagram post received nearly 50,000 likes in six hours and has been double-tapped by some notable names. American rapper Macklemore was one of the first to weigh in with the “raising hands” emoji that is used to express joy or surprise.
A few slightly more cynical collectors (or realists, perhaps) pointed out the difficulty in accessing such grails. “Soon not coming to an authorized dealer near you,” one wrote. “And then not selling any to anyone without inside contacts,” another said. As you may well know, you can’t just waltz into a Rolex boutique and buy a timepiece off the shelf. You have to be a client with the right connections or spending habits. What’s more, the watchmaker is trying to balance its supply with the ever-increasing demand: Rolex recently announced it’s building three new factories to expand its production capacity. Hopefully, that gets you (and Macklemore) the pieces you’re after.
