Watch Collecting: A Perspective From One Who Tried, And Failed

Watch collecting is an interesting pursuit, and can mean very different things to different people.  There is no “right answer”–only what works for that individual.  Some people enjoy a rotation of 3-10 watches, happily going to the safety deposit bank or the safe to pull stuff off the winder.  Others keep a few timepieces on hand they wear regularly, and leave the others–sometimes many others–wrapped up in plastic for posterity or investment purposes (I’m thinking of the Patek crowd here, particularly)  Then there are the fanatics for vintage Rolex or Panerai limited editions, who enjoy the hyper-minutiae and sharing a latest rare acquisition with their equally obsessed buddies at get-togethers where festivity levels are just slightly less than that of a Roman bacchanalia.   Continue Reading… »

Rolex and Wimbledon: Keeping Time Together Since 1978

Many may find the partnership between Wimbledon and Rolex to be an odd one. After all, tennis is not a sport in which timekeeping is essential. Wimbledon is however, the most prominent and significant tennis tournament in the world, and has a rich heritage of striving for excellence. Rolex is known throughout the world as an exclusive brand known for its high standards and its quest for flawless craftsmanship. Thus, Rolex and Wimbledon do in fact make outstanding partners, in that both are driven by the same pursuit of excellence and prestige. Continue Reading… »

Steve McQueen’s ‘67 Rolex Submariner Sets Massive World Record Price

“The Rolex Submariner is a dime a dozen.”  That sometimes-voiced dismissal of the world’s best known dive watch–using dimes or dozens– certainly couldn’t be applied to the personal Ref. 5512 Submariner of tough-guy actor Steve McQueen.  The excellently kept circa-1967 Rolex Sub favored by the King of Cool likely widened a few eyes in the Antiquorum auction room when it sold for a herculean $234,000–a figure some twenty times the pre-sale estimate.  A resonant world record, for sure! Continue Reading… »

Rolex Submariner Watch In Steel & Gold Makes Subtle Splash At Baselworld 2009

Alright, so Rolex didn’t dazzle us in 2009 the way they did in 2007 and 2008 (both pretty significant years for the famously glacial-about-change brand).  Nothing on the level of the quirky Oyster Perpetual Milgauss, or the mighty Sea-Dweller Deepsea.  But, true to the Rolex philosophy of integrating technological and watchmaking innovations quietly and without fuss, some beloved classics got some of the latest updates.  A successful beneficiary was the steel and 18K gold Submariner Date, which inherited the slightly blockier “supercase” of last year’s 18K yellow gold model, as well as the sophisticated Cerachrom bezel.   Continue Reading… »

Rolex Datejust II Watch: Rolex’s Classic Model In A Bigger Case At Last

Introduced in 1945, the Rolex Datejust watch is one of the enduring classics among luxury timepieces; robust yet handsome, it has epitomized the Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual concept, and stands as a true flagship of the brand.  However, at 36mm, it has somewhat fallen behind the super-sized times in which we live–a situation that Rolex has rectified in 2009 with the 41mm Datejust II watch.   Continue Reading… »

Rolex Explorer II: A Classic Sports Watch With Personal Significance

Watches are intensely personal.  Which timepieces we like, the reasons we like them, or how we first came to attain our interest in these ticking wonders in the first place are as diverse as society itself.  Like many, Rolex was the brand that first ignited my interest.  Despite having developed a much broader scope of horological appreciation in years since, Rolex remains a brand I’m quite fond of, for a variety of reasons.  Without doubt, sentimentality is certainly one of them.

Over the weekend, I acquired an Explorer II Continue Reading… »

The Rolex Day-Date II: Escaping The Old Guy Syndrome

“I really like the Rolex Day-Date, but I’m under 50/45/40.  Do you guys think I’m too young to wear this watch?”  Queries along this line are surprisingly common on forums where Rolex watch aficionados spend time, enjoying horological banter and sharing pictures of their various Rolex timepieces.

Why would the Rolex Day-Date, one of the world’s most recognizable luxury timepiece classics and a flagship of the brand’s Oyster Perpetual collection evoke such uncertainty? Continue Reading… »

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, A Beauty In Everose Gold

A fine addition to the Rolex Oyster watch collection for 2008 was the Cosmograph Daytona in 18K “Everose” gold (the term Rolex has given its in-house rose gold alloy).  Warmer and subtler than the yellow gold models, yet more visually distinguished than the white gold references, this newest variation of the world’s most famous chronograph exudes class and a compelling sense of refined luxury.  

Deciding between the two available dial variations Rolex has presented for its new Everrose Daytona watch is difficult, but if pressed for an opinion Continue Reading… »

Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea Watch Wins Me Over, After Seeing In The Metal

While the 2008 Baselworld buzz was swirling, I clacked out a blog that covered my views on the new Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea watch–Rolex’s new deep diving leviathan.  While I was impressed from an overall conceptual standpoint, I found myself less than enamored with all the extra text on the dial, not to mention the garish “Original Gas Escape Valve” and “Ring Lock System” engravings which stood out like rat droppings on granulated white sugar.

Over the previous weekend, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to handle the new Rolex bad boy, and I must say that against my expectations Continue Reading… »

Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea Watch Impresses, Despite Excessive Dial Clutter

After 2007’s Baselworld luminaries–the GMT-Master II “Ceramic” and the Milgauss –the Rolex faithful were eagerly awaiting what the super-secretive Geneva powerhouse would reveal for 2008. Rumors abounded before the day of the show…what would Rolex show? Perhaps a red and blue ceramic bezel for the new GMT-Master II? Or maybe there’d be a Submariner with a new Continue Reading… »