How the year 2020 turned out to be one heck of a year for everybody remains amazing. In a lot of ways, we all felt the effects of the dramatic turns and challenges of that year. Interestingly, the global pandemic seems to be one surefire catalyst for change especially for the Rolex brand. It was a new decade for Rolex watches.
For Rolex, this new decade for Rolex watches witnessed both the discontinued watches and the newcomers. The brand introduced completely modern watch designs. The kind we never anticipated from them.
Even though these times were clearly unusual times, Rolex discontinued pieces were not entirely unusual. Rolex has discontinued timepieces nearly every year. The brand sometimes does this boldly and to the huge displeasure of watch lovers. While in other situations, specific models just subtly leave the scene. For these ones, we often don’t even realize they are gone.
A New Decade For Rolex Watches: The Discontinued
It is not a new development that Rolex doesn’t cater to the needs of their buyers. This is one brand that will do what they want and whatever they deem to be best at that point. That for all of us Rolex fans out there means we get what we get. Well, we also do not care so much about that.
Over time, this strategy helped the brand greatly for over a century. Presently, even as they do not bother about our needs, they are still slightly predictable. Actually, that is if you take the time to pay the slightest attention and how much experience you have.
At least, there are three Rolex timepieces that became or will become discontinued versions in 2021. This is first an “insider” perception. Then it combines with recalling tiny details on the Rolex website. This details might be:
- The timepiece which images the brand choose as featured images
- The timepieces they show often on Instagram
These are not all. There are other clever tiny details. All these serve as pointers from which you can be sure what the brand is up to. For now, check out these three discontinued timepieces.
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The Departure Of Leather Strap Options
Presently, you can no longer find alligator or leather strap options on any of these Rolex watches.
- The Sky-Dweller
- The Day-Dates
- The DateJust
In clear fact, there are no leather strap options at all for any Rolex timepiece except from the Rolex Cellini.
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The Rolex Yacht-Master 40mm In Steel
Rolex enthusiasts had the hunch that the Rolex Yacht-Master 40mm in Oyster Steel will become a discontinued piece in 2021. At that point, it felt random. Yet, it still made a lot of sense when you consider it very closely.
To begin with, in 2019, the Yacht-Master in Steel got itself a new movement, the caliber 3235. Yet, surprisingly this isn’t even spoken of at the 2019 Baselworld fair. Plus, there was very limited press attention, promotion or acknowledgement of that addition. Enough to say that the timepiece would be a discontinued piece. Now, the new decade of Rolex watches just affirmed that suspicion.
More so, the price tag of $12,000 is just unusual. For instance, try comparing the ref. 116610LN Submariner Date and the ref. 126622 Yacht-Master 40. You will discover several resemblances. The only difference is in the price which comes in at about $3,000-$4,000 more than the Submariner date.
This will leave buyers wondering what earns the Yacht-Master a higher cost that much than the Submariner. Well, the Yacht-Master might offer some platinum which provides it that status of luxury. And, it is in some ways narrowly more of a dress watch than the Submariner. Regardless, what makes it worth that additional $3,000-$4,000 is very debatable.
We believe that with this new decade for Rolex watches, the brand has a plan for this timepiece. For us, that plan might be to boost the Yacht-Master again to its initial status of luxury. That way, the emphasis will be on making the most of extra precious metals. The brand will also wish to continue with the larger, yacht-sized case measurements. Certainly, that will be worth a higher price.
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The Candy-Colored Oyster Perpetual Line
Before we proceed, take a moment to consider this. Is there any justification for Rolex to discontinue something that is brand-new? Why would the brand discontinue a greatly flourishing timepiece?
Well, these reasons only point to the fact that Rolex doesn’t care about these sorts of considerations.
For the Oyster Perpetual candy-colored collection as a discontinued timepiece, we saw certain signals. First off, the brilliant colors are truly lovely. Yet, they are not just on brand with Rolex. Well, these timepieces scream “limited edition” all through.
And for Rolex, this is something the brand loves to do without ever dubbing it outright as a “limited edition.” The Rolex brand prefers having their timepieces in high demand with extensive wait lists. That is one way to keep the passion and desire thriving. Truly, imagine this case where everyone could get one of these timepieces. Then, nobody would still want one.
Furthermore, there is another pointer to this discontinued timepiece. That is their advertising. As soon as the Oyster Perpetual line got released, Rolex barely advertised these bright colors. The brand did not even recognize their presence.
Rolex had an intense emphasis on the Champagne, Silver dials as well as the black dials. However, they virtually never exhibited the colorful dials even with its vast popularity.
Again, we understand that Rolex doesn’t bother about the popularity of any timepiece at all. The brand retains the focus on quality watches to make watch lovers tell the time grandly.
A New Decade For Rolex Watches: The Newcomers
The biggest of these newcomers is the strong and efficient new Oyster Perpetual collection.
