💎 Luxury: Rolex reminds you that you're poor

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🗺️ From Sea-Dweller, to Sky-Dweller, and now Land-Dweller

April is a great month. It starts with April Fool’s Day (a frivolously ridiculous thing to celebrate amidst all the doom and gloom) and launches into Watches and Wonders, the quintessential watch event of the year. Held in Geneva, Switzerland in the first-or-second week of April, this brand new event (launched in 2022) has become the pre-eminent horological trade show where watchmakers often announce their latest and greatest watches for the year, often providing their horological direction for the rest of the year, if not longer.

And while most announcements are usually novelties (limited edition watches that are ludicrously expensive), many do share brand new continuous production watches that aren’t too expensive and can be bought at any time.

Rolex, which is a name you’ve definitely heard of, is actually quite a conservative company when it comes to announcing new or cutting-edge watches. Why? Because they can afford to be so. They dominate the luxury watch space, both commercially and culturally, so it’s in their interest not to do anything too drastic. This year however, they launched the brand new Land-Dweller collection (to round out their existing Sea-Dweller and Sky-Dweller collections), their biggest new launch in decades.

In this issue of Signpost, we look at how the launch was covered by influential European watch news media, Fratello, out of The Hague in The Netherlands, alongside arguably the most influential watch news media in the world, Hodinkee, which is based in New York City in the U.S.

FRATELLO: Introducing: The Rolex Land-Dweller Collection [link]

📢 What Fratello is saying
Fratello’s in-depth look at the new Land-Dweller collection from Rolex is punctuated with some personal thoughts by the writer, giving their (albeit brief) opinion on the collection. This is also supported by a quick history of the legacy of the watch, and an analysis of what this launch means for Rolex.

1. 📸 Visuals

There are 11 (count ‘em) visuals in this article, and I will not be reproducing all of them here. Nine of the visuals look like they are taken from the press release of the announcement, while the remaining two images show older Rolexes in the section of the article that gives a brief history of the product.

Starting at the top, we have a wide image of the new watch, against a background that is heavily edited and designed. To the left of the watch is a stylised skyline of an unknown, generic city. To the right of the watch is the silhouette of a mountain range, again unspecified.

The watch itself is floating ominously in the sky, which looks like dawn. There is the hint of a rising sun in the background towards the left of the watch. This specific watch is the stainless steel version with a white dial.

Further down are two images of older Rolexes, and both are wrist shots. The first one is a silvery dial Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date from 1975, also called the Rolex 1530, and is shown upside down on what I presume is a woman’s wrist. The second is a black dialled Rolex Oysterquartz Datejust from 1977 on what I can safely assume is a man’s hairy wrist. Both are presented as precursors to the new Land-Dweller collection.

Beyond this are various shots, presumably from the press release, of the new watch, with different focuses, including the watch dial, bracelet, profiles of the watches in the various materials its available in, and the movement (the inside bit that actually makes the watch work).

2. ✍🏽 Words

The title is clear in it’s explanation of this being a new watch collection. The first word is ‘introducing’. The subheading calls attention to the fact that this is significant for two reasons, one that it’s a long time coming (‘better late than never’), and two that this is an ‘integrated-bracelet model’ (a watch where you cannot change or swap out the bracelet with another) with a watch movement on the inside that is ‘fabulous’.

The article proper starts with reminding readers that this new launch was already leaked via social media, with 2025 being ‘the second year in a row’ that this has happened with Rolex’s launch. And just to reiterate how important this launch is, the first paragraph ends with the claim that the ‘largest brand’ has now launched their ‘first integrated-bracelet model since 2003’, a first in 22 years.

The article spends the next few paragraphs setting the context and explaining some of the history that predates this new collection, including outlining older models from which this new model takes its design cues (‘references 1530 and 1630’), along with a brief history of the most famous quartz watch that Rolex made, ‘the Oysterquartz of 1977’.

After this, the article dives deep into the new watch, including outlining the specs, details on the design and material options (stainless steel, precious metals), before briefly mentioning a personal opinion — the writer isn’t a big fan of the new design. Specifically, he mentions that ‘the Arabic numerals look too large’ and ‘the hands are bulky and a tad clumsy’, though the watch claws some admiration back due to the design of the seconds hand. Tellingly, the writer does mention that he will ‘withhold final judgment about the dials until I see the watches later today’.

