The fervid speculation over what Rolex would announce at Watches & Wonders—now an annual ritual amongst the global watch community—is finally at an end. Had the rumour, rife among the brand’s global army of online pundits, that the famously secretive manufacturer would discontinue or update the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air King proven correct? Might a reimagined version of its anti-magnetic Milgauss, or possibly a tweaked Coke GMT be in the offing? Perhaps even more colour dabbling with those Datejust dials?
Find out below: and should any of the new watches strike your fancy, those who have established a deep relationship (probably involving significant annual investment) with their local authorised dealer will have a greater chance of acquiring one. Rolex has been largely sold out at retail in the last year. And looking at the new additions to the canon, we wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case this year, too.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King
Rolex brought the Air-King back in 2016 after a short hiatus—and speculation about when it would get another update has been rife ever since.
Today we got our answer. The 2022 iteration of the Air-King has a more legible and “harmoniously balanced” dial, the manufacture says, due to the addition of a “0” before the “5” on the minutes scale, which puts double digits between each five-minute interval. An optimised Chromalight display, meanwhile, also bolsters readability in darker conditions, as does the addition of a new luminescent material on the hands and triangular hour marker at 12 o’clock
Elsewhere, a crown guard and straight sides bolster the piece’s imperious charm, while the bracelet’s proportions have been tweaked, its center link broadened and an Oysterlock safety clasp added for the first time.
Case Size: 40 mm
Case and Bracelet Material: Oystersteel
Calibre: 3230
Power Reserve: 70 hours
Price: Around US$7,750 (approximately RM33,000)
Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II
Another Rolex piece that celebrates airborne antics, the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II—which is designed to show the time in two time zones simultaneously—has traditionally been a hit among Robb Report readers.
In the 2022 update, the crown and crown guard have been placed on the left side of the case while the date aperture and the Cyclops lens now nestle beside them at 9 o’clock, changes which meant tricky technical tweaks in terms of the movement and the Superlative Chronometer certification.
We have a new colour pairing: the usual Oystersteel case and bracelet juxtaposing nicely with a green and black monobloc Cerachrom bezel insert in ceramic—the first time these colors have been combined for a Rolex GMT. It’s the nearest we got to that new Coke prediction.
Case Size: 40 mm
Case and Bracelet Material: Oystersteel
Calibre: 3285
Power Reserve: 70 hours
Price: Around US$11,550 with Oyster Bracelet/around US$11,800 with the Jubilee Bracelet being introduced in May
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40
An eye-catching (and light-catching) new addition to the line sees a new fluted bezel surrounding its ice blue dial, made from the same material, platinum, as seen elsewhere on the piece (traditionally Rolex has only produced these in 18k gold).
Fluting platinum, a material known for its exceptional luminosity, was no stroll in the park: it involved, in fact, the development of an innovative new manufacturing process.
This may well be the easiest-on-the-eye Day-Date since it became the first calendar wristwatch to indicate the day of the week—and spell the day in full—in 1956.
Case Size: 40 mm
Case and Bracelet Material: Platinum
Calibre: 3255
Power Reserve: 70 hours
Price: Around US$66,800
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master 42
Yacht-Master aficionados who actually use them in a nautical context can, for the first time, take to the seas in one created in yellow gold as well as white gold, created and cast at the brand’s foundry in Geneva.
Like the original model, the new version includes a bidirectional rotatable bezel and a Cerachrom insert with a raised graduation, not to mention the innovative Oysterflex bracelet. Like the new Air-King, the new Oyster Perpetual also benefits from the legibility-boosting optimised Chromalight display and the manufacture’s newly developed luminescent material.
Wrist-feel, Watches & Wonders attendees today will no doubt assert, has been enhanced by the Oysterflex bracelet on this new version, which boasts the patented Oysterlock folding safety clasp to prevent accidental opening.
Case Size: 42 mm
Case and Bracelet Material: 18 ct yellow gold
Calibre: 3235
Power Reserve: 70 hours
Price: Around US$30,000
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master 40
The aurora borealis and the chromatic dance nature performs on the horizon at dawn are what, according to Rolex, inspired the bezel of this new Yacht-Master edition, studded with trapeze-cut diamonds and sapphires in blue, silver and pink. A definite glow-up for a watch that launched in 1992 with skippers in mind.
The sparkling effect is enhanced further by 46 brilliant-cut diamonds running from the lugs to the crown guard and a triangular diamond at 12 o’clock.
Like the larger Yacht-Master also introduced today, it also has Rolex’s new Oysterflex bracelet and folding safety clasp improving wearability.
Case Size: 40 mm
Case and Bracelet Material: 18 ct white gold
Calibre: 3235
Power Reserve: 70 hours
Price: Around US$84,600
In Malaysia Rolex watches can be purchased at Cortina Watch.
Previously published on Robb Report.
