Editor’s note: This story was updated post-publication to include pricing.
Geneva—Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024 kicked off Tuesday with a dozen new timepieces from what is arguably the world’s most popular watch brand, Rolex.
Among the brand’s introductions, the new Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea is “easily the most noteworthy,” said Bob’s Watches CEO Paul Altieri.
Crafted in 18-karat yellow gold and, weighing more than half a pound, the 2024 Oyster Deepsea is a luxurious update to a model first introduced in 2008.
It is also the heaviest watch in the Rolex catalog, the brand confirmed.
The 44 mm deep-sea divers’ watch is water-resistant to 3,900 meters (12,800 feet) and, as noted on the dial, features the pressure-relieving Ringlock system and helium escape value, which Rolex patented in 1967.
It is outfitted with the caliber 3235 movement, which has a power reserve of about 70 hours.
Altieri noted, “Given that the Deepsea is Rolex’s most capable professional dive watch, everyone assumed that we would see a gold Sea-Dweller long before Rolex would make a precious metal version of the Deepsea … this massive chunk of solid 18-karat yellow gold with its bright blue lacquer dial and matching blue Cerachrom bezel immediately claims the top spot as Rolex’s most luxurious dive watch.”
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Ahead of Watches & Wonders 2024, Altieri said it was rumored Rolex was going to discontinue the red and blue “Pepsi” GMT-Master II and replace it with a new colorway, assumed to be the red and black “Coke.”
Rumors of a Coca-Cola takeover fizzled on Tuesday, however, when neither turned out to be true, though Rolex did introduce a new colorway for the model.
The new GMT-Master II features a black and gray split-color bezel, with a bit of green on the dial.
He said the new watch, “offers the most understated appearance among all of the current-production stainless steel GMT-Master II watches.”
It is available on an Oyster bracelet or a Jubilee bracelet.
In addition to the solid gold Deepsea and the new GMT-Master II, Rolex introduced a platinum watch to “Perpetual 1908,” the line of dress watches it introduced last year, and two new diamond-set Daytonas.
“The appearance of the platinum Ref. 52506 takes the ‘1908’ collection to the next level of exclusivity,” Altieri said.
“Fitted with an ice-blue dial that showcases a radial guilloché pattern across its surface, the new platinum Rolex 1908 offers a classical elegance that we seldom see in Rolex’s modern catalog.”
