2,101 articles · 68 videos found · page 16 of 73
The Rolex chronograph born on the racetrack. History, references and specs.
The first self-winding waterproof wristwatch with a date window - and the reference Rolex.
The 1953 Rolex diver. James Bond's watch and the template every dive watch copies.
Founder of Rolex (1905) and Tudor (1946). Invented the Oyster case and the Perpetual rotor.
Hodinkee
Pierre-Yves Donzé's business history of Rolex documents how the Swiss brand embraced the idea of individual success while making its watches the ultimate status symbol.
Fratello
The Rolex Land-Dweller was the most talked-about release of this year’s Watches and Wonders. Regardless of whether the watch appealed to everyone, due to the groundbreaking new caliber and revival of the Oysterquartz design, the general impact of the Land-Dweller was palpable. We had an opportunity to experience the 36mm and 40mm models during Watches […] Visit What’s The Perfect Size For The Rolex Land-Dweller? to read the full article.
Hodinkee
A closer look at a favorite option from the current Daytona catalog.
Fratello
More than a platinum creation with an ice-blue dial, the combination of yellow gold and green is the ultimate expression of Rolex luxury. Luscious and alluring yellow gold dates back to ancient civilizations, and green is the brand’s signature color, often used in a celebratory way, that puts Rolex connoisseurs on high alert. Mix the […] Visit Hands-On: The New Yellow Gold Rolex Daytona With A Green Dial - Don’t Call It The “John Mayer II” to read the full article.
Fratello
Welcome to another installment of Sunday Morning Showdown. This week, we decided to put the Swiss up against the Japanese, each with a purple-dial stainless steel watch of their own. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual with a lavender dial represents the Swiss, while the Grand Seiko “Kiri” SBGW323 represents the Japanese. Both came out during Watches […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 “Lavender” Vs. Grand Seiko “Kiri” SBGW323 to read the full article.
Fratello
It must have been 1999 or 2000 when the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 16710 was incredibly high on my wishlist. I even had the official Rolex advertisement for this model as the wallpaper on my Windows desktop. But I was a student, and the Rolex GMT-Master II was out of reach. The Rolex GMT-Master II […] Visit Why I Bought A Five-Digit Rolex GMT-Master II (Again) to read the full article.
SJX Watches
At Watches & Wonders 2025, all eyes were on Rolex. But the polarising Land-Dweller grabbed most of the headlines, relegating new versions of existing models, including the mighty Cosmograph Daytona Turquoise Blue ref. 126518LN, to second billing. Regardless, the Daytona remains one of the most iconic watches in the industry and its inherent quality makes any new version worthy of a close look. In this case, those who probed the depths of the Rolex catalogue were rewarded with the unusual combination of an 18k yellow gold case and a turquoise lacquer “Stella” dial. (And those lucky enough would have seen the “off-catalogue” Daytona ref. 126538TBR with an actual turquoise stone dial and diamond-set case.) Initial thoughts Let’s just say this was not love at first sight. I initially found this new colourway overly garish, but I am a sucker for turquoise, whether natural stone or, in this case, lacquer, so the look has grown on me over time. I think I’d have preferred a different treatment for the sub-dials, which to my eye dull the vibrancy of the turquoise, but this is a subjective critique of an objectively well-made watch. Dial colour aside, the new Daytona benefits from the model’s 60th anniversary updates rolled out two years ago, including the gold rim for the ceramic bezel. The case offers roughly ideal proportions for a sporty chronograph, 40 mm in diameter and around 12 mm thick. It also comes equipped with the brand’s rubberised Oysterflex bracelet, ...
Fratello
A few weeks ago, Rolex invited me to attend the World Endurance Championships 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. This series, which also includes the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, took place on May 10th in Belgium. Hypercars and GT3 racing cars compete for six hours at this beautiful track. This year’s winning car was a […] Visit Visiting The 6 Hours Of Spa-Francorchamps And A Talk With Tom “Mr. Le Mans” Kristensen to read the full article.
Time+Tide
The Rolex Daytona 126500 might be the best the legendary watch has ever been - but as Tom explains, it was definitely worth the wait.The post 23 years and 6 months with the Rolex Daytona appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
Fratello
This year, Rolex introduced no fewer than eight new Daytona references, but only one made it to the brand’s press room during Watches and Wonders. The seven other iterations remained hidden. Luckily, a visit to the brand’s Brussels offices revealed that 2025 marks the year Rolex introduces three new Daytona watches in three gold alloys […] Visit Astronomical Exclusivity: Rolex Introduces Three New Daytona Watches With Meteorite Dials to read the full article.
Fratello
Control. It’s all about control. If you’re not in complete control, others can and will mess things up, and you will be held responsible for it, resulting in a negative image. That’s one thing no luxury brand wants to have to deal with. That’s why Rolex intends to control everything, from creating its alloy to […] Visit Rolex Wants To Control Everything - From Making Watches To Distributing, Selling, Servicing, Repurchasing, And Reselling Them to read the full article.
