Results for Rolex

In-Depth: Curiosity And The Crown - The Why Of The Rolex 8171

The 8171, one of Rolex's most complicated and strange creations, has become a cornerstone of collecting and community building – almost in spite of itself.

Pre-Owned Picks: A Shining Rolex Cellini, A White Dial Tudor Black Bay GMT, And A Zenith El Primero 'Poker Chip'

Plus, a Bulgari Serpenti fit for daily wear, and a quietly classic Spring Drive from Grand Seiko.

Rolex Submariner Guide

Few watches have achieved the worldwide fame and collectibility of the Rolex Submariner, one of the very first purpose-built dive watches and the one that established the formula that so many others still emulate. Nearly every luxury divers’ watch on the market today owes some stylistic debt to the Submariner, which remains to many collectors the gold standard of the category. The Submariner’s association with James Bond, which stems from its being worn by Sean Connery in the iconic movie role, doesn’t hurt its case either. Here’s what you need to know about the Rolex Submariner and why it continues to be an industry trendsetter in the modern day. Origins: The Rolex Oyster Case While most watch historians rightly pinpoint the 1950s as the era that gave rise to the modern, purpose-built diver’s watch, Rolex began paving the way as early as the 1920s. Hans Wilsdorf, who founded Rolex in 1905 and moved its headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland in 1919, was one of the earliest and most prominent proponents of making wristwatches more waterproof. It was a challenge that had plagued watchmakers for years, ever since pocket watches began fading from common usage in favor of the wrist-worn timepieces that gained wide acceptance in the wake of World War I. Wilsdorf’s 1926 invention, the so-called Oyster case, proved to be (no pun intended) a watershed for an evolving industry. Its innovative design combined a threaded, hermetically sealed caseback and a crown that screwe...

Which Rolex Movement Takes the Top Spot? A Watchmaker’s Comparison of Rolex Calibers 3135 and 3235, plus Which is Better? - Reprise

Ask any watchmaker about the Rolex 31 family of calibers and the story will be the same: it has stood the test of time. Ashton Tracy hasn’t met a single watchmaker who doesn’t love working on these workhorse Rolex movements. They are easy to service, keep great time, and stand up to abuse. Put simply: they work. So how does it stand up to big brother, Find out right here!

The Rolex Submariner | A True Dive Watch Icon With Some Faults

Explore our hands-on piece as we discuss the pros and cons of history's most recognizable dive watch with unique insights and detailed photos

Pre-Owned Picks: A Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 'Big Date,' A Rolex GMT 'Root Beer' Ref. 16713 With Extra Patina, And An Omega Speedmaster Mark II 'Racing Dial'

Plus, a modern-day sports watch from Cartier and a touch of California from Panerai.

Interview: Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid Talks Retail and CPO

Very few will have missed the news of Rolex buying Bucherer, and all of the reactions to it. Given the big change this poses to the world of watch retail, when we were recently given the chance to speak with Wilhelm Schmid, chief executive of A. Lange & Söhne, we thought it the perfect opportunity to get his insight on the current retail landscape.  We sat down with the seasoned leader – now the longest-serving brand boss in Richemont – at this year’s Concours of Elegance, the classic car show at Hampton Court Palace, surrounded by the sounds of vintage V8s revving in the distance. Now that the world has exited the pandemic for good, the way we shop seems to be going back to normal and the shifts that brands made during those turbulent years are either being undone or slowly wound down in the hope that customers are willing to go back to the old ways of doing things and getting out to physical stores. Mr Schmid is certainly of the mindset that a face-to-face connection is the only way to sell one of their watches, as we discovered in our discussion below.  Not only did we talk about how the German brand plans to change their retail strategy moving forward, we also queried him on the Bucherer takeover and how Lange is adapting the to rising tide of brands developing certified pre-owned (CPO) offerings.  The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.  Wilhelm Schmid (left) with the best-in-show winner at the Concours of Elegance 2023 RPS: Perhaps...

Watch Spotting: Tom Brady Returns To New England Wearing A Gold Rolex Daytona 'John Player Special'

Football is back, and Brady kicks off the season with an absolutely classic vintage Daytona.

