On April 9, when Rolex unveils its 2024 collection, I’ll be curious to see if the brand continues to emulate a playbook for which Hermès has been long known, namely, the mix of luxury with playfulness, lightness and fantasy — a peek of which we’ve witnessed from the Crown recently.
“When the world is already so grey, who feels like buying a black or navy blue watch?” the creative director at Hermès, Philippe Delhotal, told Le Temps, a Swiss newspaper, at the last Watches and Wonders.
People want colors, a reason, I believe, the GMT-Master has surpassed the Submariner in popularity. Why the Submariner LV still maintains a high premium, compared to the classic black variant, is certainly not because of its ease to pair with an outfit, anyone will agree.
Hermès Fall 2023 Bag Ad Campaign. (Hermès)
Hermès has long used the horse as a playful icon for its designs which are replete with colors, patterns and animals. “I’m not saying we’re not serious, but we offer a real joyful side to our customers,” Delthotal added.
In 2020, Rolex also showed a joyful side when it unveiled a line of colorful Oyster Perpetual watches; in 2021, the brand used the Datejust and added a palm motif to the dial. Then, in 2022, a black-green GMT-Master was released with a crown on the left, also a break from tradition.
And in last year's unveil, the brand presented an emoji-filled complication Day-Date covered with colorful puzzle pieces.
Tom Brady with the Emoji Day-Date. (Getty)
“The Day-Date is an icon. Through it, we wanted to send a positive message, a message of joy, which makes everyday life a little better. The pieces of the puzzle represent the intense part of life,” a Rolex spokesperson said. “This variation is bold and unexpected but it contains great know-how.”
The casualness of the luxury industry seems to have become omni-present: $1,000 sneakers from Loro Piana, Louis Vuitton, The Row, Bruno Cucinelli, Hermès or Zegna; $500 cotton T-shirts; $1,000 sweatshirts, and so on.
In the watch industry recently, Oris made a vibrant-green dial featuring Kermit the Frog, while Audemars Piguet proudly featured a Marvel superhero straddling the timepiece’s tourbillon.
Oris ProPilot X Kermit Edition. (Oris)
If the 1980s and early ’90s were defined by the yellow-gold style of Gordon Gekko, the 2000s and 2010s were those of dinner-dish-size watches, a trend that has thankfully reversed. We've now entered a new era of watch design that goes beyond just a varied palette of colors: This is the era of playfulness, lightness and casualness that is redefining luxury.
The creative director at Hermès, to quote him again, said that when the world is in crisis, “people come to us looking for the reassuring side of an established brand, which makes objects that last over time, but which also brings freshness and a side that is carefree and fanciful.”
This is a new era for Rolex, an era that is sure to please the newcomers but could displease the purists. Brand stability in joyfulness is a theme I’ll be looking for at Watches and Wonders 2024 and beyond.