Jingle All the Way: NFL Scores Style Points With Rolex at Xmas

Day-date and sign at the bottom. (Photo credit: Philadelphia Eagles)

The love for Rolex watches among NFL players, including Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, has been well documented. Whether it is their robustness, elegance or symbol of achievement, they remain gift favorites in the NFL during the holiday season.

Jalen Hurts, the 25-year-old Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, who has been spotted in the past with a silver-dial Datejust, a two-tone Daytona and an olive-green-dial Day-Date, decided to show his appreciation to his offensive line, who protect him on the field. The gifted 40mm Day-Dates in Everose gold also happen to be Hurts’ favorite among Rolex models, according to Essentially Sports.

Meanwhile in the South, Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints quarterback — and four-time Pro Bowl quarterback — joined the Rolex-gift giving at Christmas by bestowing his wide receivers with new Datejusts… fully encrusted with diamonds. The two iced-out Datejusts were gifted to Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, according to TMZ Sports.

Rolex Price Increase Likely in 2024

Image: Rolex

Last year, on average, most Rolex watches were up by about 7 to 8% on a year-to-date basis, with a few exceptions, such as the Yacht-Master II collection or Air-King.

No announcement has been made by Rolex in Geneva. But a leaked document in Italy has us wondering whether prices will be higher in 2024, at least in some countries. The new Rolex price list leaked from Italy, with prices in euros, show an average difference of about +4% compared to 2023 prices, a price hike that can be expected in other countries in Europe, including in the U.K. Here’s the leaked document.

The Submariner Date would be up 3.9%; the GMT-Master (BLNR on Jubilee), 4.1%; the Datejust 41 on Jubilee, 3.8%. The price tag of the Perpetual 1908, a watch not even a year old, has been bumped 1,400 euros. The model experiencing the least increase is the Oyster Perpetual at 3.1%.

‘Rocky’ Rocks Rock-Filled Rolex in Vegas

Image courtesy: Fontainebleu Hotel

Sylvester Stallone chose a blue Submariner for the Fontainebleau Hotel Grand Opening in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Las Vegas seemingly sucked up all of Hollywood — folks like Kim Kardashian, Cher, Tom Brady, Kendall Jenner, and many more flocked to the desert to schmooze, entertain and, of course, gamble at the grand opening of the city's new resort. The Fontainebleau Hotel, a longtime Miami landmark, just expanded to Sin City with a brand new $3.7 billion luxury casino.

Stallone's Rolex — reference 116659SABR — was therefore needed to fit in with the meaning of the celebration. The blue ‘Rocky’ Sub’s bezel is made of 27 dark-blue sapphires, 9 light-blue sapphires and 11 diamonds, all baguette-cut. Fun fact: Rolex watches with pavé dials are the only models not baring “Oyster Perpetual” on the dial, except for the 1908.

Rolex Gears Up for 2024 Tennis Season With Blue OP

Credit: Rolex

Rolex is getting ready for the start of the 2024 tennis season with the Australian Open slated to begin on Jan. 14. The brand uploaded a video earlier this month — still unlisted on YouTube — showing its choice for the Oyster Perpetual with blue dial and smooth bezel to represent the tournament, as the brand did in the past two years. In 2020, Rolex picked the Datejust with a blue dial and fluted bezel for the Australian Open.

While the Oyster Perpetual is the cheapest Rolex in the collection, the watch’s color and sporty look match the hard surface of the AO tournament, likely a reason for the pick.

Caroline Wozniacki has been a Rolex Testimonee for more than a decade and the last Testimonee to have won the AO, in 2018. The Danish tennis player said she is looking forward to taking her family back to Australia, a place that means so much to her. “Lifting the trophy in 2018 is something I will never forget, and the Rolex Daytona I wore that day is a constant reminder of this incredible moment. Returning as a mother is going to be a very emotional and unforgettable experience.”

A Perpetual Calendar Might Be in the Works at Rolex

Source: Rolex

It's one of the most fascinating and intricate complications the watch world has to offer because the date doesn't have to be adjusted until year 2100. Already in the collection of dozens of brands today, the perpetual calendar was never offered by Rolex, a brand famous, ironically, for its "Perpetual" marketing.

But a patent filed by Rolex late last year and made public this year has us hoping for 2024. One of the challenges in a perpetual calendar is the loss of energy at the oscillator when the movement has to instantaneous-jump three days, resulting in a drop of amplitude, the brand asserts in its filing introduction. In a breakthrough in amplitude conservation using a flexible component, Rolex said it has also built on innovations from previous patents — including the 9002 annual calendar movement equipping the 2023 Sky-Dweller — to build a semi-perpetual or perpetual calendar that minimizes energy loss while still being compact.

Rolex’s Newest Video Shows How to Set a Non-Oyster Watch

Rolex on Wednesday uploaded a new video on YouTube showing how to set the time on the Perpetual 1908, the easiest among all Rolex watches, as the crown on the non-Oyster case doesn't need to be unscrewed but pulled. The 1908 is the only watch at Rolex today that doesn't bare the mention “Oyster” on its dial, except for Rolex watches that are fully gem-set.

