As if we were on the same wavelength, Rolex teased its upcoming novelties in a short video on their various social media platforms. As always, it’s nearly impossible to decipher much from it, but in that video we saw what looks to be changes to bracelets, perhaps a new Sky-Dweller or a solid gold Datejust. There appeared to be a GMT-Master II in there as well as some interesting dial work and a curious yellow gold sports model with a caseback that had us scratching our heads (is it an exhibition style or a different metal?). www.highluxurystore.ru
In any event, this just goes to show you what power Rolex wields when it comes to watch enthusiasts trying to figure out what they will and won’t do year in and year out. We certainly fall into that bucket and make it a yearly tradition to get clairvoyant with the Crown’s novelties. Last year we (okay, I) basically correctly foresaw the gold GMT and I’ll never let anyone forget it. This year our choices run the gamut from “obvious” to full-on funky. We made our Tudor picks yesterday, and now without further ado, here are our predictions for Rolex mere days ahead of Watches & Wonders 2024. Like we said yesterday, let us know what predictions you have in the comments and tell which of ours you like best!
Beach Stone Dial Oyster Perpetual: Malaika Crawford
Last year’s emoji Day-Date and celebration dial OP mean we all have carte blanche for anything our hearts desire in this round-up. I got swept up in the try-and-be-as-weird-as-possible approach and dreamt up some goofy colorful enamel heart-shaped gem-set novelties. My colleague TanTan brought me back down to earth with a more reasonable (but still enough of a fantasy to appease me) idea. How about a new take on “beach” Daytona dials. Why not remake pastel beachy colors and put them into OP cases? On bracelets. Obviously.
I say these 2024 beach dials should be close to the original concept and made of stone, TanTan wants pastel colored lacquer dials, but this is my “prediction” and so I am making executive decisions. We are going OG turquoise, yellow mother of pearl, pink mother of pearl, green chrysoprase/chalcedony. Okay, so the chances of this happening are slim but they are not impossible. And so if we are buying into this fantasy, let’s just go all the way “beach,” and make these in white gold.
This would be “new” for Rolex, no stone dial OP watches have been made. The modern OP is a relatively new Rolex model and was seemingly created to exist as a more moderately priced option, entry level we could say. But there is precedent to my prediction! Some of the rarest vintage stone dials are found in Datejusts, which was a similarly low-market model compared to the Day-Date at the time. www.highluxurystore.ru