Watch Spotting: Coco Gauff Wearing A Rolex Oyster Perpetual After Winning The 2023 U.S. Open

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic goes big and bright for his 24th Grand Slam singles title.

Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec GMT Chronograph: It Features the Combined Functionality of the Rolex Daytona & GMT in a Single Chronograph

Quentin R. Bufogle loves being wrong. Especially about watches.He loves it when his snobbery, short-sightedness and completely unsupported preconceived notions are suddenly imploded by a brand or a particular piece he only thought he knew. As was the case with the Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec GMT Chronograph.

Is Silicon Here to Stay in (Rolex) Watch Movements? - Reprise

Hairsprings are miniscule. Generally no more than one centimeter in overall diameter when coiled, they are roughly 50 microns thick and 150 microns wide. Tiny they may be, but insignificant they are not. In fact, they are so significant that Rolex refers to them as “the guardians of time.” But what do silicon hairsprings bring to the table? Watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains why he went from skeptic to fan.

Pre-Owned Picks: A Transitional Near-Modern Rolex Daytona, An Omega That Puts Snoopy In Space, And A Stainless-Steel Annual Calendar From Patek Philippe

Plus, a stand-out Grand Seiko Sport and a lesson in restraint from Jaquet-Droz.

My Grandpa’s Casio

Watches are funny little things, aren’t they? These wonderful relics of artful ingenuity remain with us for decades, reminding us of where we’ve been, and who we’ve been there with. Many of you all, I’m sure, have a watch that once belonged to a loved one. Your pops’ Rolex; your grandparents’ pocket watch. You treasure it-it either adorns your wrist every day, or it sits in a protective box on display or tucked away. Wherever it is, I want you to get it. I want you to hold it in your hand right now; and if not a watch, hold that thing that remains from a loved one lost. You got it? Good. Please keep it in hand while I tell you about my grandpa (Frank Lavista) and the Casio he left behind.  About a year and a half after my grandpa passed I was sitting with my grandma, sipping espresso and groaning my way through an episode of Days of Our Lives. When, at 2pm, I heard a little wristwatch alarm from her bedroom. I’d heard it a few times before and paid it no mind, as after a minute it stopped beeping anyway. But today I wanted to know why my grandma had a watch alarm going off everyday. She said, “it’s grandpa’s watch,” as if he were still here. “You can have it if you want,” snapping the reality back. I went into her bedroom, and saw the Casio W96H-1BV sitting atop the dresser. A practical watch for a practical, and stingy, person.  My grandpa rarely splurged, and never bothered with little inconveniences like changing watch batteries. When the b...

Pre-Owned Picks: An Anniversary Rolex Daytona In Platinum, A Tropical Omega Speedmaster Pro, And A Special Harrods Black Bay From Tudor

Plus a 43mm IWC Big Pilot in green and a TAG Heuer Autavia reissued for a legendary racecar driver.

Rolex acquires Bucherer: What does this mean for everyone in the watch industry?

Watches, Stories, & Gear: Rolex Acquires Legacy Retailer Bucherer, India’s Historic Moon Landing, and the New Observer Collection O.C’s

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear. Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing tcalara@wornandwound.com Header Image Via: Rolex The Crown Expands Their Empire Via Siam Swiss In somewhat stunning watch industry news this week, Rolex announced they have acquired the enduring retailer, Bucherer. Both Swiss companies have been closely working together for nearly 100 years, as Bucherer retailers have served as authorized dealers for Rolex and their sibling brand Tudor. Considering the behemoth that Rolex is, it’s safe to say that the average watch enthusiast has a fair understanding of how The Crown operates. Bucherer however, has a tendency to move in relative silence, so here’s a bit of background. Bucherer is based in Lucerne, Switzerland but has a network of retail stores that span worldwide. They only furthered their reach when in 2018, the Bucherer Group acquired Tourneau, a fellow retailer with rich heritage rooted in the United States. But that’s not all. Bucherer has also built a catalog of in-house brands including their very own line of watches, Carl F. Bucherer. According to Rolex, the opportunity to acquire such a prestigious name came when Jorg Bucherer, the senior lea...