Fratello
Though it’s quite easy to forget this when looking at the watch world, sometimes less is more, and simpler is better. Simpler, however, is often much harder to get right. Poor design is easily covered in layers of otherwise unnecessary embellishments. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual presents simplicity at its very finest. Rolex added two new […] Visit New Rolex Oyster Perpetual Dial Colors You May Have Missed to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Editor’s Note: Earlier this week, Rolex held an event in New York City to showcase their latest 2025 releases. We saw most of these watches in Geneva at Watches & Wonders a few months ago, but this was the first time going hands-on with the latest from Rolex for Devin Pennypacker and Garrett Jones. These are their reactions and impressions, as well as a whole bunch of photos (with natural light!) from Garrett. Devin Pennypacker: There is a saying that gets murmured around the start of Watches and Wonders: The show goes as Rolex goes. This year, however, I was left with a feeling that Rolex was chasing trends rather than setting them for the first time in a long while. New announcements saw them leaning into pastel colors, stone dials, and even integrated bracelets to highlight their 2025 collection. To put it mildly, I was disappointed that there wasn’t immediately a model that stuck out to me as a winner of the bunch. That being said, I also didn’t have the opportunity to go hands-on with the new collection, so every thought was mere speculation. During a recent event in New York, I had the chance to spend some time with many of the new releases, form genuine opinions, and model the watches for our photography by Garrett Jones. Afterwards, Garret and I sat down to discuss a few releases we had time with, delivering our thoughts and feelings towards some of the collection, which we will have staggered below. As always, please leave your takes on these new releases ...
Monochrome
While all eyes were focused on the release of the new Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller collection, Rolex had a sumptuous surprise up its sleeve. Introduced in 2023 to replace (well, not officially, but still…) the Cellini collection, the elegant Perpetual 1908 premier dress watch returned to Watches & Wonders 2025 with a gold bracelet. Not any […]
Monochrome
Rolex is no stranger to niche models, specifically ones that specialise in less-than-mainstream purposes. The Milgauss, for example, was designed for scientists at CERN in the 1950s to withstand magnetic fields up to 1,000 gauss. Outside of this rather limited environment, it didn’t have much consumer appeal until its much later years and final models […]
Fratello
This week’s Top 5 list is a follow-up to last week’s list. You seemed to enjoy the article about some of the stunning, exotic dials that Rolex has used for its flagship model, the Day-Date. This week, we will look at some of the exotic dials that the Genevan brand has used for the Datejust. […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Rolex Datejust Models With Exotic Dials to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
My first Rolex was an Explorer II 216570 with black dial and I absolutely loved that watch. It was rarer than the GMT-Master II or Submariner, and didn’t have the ceramic bezel, which I found to be a little too glossy and “luxe” for what I was looking for in a watch at the time. I kept and wore the heck out of that watch for almost six years until I just felt like it didn’t speak to me anymore. The 42mm wide “Maxi” case seemed too big and the big, thick hour and minutes hands just began to bug me. I can’t explain why I was so dead set on the 216570 rather than the older 16570 at the time but I can certainly say that now, in 2025, the Rolex Explorer II 16570 is not just my preferred iteration of the modern spelunking watch, but an all-timer from Rolex. I’ve started to refer to the 16570 as a “Forever Rolex” because it ticks all the boxes - size, reliability, dual-time functionality, and discrete aesthetics - all while remaining one of the few Rolexes that isn’t immediately recognizable to every casual observer. Let’s take a look at why I’m such a big fan of this old-school Rolex. Case and Specs: The Other Rolex GMT Measuring 40mm wide and 12.2mm thick with a 47mm lug-to-lug height, the 16570 is an eminently wearable Rolex. And while this is very obviously a sport/tool watch, these proportions make for a very versatile and subdued piece. No, there isn’t a rotating bezel with a nickname-ready color combo here. Rather, there is a demure, fixed ...
Revolution
Fratello
It was the Land-Dweller that stole the limelight, and understandably so. After all, it’s not often that The Crown presents an entirely new collection with a groundbreaking movement innovation to boot. I did feel sorry for the other novelties, though. The pastel-tinted Oyster Perpetual watches were quite lovely, for instance, but they got trampled on […] Visit Debuted But Not Debated: The Green Cerachrom Dial In The Left-Handed White Gold Rolex GMT-Master II “Sprite” to read the full article.
