Rolex, whose innovations are the most anticipated, once again enchanted its fans with sapphire crystal casebacks and fun dials decorated with new colors and patterns.
Watches and Wonders 2023, which was held at the Palexpo fairground in Geneva, Switzerland and became the largest watch fair in the world, started today and will last until April 2. We can say that the fair, attended by 38 brands last year, surpassed itself with 48 participating brands this year.
Cosmograph Daytona Celebrates 60th Anniversary
The star of Rolex at the fair was undoubtedly the Cosmograph Daytona collection, which celebrated its 60th anniversary. Announced on the first day of the fair, Rolex’s flagship and most popular model, Daytona, was born in 1963. Although it used the famous Valjoux (hand-wound caliber 72 between 1963-1988) and El Primero (1988-2000 automatic) chronograph movements, the first Rolex production caliber 4130, the self-winding chronograph movement, and its derivatives with minor changes began to be used since 2000. After all these years, the movement has been updated for the first time with the Rolex caliber 4143. There are minor cosmetic changes on the case and bezel, which Rolex calls “graphic editing”, but the big thing is that the Daytona with reference number 126500 gets a new movement called caliber 4131 with a 72-hour power reserve. The most surprising development and the sapphire case back of the platinum case Daytona, which is considered a first for Rolex (Naturally, “King is naked” jokes were made among watch lovers).
The Cosmograph Daytona collection consists of 28 different models due to steel, yellow gold, white gold and platinum options and their derivatives, as well as case and dial options.
Perpetual 1908
There was another first at the fair, and a new model family was introduced that pays homage to Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, who started using the Rolex name in 1908. This new watch, named Rolex Perpetual 1908, inherits the aesthetic features of the Oyster Perpetual watches released in 1931, and the innovative watch technology of the brand on the mechanism side. Along with its elegant appearance, the Perpetual 1908 model has both a classic and a contemporary design that is evidently thoughtful.
These simple design codes will not be unfamiliar to watch enthusiasts because they carry the general design aesthetics of brands that have stood for centuries as well as newly launched and well-founded brands. This model, which we can call “pure watch design”, has 3, 9, 12 numbers on its dial and a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock. Under the sapphire crystal case cover, the delicately decorated details of the new caliber 7140 movement, which is expected to receive 5 new patents, can be seen. The new movement has a power reserve of 66 hours and is extremely precise with a deviation of -2/+2 seconds per day.
