Rolex's Mystery Air-King Desk Clock

(Image: Rolex)

Rolex has surprised the public in the past with end-of-year releases. Such pieces as the titanium Deepsea Challenge, in 2022, and the violin-dial Day-Date last year — first revealed on Coronet — have generated quite a holiday buzz for the brand.

It's unclear what Rolex has in store for this holiday, but a desk clock whose designs were filed earlier this year by Rolex with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property has yet to be spotted in the flesh. The Rolex desk clock will likely be limited to employees and dealers, but could one day surface at auctions.

The clock’s dial is reminiscent of an Air-King watch, which in turn is inspired from the Bloodhound supersonic vehicle's Rolex-made instruments. The Air-King dial is the only one in the collection with the brand’s logo in green and yellow.

Philippe Cousteau’s Rolex Double Red Sea-Dweller for Sale

(Photo credit: LiveAuctioneers)

A Rolex Sea-Dweller 1655 that once belonged to Philippe Cousteau, the son of the famous ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, has just come up for sale.

The watch, a Double Red dial with a faded red color, was a gift from Philippe in 1973 to the current owner and seller after a deep-sea dive in the Mediterranean Sea. The auction, hosted by LiveAuctioneers, will close on Nov. 14. Vintage watches with provenance have generally defied the preowned down market.

Cousteau, whose life was cut short in 1979 in a plane crash, was a oceanographer and filmmaker known for his work alongside his father. Together, they co-produced and co-hosted several acclaimed documentaries.

The watch is not the same Sea-Dweller that was auctioned at Antiquorum in 2014, another Philippe Cousteau watch with a much lower serial number.

Philippe and Jacques Cousteau. (Photo credit: Perezcope.com)

Rolex Concludes Major 2-Year Expedition

Dr. Baker Perry (Photo credit: Armando Vega)

Rolex announced Tuesday it had marked the end of a two-year-long Amazon expedition involving seven teams of scientists, the latest sign of the brand's financial wherewithal in conservation projects, unmatched among watchmakers.

The ambitious expedition, which ran from 2022 to 2024, involved explorers, scientists and researchers working with local community members in seven different projects across a huge swath of South America, from the icy peaks of the Peruvian Andes to the Caribbean. The expedition was also backed by National Geographic.

A special issue devoted entirely to the two-year project was published in NatGeo in October. The pictures are also available at Rolex.org, Rolex’s official site about the brand's initiatives. Rolex released Wednesday a short clip on its Youtube channel. Coronet interviewed one of the expedition’s scientists, climatologist Dr. Baker Perry.

Chrono24 Pressures Dealers in Downturn

(Photo credit: Chrono24)

As the preowned-watch market continues a 10-consecutive-quarter decline, Karlsruhe, Germany-based Chrono24 is tightening its grip on fees, doubling listing rates for professional sellers, saying it wants “to motivate dealers to make transactions and not just use Chrono24 as a display window.”

There are over 100,000 Rolex watches listed on Chrono24, the most of any platform worldwide. Starting this month, it's become more expensive for its 4,000 dealers to do business, a sign of Chrono24's dominance in the market.

To list watches on Chrono24, dealers will now have to pay a minimum of 199 euros per month, compared to 69 euros before. For more than 25 watches, it goes to 369 euros a month, from 139 euros. Dealers used to pay 249 euros a month for 100 watches; they'll now have to pay 629 euros.

Chrono24 is also charging a “dynamic” rate between 4% to 10% in sales commission based on the popularity of the watch model, a form of surge pricing so that fees are higher when the most in-demand watches sell. Dealers have complained the lack of transparency makes it hard to plan, and rates of up to 10% after steep listing fees eat into their margins, which can remain thin even for popular watches.

First Rolex Moon Watch Is Leaving the U.S.A.

Edgar Mitchell. (Photo credit: Jake’s Rolex World)

The first Rolex moon watch, which is also the first watch on the moon to be self-winding, was sold yesterday. The astronaut's daughter had the Rolex GMT-Master consigned with Boston-based RR Auction.

The auction house told Coronet that 16 bidders from four continents participated in the auction. The final price reached $2,165,198.75 when including the buyer's premium ($1,730,559 without).

Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell's Rolex GMT-Master 1675 worn on the Apollo 14 mission was only the second time a Rolex moon watch had been auctioned off. The other time was in 2009, when Apollo 17 Command Module Pilot Ron Evans' Rolex GMT-Master was sold for $131,450. Evans’ watch was bought by Rolex.