Fratello
It’s Sunday morning, and you all know what that means. It’s time for another Sunday Morning Showdown. This week, we paired two legendary chronographs because we found that we hadn’t pitted these particular versions against each other. It’s been roughly a year since Omega released the white-dial Moonwatch, but it feels like it was much […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Vs. Rolex Cosmograph Daytona to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Sotheby’s upcoming Geneva auction that takes place on May 11 is a relatively compact affair. But the 124 lots includes notable highlights, with the top lot of the sale being the especially unique Rolex Daytona “Zenith” ref. 16516 in platinum with a pink mother-of-pearl dial. This watch is one of just four Daytonas combining the El Primero movement and platinum case – the only platinum specimens in the 16500-series Daytona – all of which were made at the behest of former Rolex chief executive Patrick Heiniger in 1999. Famous for being powered by the cal. 4030 derived from the Zenith El Primero, the 16500-series was the first-ever self-winding Daytona. The model was never commercially available in platinum; the four examples in platinum are truly unique. Moreover, each of the four are one-of-a-kind, each fitted with a different dial in exotic materials. Sotheby’s sold the prior three examples, starting with black mother-of-pearl in 2018, lapis lazuli in 2020, and turquoise in 2021. While those three featured applied Arabic numbers, this example has diamond hour markers. Initial thoughts The unique nature of this Daytona is unquestionable. Amongst automatic Daytonas this ranks amongst the rarest and most valuable. Two of its platinum siblings sold for over US$3 million each, making them the priciest modern-day Daytonas. Of the four platinum Daytonas, however, this example is the most paradoxical. It’s the most unusual in having diamond indices, but also the most...
Fratello
The Rolex Day-Date has long been the brand’s flagship model. We sometimes forget that fact due to all the new Rolex releases every year. We usually only see new dial variations for the Day-Date. But that makes sense; after all, why drastically change something if it’s already so good? This is why we decided to […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Rolex Day-Date Models With Exotic Dials to read the full article.
![Auctions: Three Seriously Collectable Watches Are Coming To Auction For The First Time [Rolex Daytona 'Le Mans', Simon Brette Chronomètre Artisans, And A Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing]](https://hodinkee.imgix.net/uploads/images/5098071b-e047-4224-baf3-09dd9b11dece/rolex-lemans-daytona-hero.jpg?ixlib=rails-1.1.0&fm=jpg&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&w=1200&h=630&fit=crop)
Hodinkee
A duo of upcoming sales sets the stage for a trio of decidedly modern, in-demand models that collectors will be sure to follow.
Monochrome
With all attention focused on Watches & Wonders Geneva 2025 last month (one of the most important industry events of the year), it’s important to remember that some very interesting events also take place in the United States, such as Windup Watch Fair and WatchTime New York. You won’t see the likes of Rolex or […]
Quill & Pad
Rolex Submariner or GMT Master II? This is not an easy question and veryone will have their own opinion on which of these two iconic watches is their favorite. Many considering owning a Rolex will start with these two models. Raman Kalra tries to pick his favorite.
Fratello
Another Friday, another list! This week, we compiled a list of our favorite vintage Rolex Submariner models. While classic Rolexes are always a topic of discussion, recently Submariners and GMT-Masters have been discussed quite a bit in the Fratello offices. It is no coincidence because Robert-Jan recently added a vintage GMT-Master to his collection, and […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Vintage And Neo Vintage Rolex Submariner Models to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
When Rolex introduced its Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller watch at Watches & Wonders 2025, some longtime fans of the brand experienced a bit of déja vu for a Rolex watch - and a Rolex era - that have been largely consigned to the mists of history. Why? Because the Land-Dweller's angular case and integrated-bracelet design reminded many enthusiasts of the Oysterquartz models introduced during the early heyday of quartz watches in the 1970s. That's correct: once upon a time, Rolex, one of the undisputed champions of luxury watches with mechanical movements, jumped on board the Quartz Revolution bandwagon and not only produced its own in-house quartz calibers but marketed the watches that housed them as the pinnacle of the Crown's timepiece portfolio at the time. Here is everything you need to know about the Rolex Oysterquartz and its quirky but significant place in horological history. Rolex Oysterquartz: The Early Days Of Electric Watches The wristwatch industry, like any other industry, is uber-competitive and every watchmaker wants to be the first to market with The Next Big Thing. In the 1950s and into the ‘60s, that Next Big Thing was a watch that could be powered by electricity. American companies like Hamilton, with the Ventura, and Bulova, with the Accutron, were among the pioneers, even though the movements that resulted from these early efforts proved to have difficulty maintaining reliability in mass production. The Japanese, particularly Seiko, took a diff...
Fratello
Regardless of your opinion on the brand, there’s bound to be a Rolex out there for just about anyone. The brand’s back catalog is vast and full of brilliant references. On today’s episode of Fratello Talks, we’re each picking three of our all-time favorites. Nacho, Thomas, and Lex have done some research, but little to no […] Visit Fratello Talks: Our Favorite Rolex Watches Of All Time to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
The good news is that if you’re in the market for a pre-owned watch from a manufacturer that’s not Rolex, Patek, or AP, you’re probably getting a better deal today than at any point in the past five years.
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