A very technical section on the watch movement follows, leading into the pricing of the watch, and a last paragraph reflecting on the ‘significance of the Land-Dweller’ — ‘it’s massive’, primarily because ‘whenever Rolex releases a new line of watches, it’s a big deal’.

❓ What it means
Rolex announcing a new watch is news. In fact, Rolex doing anything is news. However, the article does not overtly worship at the pew of Rolex. There is a lot of detail (re: the entire technical explanation of how the new movement works which I did not fully grasp) and context setting for the new watch, however opinions are offered very minimally. Regardless of the significance of this launch, there is no real intimation of what this means for the Swiss luxury watch industry, or the entire watch industry, if it indeed means anything meaningful at all outside of there being a new Rolex for people to buy.

Big news for Rolex yes. Outside of that though?

⚠️ Why it matters
One of the more intriguing realities of the watch media industry is that most, if not all, watch news media are owned by, or are associated in some capacity with, watch retailers. Fratello (which incidentally means ‘brother’ in Italian, which is a direct translation of the Dutch name of the founder of the company) is part of Chrono24, the largest grey market online ecommerce platform in the world for watches, based out of Germany.

This means that it’s very rare, if ever, that watch news media will have a very strong negative opinion or perspective on a watch, especially one from a brand like Rolex. That itself has led to a watch media industry that has mostly bypassed the whole ‘hot takes’ currency of virality, especially because most of these media platforms were started by, and are run by, watch fans. The watches being written about will eventually be sold on their platform, or via their sister companies. It’s in their interest to maintain strong ties with the watchmakers.

HODINKEE: Introducing The Rolex Land-Dweller, Featuring Caliber 7135 — Rolex’s Most Important New Model In Decades [link]

📢 What Hodinkee is saying
Hodinkee spills a lot more ink in discussing the new watch, with easily more than half the article dedicated to the new watch movement that Rolex has launched with this watch. Significantly, there is a hagiographic portrayal of the watch and Rolex in general in this article.

1. 📸 Visuals

Like Fratello, several visuals adorn this article, much like the bejewelled movement inside the watch. If you thought 11 in one article was too much, Hodinkee’s article has 17 (!) visuals in different formats.

The top of the article has a similar visual as that in Fratello, except this one shows all three variants of the new Land-Dweller watches. Further down are some photos of the older watches that the new watch is perceived to be based on. However, there are six visuals dedicated to explaining how the movement inside the watch works.

First is a moving image (gif?) that shows how the various different components inside the watch move for it to work. Below that is a diagrammatic visual of one of the components from Rolex. Below that is another gif that explains how the watch movement of a competitor, Omega, works, followed by an image of another watch brand, the Ulysse Nardin Freak from 2001. Continuing on this journey of showcasing rival brands, the article also includes a gif of the movement from within a Girard-Perregaux, followed by the blueprint-like diagram of the new movement from Rolex. This is then supported by a gif of the new Rolex watch movement, along with the image of the movement from another Rolex model, the dressy 1908.

Peppered between these visuals of the new watch presumably taken from the official Rolex press release.

2. ✍🏽 Words

This is significantly longer article than the one in Fratello, which was already extensive enough. So let’s look at why this is so much longer, and what other differences exist between the two.

Most significantly, more than half the article is dedicated to setting context and detailing the new watch movement that Rolex has launched with this new watch, the Caliber 7135 featuring the Dynapulse escapement. Read this section at your own peril because I do not fully understand all the minor details, historical events, and technical significance thoroughly identified in the article. The article also sets context by explaining how this movement works in comparison with other Rolexes, and other brands. This is punctuated by diagrams and gifs aplenty to help the reader visualise what exactly is being discussed.

Having made all this effort, the content is still very technical and very in-the-weeds, appealing only to the most die-hard of watch fiends.

