2020 and 2021 were certainly strange years for the watch industry. With retail operations halted in most regions, brands had to rely on e-commerce to meet sales targets. That is, most brands. Rolex and Patek Philippe are notable exceptions to this decline, with demand for days, they instead dedicated themselves to trying to stand out in the modern watch market.
While Rolex released the green dial Oyster Perpetual back in 2020, it also released a slew of other colourful dials along with it. With Rolex fanboys expressing both admiration and outright disgust at the move by the storied Swiss watch brand. Now, while the green, pink, yellow, and orange dials grabbed the headlines, there was a lot to actually be admired in the new Oyster Perpetuals. For one, they all featured the new Rolex Chronergy escapement that has a 70-hour power reserve. This new escapement was in the newly launched Rolex Cal. 3230. Moreover, the new Rolex Oyster Perpetuals were also made in a new size: 41 mm in diameter.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 ref. 124300 in green / Credit: Monochrome
In my opinion, a disappointing move overall as it was clearly meant to appease the ‘hype’ crowd that makes up the watch world; increasing the watch diameter and introducing colourful dials. In any event, moving away drastically from Rolex’s tradition of tool watches, unless you enjoy diving with a bright pink or orange dial timepiece that is. Between the green dial and ‘Palm’ motif OP, it’s hard to decide which is worse.
Patek Philippe, on the other hand, also made an update to one of their most popular collections, releasing several new Nautilus models earlier this year. The standout was, of course, the olive-green dial Nautilus ref. 5711/1A-014. Notable, as the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711 was discontinued and this is the first green dial Nautilus made. The Patek Nautilus ref. 5711/1A-014 is almost identical to the previous ref. 5711 – and I must say the olive-green is clearly more subdued in style than the standout green that the new Rolex Oyster Perpetual is equipped with. Although, the olive-green Patek Philippe Nautilus does also come in a diamond bezel version…
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36 ‘Palm’ motif / Credit: Rolex, JVA Studios
So, while the top dogs were busy playing with colours, many, many other brands dragged their feet behind them – jumping on the green dial bandwagon. As a testament, try counting how many articles you can find titled something to the effect of ’20 Best Green Dial Watches of 2021’.
I’m sad to say, Jaeger-LeCoultre joined the club with their Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Green. Audemars Piguet, Oris, TAG, and even Grand Seiko also contributed with their own recently released green dial timepieces. For those who remember the hype that previously surrounded blue dials, this is no surprise. The only questions are: how long will this last? And how bad will the resale value be on the non-Rolex or Patek Philippe green dial watches?
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Green
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
Bues, Jon. “Introducing The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 With New Colorful Dials.” Hodinkee, August 31st, 2020, https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rolex-oyster-perpetual-36-with-new-colorful-dials-introducing.
“Oyster Perpetual 41.” Rolex, https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m124300-0005.html.
Wolf, Cam. “Patek Philippe’s Most Coveted Watch Was Discontinued. Now It’s Coming Back.” GQ, April 7th, 2021, https://www.gq.com/story/patek-philippe-new-nautilus-2021.