A Week On The Wrist: The 2022 Rolex Air-King Ref. 126900

It has an odd history, but it's probably my favorite modern Rolex.

AGREE OR DISAGREE: Rolex prices will one day be at or under retail - these were your responses…

At the top of the list of brands associated with the unobtanium phenomenon is Rolex. Yes, other brands have this shared insufferable quality of low access to watches at retail, but, these other brands are independents with much smaller production runs. Rolex makes approximately 800,000 to a million watches annually, yet many consumers leave boutiques … ContinuedThe post AGREE OR DISAGREE: Rolex prices will one day be at or under retail – these were your responses… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Rolex acquires venerated multi-brand retailer Bucherer

As if Rolex needed anymore speculation surrounding the brand, news broke that the Crown has acquired Bucherer – a multi-brand retailer with over 100 locations around the world, 53 of which distribute Rolex watches. But, before we dig into this big international news I first want to discuss something a closer to home. NOW Magazine … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Rolex acquires venerated multi-brand retailer Bucherer appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Rolex Daytona: A Comprehensive Guide to the Iconic Racing Chronograph

The Rolex Daytona is today one of the most coveted and collectible luxury watches in the world, and indisputably a legend among racing-inspired chronograph wristwatches. But it was far from an overnight success. Read on to discover how the Rolex Daytona went from languishing on retailers’ shelves in the early 1960s to inspiring years-long waiting lists and stratospheric auction prices in the 21st Century, and how some racetrack cred and Hollywood star power lent a hand along the way. Since its founding in 1905, Rolex has grown to become the world’s undisputed king of luxury sport watches and one of the most influential innovators in watchmaking history. Rolex inventions like the waterproof Oyster case, the self-winding Perpetual movement, and the user-friendly magnifying Cyclops lens have had widespread influence in the watch industry, and iconic watch models like the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master have become the standards against which others in their category are measured. All that said, Rolex was relatively late to the game when it comes to one of the most popular sport-watch fields: the chronograph. By the early 1950s, the decade in which all three of the aforementioned Rolex models debuted, competitors like Breitling, Longines, and Heuer (today’s TAG Heuer), all of whom had established themselves as specialists in chronographs since before the 20th Century, were dominant in the space. Rolex had dabbled with chronograph models intermittently since 1937, b...

Breaking News: Rolex Acquires Watch Retailer Bucherer

In a surprising move, Rolex has just announced the takeover of Bucherer, the Swiss watch retailer that is the largest seller of Rolex watches worldwide. Long the odd one out amongst luxury watch brands for not having its own retail network – hitherto Rolex owned just one store in Geneva – Rolex now owns the world’s biggest watch retailer outside of China and Hong Kong. Though headquartered in the quaint mountain town of Lucerne, Bucherer is a global giant with 100 points of sale in Europe and the United States, with Rolex and Tudor represented in half of them. A Rolex retailer since 1924, Bucherer boasts annual sales of almost CHF2 billion, with almost two-thirds of that from the sales of Rolex and Tudor watches. As a result, Bucherer is the largest retail partner for Rolex, accounting for almost 10% of Rolex’s estimated CHF10 billion in turnover. It was no coincidence that Bucherer was the first retailer in the world to embark on the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme. Bucherer will remain as an independent business after the takeover, which has to be approved by competition authorities. The terms of the sale were undisclosed. A logical surprise Although the news of the takeover was unexpected, it is a logical progression of events. Established in 1888, Bucherer has been in the hands of its founding family since then, with the company currently led by Jorg G. Bucherer, grandson of founder Carl F. Bucherer. Now almost 90 years old, Mr Bucherer is an industry legen...

BREAKING NEWS: Rolex Acquires Bucherer

Breaking News: Rolex Acquires Storied Retailer Bucherer

In a stunning August surprise, the world's most renowned watch brand buys a historic retailer.