"[Mitchell’s daughter Karlyn] wasn't eager to consign it. It was very sentimental to her," Bobby Livingston, Executive Vice-President at RR Auction, told Coronet. “But she understood it had incredible value and it should get into the hands of the next generation of watch collectors and institutions that are going to take care of it.”

The auction house was not allowed to confirm whether Rolex bought Mitchell's watch. But “the winning bidder, who wishes to remain anonymous, was an international buyer,” Livingston said.

Coronet’s coverage: Mystery Surrounds Edgar Mitchell's Other Moon Watch … Did Mitchell Actually Wear His Rolex on the Moon? … Was Mitchell's GMT a Gift From Rolex? … Don't Bother Bidding on This Watch. Rolex Will Likely Buy It

More Temporary Workers Are Used to Produce Watches

(Photo credit: Rolex)

After hiring heavily and struggling to find enough qualified workers, the watch industry is doing an about-face. Unia, a Swiss trade union that represents workers in the watchmaking sector, including at Rolex, is complaining about the increased use of temporary work contracts instead of permanent jobs.

Rolex, which employs more than 900 temporary workers, said it “very regularly gives temporary employees who have proven themselves the opportunity to remain in the company at the end of their assignment. Around 250 people have been hired for production for 2023 alone.”

The number of temporary work contracts issued has increased six fold in the last 30 years, according to the Secrétariat d'Etat à l'économie, a Swiss government agency. The watchmaking industry is particularly affected; some major brands are currently only hiring interim employees for their production workshops, according to Unia.

Earlier this year, Unia and the watch industry signed a collective labor agreement for 55,000 employees at more than 500 watch brands, including Rolex. Starting next year, temp workers who have been employed for over 24 months will have to be provided with a contrat de durée indéterminée, or permanent position. Rolex is already complying with that requirement.

Mystery Surrounds Edgar Mitchell's Other Moon Watch

As the auction of a Rolex GMT-Master that flew on Apollo 14 will likely top $1 million this week, video archives now reveal NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell may have brought another personal watch to the moon though few agree on what it is.

An unearthed footage of Mitchell suiting up captures the astronaut putting the mystery watch on his left wrist. The NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster was worn higher, above the suit sleeve, and the GMT-Master on his right wrist.

Philip Corneille, a space-watch expert who runs the Moonwatch Universe blog, told me the third watch may be another Rolex, a GMT-Master “Rootbeer” 1675/3, while watch spotting expert Nick Gould believes the cream-color-dial piece doesn't look like a Rolex.

The Rolex GMT-Master currently being auctioned was a gift from the astronaut to his daughter, Karlyn Mitchell, who is now consigning the piece with RR Auction. The mystery watch is likely in the possession of his other biological daughter, Elizabeth, and could come to auction soon.

When I asked RR Auction about Mitchell's other timepiece, Executive Vice-President Bobby Livingston told me, “I've not been approached about the second watch.”

According to the Apollo 14 Mission Onboard Voice Transcription recorded on the Command Module, Mitchell said at 23:53:08 on the ninth day: “Just a minute, I can't get my watch.” That prompted mission commander Alan Shepard to say: “You got so many watches, you can't pull your arm up.”

(Photo credit: Jake’s Rolex World)

China's Stimulus Boosts Hope for Watch Market Recovery

(Data: FactSet)

China's recent stimulus program to cut mortgage rates and rescue its stock market, which has been on a losing streak for nearly four years, could soon help reverse the watch market's fortune.

Swiss watch exports to China, the second biggest market in the world, had dropped -24.6% — in Hong Kong, -20.4% — when comparing January through September 2024 to the same period last year, while exports to the U.S. and Japan have slightly increased.

With the Chinese government hoping to jumpstart the country’s stock market and revive its economy, the luxury industry is poised to benefit, including Rolex.

In Shanghai, a new Rolex-only boutique managed by Bucherer will soon open, the first of its kind in China, a sign Rolex is using its recent 4-billion-Swiss-franc acquisition of Bucherer to expand the Crown’s network worldwide. Rolex’s global website already features the Shanghai store in its list of authorized dealers under the name of “‭HKRI Taikoo Hui (Bucherer), Shanghai‬” though no dates have been announced.

Auction Twist: Did Mitchell Actually Wear His Rolex on the Moon?

NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell. (Credit: NASA)

When RR Auction sold Dave Scott’s Bulova for $1.6 million in 2015, the Boston-based auction house wrote the astronaut's personal watch had been worn on the moon. After all, a letter by Scott himself certified of such a fact.

But in one of the most important auctions of a Rolex GMT-Master that is closing next week, on Oct. 24, RR Auction is stopping short of saying so. The Edgar Mitchell Rolex GMT-Master 1675 listing indicates the watch was "worn on the Apollo 14 mission" and that Mitchell "wore this GMT-Master to the moon along with his Omega." The listing doesn't say whether the watch was actually worn on the moon.

I asked the consigner of the watch, RR Auction, why the listing didn’t say the Rolex was worn on the moon when its owner did step on the moon during Apollo 14 mission. RR Auction executive vice-president Bobby Livingston said they believe the watch was left in the astronaut kit in the lunar module and it was not worn during Mitchell’s EVA (extra-vehicular activity).

“Would he wear a watch under his suit? What practical purpose would it have served?” Livingston told me. “We have to go by with what he told us in his letter.” Neither the letter nor the engraving on the watch caseback says the watch was worn on the moon. “If he had made the claim it went to the moon, OK,” Livingston said. “But he didn’t. And he knew—he would have known enough to point that out, I think," Livingston finally said.

Rolex Certified Pre-Owned Program Bigger Than Ever

(Data: WatchCharts/Morgan Stanley)

The Rolex pre-owned market might be dropping, but the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned program continues to swell despite its premium. That's according to WatchCharts, which has just released the latest data as part of its Morgan Stanley quarterly report.

The 10-consecutive-quarter drop of the pre-owned watch market hasn't deterred more authorized dealers to join the program started by Rolex in Dec. 2022. Since last quarter, at least 17 new retailers have joined the CPO program. Today, WatchCharts estimates there are around 6,400 listings from 78 authorized retailers around the world, with a combined value in excess of $150 million, based on asking price.

(Data: WatchCharts/Morgan Stanley)

Rolex’s acquisition of Bucherer having been finalized in late July, this is the first quarter Rolex-owned boutiques sell new and pre-owned Rolex watches in the same store.

Bucherer’s CPO premium averages at +36% when compared to non-CPO dealers. Watches of Switzerland charges the largest CPO premium, +46% for the UK inventory and +42% for the US, according to WatchCharts, while the 1916 Company remains the most competitive, with an average premium of +15%.

Historic NTSB Investigator's Rolex GMT-Master for Sale

(Photo credit: Grey and Patina)

The Rolex GMT-Master 1675 of a senior investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board is for sale.

Robert Benzon bought the watch in 1973 after he had returned from Vietnam, having flown combat missions as an Air Force pilot. He flew KC-135 Stratotankers in the U.S. and Europe while wearing the GMT-Master before joining the NTSB, in 1984.

Benzon handled more than 30 major inquiries, including high-profile cases like the explosion of TWA 800 or “the Miracle on the Hudson” US Airways 1549, advancing aviation safety for millions of travelers worldwide. He is widely considered to be among the best in his field and was eulogized in Congress.

The 1971 GMT is for sale by Grey and Patina and comes with the original box and papers that show Robert Benzon’s name on the certificate.

Rolex Day-Date: Cruise's Recent Timepiece of Choice

(Photo credit: JP/RV / SPLASHNEWS)

In a recent public appearance in London, Tom Cruise rocked a Rolex Day-Date 40 with meteorite dial.

As reported by Coronet, the actor wore the same piece during Wimbledon Women’s finals last July, as he sat next to Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour and his wife. The Top Gun actor wore the Day-Date again in another public appearance two weeks later at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

On Thursday in London, the Day-Date on Cruise’s wrist provided a sharp contrast with the dark outfit, as he exited the Gaia restaurant in the Mayfair district. Cruise has just wrapped filming “Mission: Impossible 8.”

As Rolex Faces Criticism of Stagnation, Artisans de Genève Keeps Busy

(Photo credit: Artisans de Genève)

Just a few months after it introduced a Submariner with moonphase, Swiss-watch customization brand Artisans de Genève unveiled a skeletonized-movement Rolex Daytona with a mirror-polished Murano aventurine dial it had made for a client.

Murano aventurine, often nicknamed the Venetian stardust, is a glassy material which creates a sparkling effect, a 400-year-old glass-making technique originating in Venice. The Daytona 116500 features a matching bezel insert and rose gold hands.