According to insiders at the brand, Rolex plans to expand the 1908 line with more complications, but it’s unlikely a Cyclops will be used for a date on a classical dress watch.

In 2020, Rolex filed a patent for a Grande Date, or big date, an alternative display to the Cyclops already used by brands such as A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original, Carl F. Bucherer, etc. It’s unclear if Rolex will use that patent when it expands the 1908 line.

Rolex Auction Results Point to Split Market Trends

Image: Sotheby’s

Last week, a 14kt gold Daytona “John Player Special” sold for triple the estimate set by Sotheby's and reached seven figures. The watch belonged to a gentleman who had passed away in 1974, a few years after its purchase. The family had just recently discovered the Daytona 6241 in a pouch that had been kept in a safe, untouched for nearly 50 years.

At that same auction, a 1999 Submariner 16610 with a “Panama Canal” dial had a top estimate of $70,000; it sold for $215,900. Over at Phillips the same week-end, a Space-Dweller 1016 sold for nearly double the high-end estimate. A gold GMT 16758 sold for six figures after the estimates pegged it at around $60,000. Both auction houses had 36mm vintage Day-Dates whose sales shattered the auction houses’ top estimates.

While recent headlines have highlighted Rolex market’s two-year slump, auction results for discontinued watches in top condition have told a different story, exceeding all expectations, the latest sign of a split secondary market whose trend disparity is widening more than ever.

New Rolex U.S.A. Building Finish Date Revealed

Image: David Chipperfield Architects

The new Rolex U.S.A. headquarters, a 469-foot-tall commercial building at 665 Fifth Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan, will be completed in late 2025 and open its doors in 2026, David Chipperfield Architects announced on its website.

In an updated rendering depicting the latest iteration of the design, Rolex's new 30-story tower was increased by 50 feet from the original height of 419 feet.

According to diagrams showing the interior programming layout, a new Rolex store will occupy the first four levels. Offices will span floors five through 25, followed by a double-height dining and event space with an adjoining terrace on the top two stories of the tower. A 50-foot-tall mechanical bulkhead and flat roof parapet cap the building. The project started back in 2019, before the pandemic, and had an estimated completion date of 2024.

See pictures of the construction progress here.

A Rare Rolex 'Space-Dweller' Appears on the Market

Photo credit: Phillips

A Rolex Space-Dweller will be auctioned off by Phillips this weekend, one of the very rare examples that have appeared publicly.

Phillips said this circa-1967 Rolex Space-Dweller is “exquisitely well-preserved, with a glossy black dial in perfect condition, with vibrant gilt graphics and pale golden luminous material.”

Rolex is not known for limited-edition watches, so these uncommonly abandoned, limited-production runs have often been a source of excitement for collectors.

This reference 1016 “Space-Dweller” for sale comes with two Rolex service receipts from Rolex Japan, adding a level of credibility to this example.

Rolex introduced the Space-Dweller in limited quantities for the Japanese market shortly after astronauts of the Mercury program visited Japan on an international goodwill tour in 1963.

Rolex to Honor Music With New Day-Date Dial

Image: Rolex

Rolex is nearing the release of a new Day-Date dial picturing a cello. It is the brand's first watch dedicated to music.

Rolex partners with two classical music institutions, the Salzburg Festival and the Vienna Philharmonic. The Vienna Philharmonic is known for its 80-year-old New Year’s Concert, performed on the morning of Jan. 1.

“Rolex has been Exclusive Partner of the renowned Vienna Philharmonic since 2008 and Exclusive Sponsor of the famous New Year’s Concert since 2009, demonstrating the brand’s dedication to the arts and culture and promoting the highest level of achievement in music,” Rolex said.

Rolex also supports Musica, the series broadcast by European television network Euronews that tells the stories of the stars of opera and classical music.

The dial design in the new Day-Date will feature three parts of a cello outlined in gold color. Each part of the cello is in three shades of green. Gold watches with green dials have been a winning combination for Rolex. There are already three Day-Date dials offered in green by the brand: green ombré, olive green and a green lacquer dial.

French Government to Sell 66 Rolex Watches in Largest Rolex Auction of the Year

Image: encheres-domaine.gouv.fr

In a rare event, this year's largest Rolex auction in France will take place on Dec. 6, when no fewer than 66 Rolex watches will be for sale, including new and vintage GMTs, Submariners and Daytonas with bidding prices starting at 800 euros for a two-tone Datejust to 8,000 euros for a gold Daytona 116518 on Oysterflex. All the proceeds are going to the French government.

The watches for sale came from AGRASC, or the French Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets. The watches being surplussed by the French government were seized during police operations. A total of 160 watches will be auctioned off in Besançon, France, including from brands like Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe. Online bidding is allowed via auction house Drouot.

Rolex Outer Bezels to Unlock Chrono Pushers

Image: Rolex via USPTO

Rolex has recently filed a patent improving the lock and unlock mechanisms of their future chronograph pushers.

Instead of unscrewing the chronograph pushers individually by hand, the outer rim of a bezel would be able to unscrew both pushers at the same time.