Pre-Owned Picks: A Rolex Submariner ‘Kermit,’ A Blue Dial Omega Seamaster 300, And A Classique Move From Audemars Piguet

Plus a Master Collection model that highlights the best of Longines alongside a deeply limited Japanese-market Zenith El Primero.

MICRO-MONDAYS: The Oceaneva Deep Marine Explorer Pro Diver GMT has a long name, and an impressive spec sheet

When you’re contemplating buying a watch that is so clearly an homage to an established model, you have to be absolutely sure that you’re getting your money’s worth. There’s no shortage of watches which look like a Rolex just to make quick sales, but the Oceaneva Deep Marine Explorer Pro Diver GMT Automatic 1250M is … ContinuedThe post MICRO-MONDAYS: The Oceaneva Deep Marine Explorer Pro Diver GMT has a long name, and an impressive spec sheet appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Watch Complications: A Comprehensive Guide

A watch complication, by definition, is any function offered by a timepiece that is in addition to its primary function of keeping the time. Despite the name, watch complications don't really have to be, well, all that complicated: that date display you glance at before signing a check qualifies as a complication even though it's not nearly as complex and dynamic as, say, the split-seconds chronograph you use to time racing laps or the world-time function you consult before making a call home on an international business trip. Here we run down the major watch complications from the simplest to the most mechanically sophisticated, and provide an example of each. Date Complications: Date Window Probably the most common of “small complications,” this is simply a display of the date via a numbered disk that passes under an aperture in the dial, usually positioned at 3 o’clock, 4:30, or 6 o’clock. Unless the watch is an annual or perpetual calendar, this date will need to be manually adjusted forward at the end of any month shorter than 31 days. Some watches, like the Rolex Submariner, enlarge this display by placing a magnifying lens over the window. Large Date This one also goes by “big date” “grande date,” or “panorama date,’ and is essentially just a larger version of the standard date display, though it usually uses two date disks (one for the tens numeral and the other for the ones) rather than one, and a double window, with each numeral appearing in...

Pre-Owned Picks: A Rolex GMT Master Ref. 16700, An Omega ‘Tintin’ Speedmaster, And An All Black Must de Cartier

Plus an A. Lange & Söhne full of hidden complications and a tribute to the early JLC Reverso.

Just Because: Five Of The Best Buys In Vintage Rolex For $10,000 Or Less (Updated)

In 2012, we recommended our five best buys in vintage Rolex for under $8,000. A decade later, we revisit those picks and make some new ones.

The Fibonacci Sequence Strikes Again! Nomos and Revolution Team Up for the Tangente Neomatik 41 Update “Resilience”

The latest limited edition produced by Wei Koh and our friends at Revolution is a high concept variant of the Nomos Tangente Neomatik 41 Update that uses one of our favorite mathematical principles as a starting point. Longtime readers might recall Blake’s dive into the Rolex Explorer 124270, and pondered what the dimensions of that watch and their relationship to the Golden Ratio meant for comfort on the wrist. The so-called Golden Ratio is derived from dividing each number in the Fibonacci series by its predecessor, and the results, in an almost mystical way, seem to line up with natural phenomenon, like the way leaves, branches, and petals grow in a predictable spiral, and the shape of the shell of a snail. This new watch, dubbed “Resilience,” is so-named because the helix shape, a pattern linked to the Fibonacci sequence, is the symbol for resilience in nature, a concept that Revolution and Nomos were interested in exploring coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Before we get to the watch, a brief refresher/math lesson is required to get everyone up to speed on the Fibonacci numbers. This will be coming from someone with a liberal arts education, so please do feel free to check my work in the comments below, as I just barely passed introductory calculus. The easiest way to understand the Fibonacci sequence is to observe that they’re a set of numbers where the next digit is always the sum of the two digits immediately preceding it. Dividing any two successive F...

Watch Spotting: Tom Brady Wearing The Rolex 'Jigsaw' 'Emoji' Day-Date At A Birmingham City Football Game

Rolex's Emoji watch continues to slowly infiltrate the celebrity buyer market as Brady now spotted second to John Mayer last week.