Artisans' customization job, which cost the owner 39,520 Swiss francs, comes at a time when Rolex’s new collection has been criticized for little design innovation. Artisans said on Thursday it is the fifth time this client is using Artisans' services though it wouldn’t reveal his or her name. Last year, Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine revealed his Artisans-customized Daytona with neon dial and skeletonized movement on watch media Hodinkee.

Could Dawa Yangzum Be Rolex's Best Testimonee?

(Photo credit: Rolex)

A photo of a Rolex brand ambassador on top of the world without featuring a watch is unusual. Rolex Testimonee Dawa Yangzum might not be as famous as Roger Federer or Jackie Stewart, but the mountaineer's achievements could make her the best representative of the brand.

On Wednesday, Yangzum successfully scaled Mt Shishapangma in Tibet, becoming, at 33, the first Nepali female to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 m (26,200 ft). She has been wearing a Rolex Explorer in steel since 2022, when she joined the Rolex family.

(Photo credit: Rolex)

At the age of 21, she was the first Nepalese woman to guide an expedition to the summit of Everest. At 27, she became the first woman in Asia to be officially recognized as an international mountain guide, a major professional distinction. She has led the National Geographic scientific research team to Mt Everest in 2019, 2022 and 2023. She also holds the speed climbing record (female) on Makalu in 20 hours.

Rolex UK Financials Reveal Record Sales

(Source: GOV.UK)

British laws mandating financial transparency provide a rare glimpse into Rolex accounting in the sixth largest economy in the world, and the results are up and to the right.

On Wednesday, the Rolex Watch Company Limited — the UK branch of Rolex S.A. — filed a 37-page annual report and financial statement with the Companies House. Rolex sales in the U.K. and Ireland have never been higher, standing at £685 million, more than double what it was just six years before. Rolex profits increased to £65.8 million, topping previous year’s results of £59.5 million.

Still, UK's largest retailer of Rolex watches, Watches of Switzerland, complained the models they had received from Rolex UK weren’t as flashy as hoped. On its post-warning conference call, as reported by the Financial Times earlier this year, WoS management said too many deliveries have been steel rather than rose gold so average selling prices have taken a hit.

Rolex Moon Watch Auction: Was Mitchell's GMT a Gift From Rolex?

(Photo credit: Jake’s Rolex World)

Astronaut Edgar Mitchell's Rolex, the first Rolex to go to the moon, is coming up for auction 15 years after another Rolex moonwatch was sold, Ron Evans'. The serial numbers of those watches are 2448767 and 2448718, respectively, just 49 numbers apart.

“It would appear they received them at the same time,” said Nick Gould, a watch researcher, who made the discovery. “Special delivery from Rolex USA back in the day?”

Evidence found in correspondence show Rolex would gift GMT watches to NASA test pilots and astronauts, who then would report to Rolex how the timepieces fared during the flights and thank the company for the gift.

“Sincere appreciation to the Rolex Watch Co. and personal regards to [Rolex director] Mr. René Jeanneret,” William Pete Knight wrote. “With Best of Regards to René & Rolex,” wrote Scott Crossfield. “My GMT 200,000 miles from Geneva,” wrote Stuart Roosa on a black-and-white wrist shot. Roosa flew with Mitchell on Apollo 14.

As for Mitchell, whose GMT-Master is being auctioned this month, he, too, wrote to Rolex to express his appreciation: “I wore a GMT-Master for most of the hours I flew the module, and as always was very satisfied with its performance.”

Bucherer's Competitor Buys Prominent Watch Media

(Photo credit: Watches of Switzerland)

If high-end watch boutiques favor locations like Bond Street, Rodeo Drive, Bahnhofstrasse and les Champs Elysées for its foot traffic and prestige, online retailers have to go about it a different way: attract traffic through (high-quality) watch content.

Watches of Switzerland, UK’s biggest Rolex retailer, just acquired the 5th Avenue version of online real estate when it announced this week it had bought watch publication Hodinkee, following a strategy employed by other e-commerce of poaching prominent watch writers. “The acquisition of Hodinkee directly supports our e-commerce business by increasing traffic,” CEO of Watches of Switzerland Brian Duffy said in a statement.

Watches of Switzerland's biggest competitor, Bucherer, which is now run by Rolex, also sells watches online, including certified pre-owned Rolex since Dec. 2022. Bucherer could do worse than follow suit to attract more clients to its website. Doing otherwise in a nine-consecutive-quarter market decline is a luxury it may not have.