While the bezel would remain fixed, in the case of a Daytona or a Yacht-Master II, for example, the outer edge of the bezel could rotate when it is gripped by the wearer. Small teeth placed under the outer rim would connect with and unscrew both chronograph pushers as it rotates, the patent revealed.

These pages reported last month Rolex had filed a patent for a new Yacht-Master II movement. The movement would allow for the use of the pusher at 4 o’clock to set the minute countdown hand by pressing the pusher repetitively, a quicker process than in the current model.

The reference number of the Yacht-Master II is one of the last to still start with “11.” A new reference could be released as early as Apr. 9, 2024.

Rolex Testimonees Are Getting Younger

Jamie Chadwick and Harry Charles. (Photo courtesy: Rolex)

Racecar driver Jamie Chadwick was recruited by Rolex when she was 24. The three-time winner of the W Series, who is now a test driver for a racing team in Formula 1, has her picture on Rolex’s website next to Sirs Malcolm Campbell and Jackie Stewart. “[She] embodies the evolution of motor sport to be inclusive of women,” Rolex said.

Chadwick is part of a trend at Rolex to sign athletes young and before their first big win.

Attending the CHI de Genève next week, the world’s leading showjumping event, is Rolex's youngest equestrian testimonee, Britain’s Harry Charles. Recruited as a Rolex testimonee while still a teenager, Charles said he found the title intimidating at first. “When I went to my very first Rolex lunch with all the fellow highly successful testimonees, 19-year-old me was feeling a little bit out of place,” he told the South China Morning Post.

In tennis, Iga Świątek and Carlos Alcaraz were signed by Rolex when they were teenagers. Today they rank 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the world. Coco Gauff was signed by Rolex when she was just 16. When she won her first Major singles title three years later, at the U.S. Open in Sept. 2023, Rolex had her picture on the frontpage of Rolex.com, a rare display for the brand.

New Rolex Video Shows NFC Feature on Service Cards

From Rolex.com

Rolex added a video explaining the use of Near Field Communication technology, or NFC, on service cards. Back in October, these pages first reported Rolex had switched to an NFC-chipped service card, the two-year warranty card included when a Rolex watch returns from service. This feature first equipped original warranty cards in 2020.

The 23-second clip shows the kinds of information gleaned when a service card is placed near a smartphone. Rolex says the new service card technology is compatible with most smartphones, including versions, or newer versions, of Apple iPhone 7 with iOS 13, Samsung Galaxy S3, Huawei P9, Xiaomi Mi3, Google Nexus 4, Pixel, HTC One.

The service card data include the watch's reference and serial number, the end date of the warranty, as well as details on the service performed by Rolex.

The iPhone in the video shows a date of 28 and a time of exactly 10:10, the standard time and date displayed on all Rolex communication.

AI Teases Watch Lovers With Lego-Rolex Collab

Photo credit: @AIslides on TikTok

What happens when the most reputable brand teams up with the most reputable watch brand. We could only wish! A TikTok user has recently created and posted this AI-rendition of a Rolex-edition lego set, and it has the watch community’s imagination running wild.

The AI-generated pictures captioned “Lego Luxury Watch Sets,” which include Rolex, AP and Cartier, went viral last week and were reposted on major high-horology accounts on Instagram. “It would probably be the collaboration that satisfies everyone. Please @lego do it,” one Instagram user wrote. “It would be the best way to introduce children to the field of fine watchmaking.”

Dear Santa…

Rolex Gears Up Recruitment Efforts

Photo courtesy: Rolex

Rolex announced this week it will hold recrutement en direct, or walk-in job interviews, for a variety of internship positions in the company next year. The interviews will be held in Geneva on Feb. 1st, 2024, and are free to anyone without prior registration. Rolex closes for most of the month of January.

The positions offered are for apprentissage, or internship, but it's unclear if the positions are unpaid. Rolex also posted over 270 full-time paid positions. The company has 9,000 employees.

The listings posted on Rolex’s website include a wide variety of jobs: R&D engineering, Java developer, quality control, robotic mechanic, illustrator, translator, etc.

A position worth noting: Ingénieur Environnement. “For our Production and R&D divisions, we are looking for Environmental Engineers whose main mission will be to carry out studies of the environmental impacts of products and manufacturing processes,” Rolex said on its website. Rolex earlier this month published for the first time its sustainability policy.

Artisans de Genève Unveils New Custom Rolex Daytona

Photo courtesy: Artisans de Genève

Swiss-watch customization brand Artisans de Genève, which made the news in August when Maroon 5 Adam Levine revealed his neon Daytona, has once again introduced a new work to its collection.

The brand unveiled on Thursday the new custom watch “Scona” with a blue dial and a midnight-blue ceramic bezel.

The customer, who desired to remain anonymous, said he wanted his Rolex Daytona 116500 to reflect his fond memories of Italian vintage watches, cars and other items, combining vintage lifestyle codes with his passion for traditional watchmaking. "I’ve always been fascinated by this era: the objects, the cars, the unique know-how but also the drive to be ever more creative," he said.

The realization of the dial alone required seven layers of lacquer, each one grained and polished by hand, according to Artisans de Genève.