TROPICAL BREEZE
As summertime comes around, we’re all yearning more and more for vacations, day-dreaming more and more about stretches of sand and lush palm trees exquisitely embodied by these three new models unveiled by the crown-logoed brand.
An invitation to bask on a white sandy beach, feet splashing in turquoise water or perhaps a sweeping, pressing need to get away from it all after a year and a half spent in a health crisis. Whatever the reason, the impact can be felt: Rolex’s new Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36, showcased during the first-ever 100% digital edition of Watches and Wonders, really does our morale the world of good and is a feast for the eyes with its dial which whisks us off to “tropical” scenescapes. Although the model is proposed in several colors (silvered gray and golden yellow), it’s the olive green version, without a doubt, that’s the most breathtaking.
In a nutshell, this Rolex’s face is decorated with a palm tree pattern, i.e. a lush green décor comprising interlacing pinnately-lobed leaves, laser-sculpted on a sunburst disc. The applique hour indexes and the trio of baton-style hands, all adorned with white gold enhanced with intense, long-lasting Chromalight luminescent material and fringed by a fine minute tracker, merge into this miniature jungle. Datejust oblige, the aperture boasting the black date on a white backdrop at 3 o’clock is topped with the well-known Cyclops lens, directly integrated in the sapphire crystal, magnifying the display 2.5 times.
The 36 mm-diameter Oystersteel case, crowned with a smooth or fluted bezel depending on the version, hosts the automatic 3235 caliber, a selfwinding movement which delivers a power reserve of 70 hours once fully wound.
The watch is worn on an Oyster bracelet with three rows of links for the steel and Rolesor models, and on a Jubilee one with five rows of links for the Everose variation, attached by a secure Oysterclap clasp.
Price: CHF6,700 (Oystersteel) – CHF10,500 (yellow Rolesor) – CHF11,400 (Oystersteel and Everose)
By Sharmila Bertin