As commendable as that effort is, the rest of the article spends a lot of time highlighting how this watch is ‘game-changing’ and how Rolex has ‘ushered in a new era of watchmaking’ in it’s ‘ongoing quest for precision’. The end of the article outlines the story in the following way — ‘Omega markets the co-axial as “the first practical new mechanical watch escapement in 250 years.” The Dynapulse could be touted similarly.’

The last two paragraphs drive this point home, with the the article referring to the thinness of the new watch as a ‘watchmaking flex’, and finally landing on how ‘one of the world’s best independent watchmakers’, Rexhep Rexhepi, ‘wants to own one'.

❓ What it means
While Fratello was fairly even-handed (and in hindsight, brief) in its coverage, Hodinkee pulled out all the stops, suckling directly from Rolex’s teat. There is no attempt at being balanced or sober in this reporting. It’s very clear that Hodinkee is borderline hysterical about the new Rolex.

Their usage of phrases like ‘game-changing’, ‘most important new model in decades’, and ‘new era of watchmaking’ speak to this quite pronouncedly. Despite the almost savant-like detailing on the new watch movement in the article, there should be no doubt in your mind as to which side of the fence Hodinkee sits on.

⚠️ Why it matters
Just like how Fratello is connected to Chrono24, Hodinkee (which is a variation in spelling of the Czech and Slovak word for wristwatch, “hodinky”) was recently acquired by British watch retailer Watches of Switzerland Group (they have physical watch stores around the world) from LVMH. And while I couldn’t find any information about how much, it’s safe to say that they sell a lot of Rolexes globally, and are hoping to sell a whole lot more of these new models.

WHAT’S GOING ON? 

🕰️ I got the no Rollie on my arm

Apple and Rolex occupy some rarefied atmosphere. Both are commercially the biggest players in their field. Both are not part of any bigger conglomerate. Both price their products more than their competitors, and still consistently outsell them while making high profits. Despite several cheaper (and some would argue, more technically cutting-edge) products being available, people still see owning an iPhone and Rolex as a desirable social status.

And let’s not forget that you don’t have to be a tech-person to recognise Apple or even understand their branding. Similarly, you don’t have to be a watch-person to recognise Rolex and understand what it means. Rolex commands 30% of the Swiss luxury watch market as per best estimates. The next biggest slice of the pie is Cartier at 7.5%. Sales of Rolex is expected to have crossed US$11.2B in 2023. That same year they bought Bucherer, one of the oldest and largest watch retailers in the world with over 100 stores worldwide.

And yet, have you ever tried to buy a Rolex? Try going up to any Rolex store anywhere in the world and look at the watches in the shop windows. They will all say ‘for display purposes only’. Try talking to a salesperson inside. They will never have inventory, or at least the inventory you want. You’ll be put on a waitlist, which could stretch into months, if not years. The only way to get your dream Rolex quicker is to buy other watches, to prove to the salesperson you’re a serious buyer.

Despite these frankly ridiculous hoops, customers line up around the block to buy a Rolex; they wear their Rolexes on their most important moments, and they pay the nose-bleed Rolex tax. Rolex is arguably the only watch brand that goes up in value after you leave the store, and was responsible for the eye-wateringly high prices being paid on the grey/secondary market from 2021 to 2023.

The watch news media know this, and to some extent have been instrumental in building the hype that is the brand and the products in their stable. Specifically because most, if not all watch news media have a watch shop arm that pays the bills. Which is in itself a reflection of the current media landscape.

And now we have a brand new collection. Will watch buyers finally be able to buy a Rolex without having to prove their worthiness to the great coronet in the sky? Will there finally be enough Rolex inventory for the market? Or will this be just the latest saga in the excruciatingly frustrating process known as ‘buying a Rolex’?

The truth, as always, is somewhere in between.
Read widely. Question thoroughly. Decide accordingly.

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ALSO THIS WEEK

• If you can’t afford a Rolex, fret not. The new Nintendo Switch 2 was officially announced this week. Launch day is 5th June, and it’s priced at US$449.99.

Was this forwarded to you? Signpost is a free weekly newsletter analysing what the media says, what it means, and why it matters. It’s free to subscribe. Alternatively, you can add me on LinkedIn.