How Rolex Disappointed Everyone Once Again

In today’s episode, Michael and Christian discuss Rolex’s joke of an Explorer II release.

April 13, 2021

Today, Christian and Michael dive into some of the Rolex (and other) releases from Watches and Wonders 2021!

First up, we have the Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921, an update to their classic model in a new 36.5mm diameter. It’s a beautiful watch in a few different metals and it comes with an incredible dial. From there we move into A. Lange & Sohne’s new Triple Split chronograph in pink gold with a blue dial and strap. It’s one of my personal favorite color combinations, and offers something a bit different for the line. But what it, and the Triple Split on the whole, represents is the kind of gigantic middle finger to the rest of the luxury watch industry that Lange, intentionally or otherwise, extends when they outproduce everyone else. And boy do they ever.

Now onto NOMOS, who while still German have produced something significantly downstream from the Lange, and that’s the new Tangente Update with a lumed date function and blue dial. It’s a wild, beautiful, kind of insane watch that has more cool cred going for it than it knows what to do with. Like Michael points out, though, the hands don’t appear to be lumed, which can certainly cause some confusion, but to Christian’s credit, it might also kill the aesthetic of the watch if they were traditionally lumed.

Finally, we get into Rolex. Their first release, and perhaps the least controversial aside from the standard Explorer I in 36mm, is the Sky-Dweller on a Jubilee bracelet. Michael loves it, and sees it as perhaps the easiest way to get a busy looking Rolex before heading down the road of diamonds, but Christian is less than impressed because he feels like it takes too much from the dial. Then we get the two-tone Explorer I which is, arguably, the most controversial release. A lot of the response to this watch has been inherently negative, with people criticizing the conflicting nature of gold on an explorer’s watch, but what about the gold Submariner? Is that not equally oxymoronic and yet totally accepted? It may take some adjusting, but this one is going places (just, maybe not the top of Everest anymore). Then we have the meteorite dial Daytona models, which Michael is indifferent about and Christian hates. Nuff said.

And of course, what would this conversation be without talking about the “new” Explorer II released for the 50th anniversary of the model. What a total letdown. There really isn’t that much to be said about the watch since, in reality, they didn’t do much to the watch. The lugs look slimmer, it’s gotten a new movement, and that’s basically it. And since Rolex celebrates every 50th anniversary with the color green…where’s the green??? And of course, we’d be remiss without discussing the new Datejust dials, including an incredibly unique textured dial in blue and gold, and the leaf print dial in green.