The colorful candy colors nearly seem unlike the trend you expect from Rolex. We can draw an analogy with when the queen of England dons a neon yellow outfit. Then, she stands against the background of the historically rooted and very grand and neutral painted Royal Palace.
Then, the question came to the queen as to why she always rocks these bright colors. In her defence, she stated that she wishes and needs to be recognized by the general public. Whenever she finds herself in that sea of thousands of spectators, she wants everyone there to say, “I saw the Queen!”
Maybe Rolex has this same feeling. For them, they know it is a sea of several incredible timepieces. And in that sea of watches, they wish to stand out and be a distinguished brand. And similar to what the Queen has, Rolex will enjoy that privilege. After all, Rolex is also a royalty in the world of wristwatches.
Their royalty is no doubt. Remember that this watchmaking brand carries the tag of “The Crown.” The Rolex brand really makes that audacious move with their recent OP collection.
Consider this well-known quote from the Queen. She says, “I have to be seen to be believed.” Compare this with the new OP collection. There is no difference at all.
Moreover, these new Rolex watches are tougher to get compared to the Submariners. As expected, the waitlists are even longer than the rest. Presently, this is the most distinguished and highly sought-after Rolex collection available out there. For watch lovers that do have these timepieces, they explain that you have to see these watches to believe the real color of their dials.
The Rolex Newcomers: The Oyster Perpetual Collection Varieties
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual collection now comes in a vast assortment of 9 varied dial colorations. In addition, it varies in sizes. There is a delicate 28mm and more others up to a huge 41mm size.
However, there is the fact that the ever-famous 39mm size is no longer a part of the collection. As a result, Rolex timepieces in that size are much more costly when you want to get them on the second-hand market.
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Dial Colors
The dial color options presented by this stainless steel watch include:
- Coral red
- Yellow which is more mustard-like
- A kelly green
- Bright navy blue
- Turquoise blue
- A double shade of pink which includes a regular pink and candy pink.
For more conservative watch lovers, a classic silver or champagne, and black will be perfect. When you rock this timepiece at night, it lights up the whole place. This is thanks to Rolex’s brilliant blue Chromalight lume. This lume comes together with the hands and hour markers on the dial.
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Bracelet
Moreover, we recently discovered a fun fact that the stainless steel bracelet on the latest Oyster Perpetual 41. The timepiece appears to have the exact bracelet connection the Datejust 41 features. In a way, this is a cool discovery. It probably suggests that the bracelets are switchable. Simply ensure you make use of the right tool kit.
When you check on Instagram, you will see a few persons sporting this timepiece on a jubilee bracelet. With the jubilee bracelet, the watch seems even more fierce and flamboyant.
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Indices
The double-indices featured on varieties of this timepiece appear at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock markers. These indices are essential aspects of this structure as well. It is interesting to note that there is only one size made without a double indice. This size is the 34mm size featured in the Ref 124200.
This variation is available in just 4 colors. They are:
- Pink
- Black
- Silver
- Dark blue.
Furthermore, this iteration again features sneaky tiny roman figures where the other iterations have none. Why did Rolex make the dial on this size a tad different than the rest? We cannot say at this point. Yet, it is a noticeable difference.
Conclusively, it is crucial to point out that you cannot get all the colors in every size. You can only get all the 9 colors with the 31mm size.
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Movement
Alongside this new introduction, Rolex again launched a new in-house movement. This is the Calibre 3230 which comes in the 36 and 41mm varieties of this timepiece. This movement is the same ever-remarkable movement that is present in the recent 41mm Submariner time-only wristwatch.
The timepiece features a patented chronergy escapement. This is an automatic and self-winding movement as well. In addition, it comes suited with a paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring. This movement is better absorbent to shock. This is thanks to its built in Paraflex shock absorbers. More so, the timepiece parades a wonderful 70 hour power reserve.
Alt-Image: Rolex discontinued and newcomers
Likewise, the smaller versions of the timepiece comprise an outstanding movement in the Caliber 2232. Hence, the biggest distinction is a Syloxi hairspring rather than a Parachrom. All the Oyster Perpetual timepieces are water resistant to as far as 330 feet.
Considering the price point it comes in, it is between $5,100 to $5,900. We can say then that the timepieces are entry level pricing for Rolex. Hence, they are more affordable compared to some of the other timepieces in the line.
Conclusion
For Rolex as a watchmaker, it is beyond producing timepieces for sale. This is one message the brand continues to express with their products. Year after year, the brand keeps introducing fresh timepieces and takes out the ones deemed to be irrelevant.
It is a new decade for Rolex watches. And with a new decade for Rolex watches comes a number of discontinued timepieces. A new decade for Rolex watches likewise brings along with it newcomers.
We introduced a major one amongst the newcomers. In addition, we provided details on the discontinued timepieces and features.
All of these details get you furnished with enough knowledge of the Rolex watchmaking brand. Why did Rolex create a new Oyster Perpetual line? Why did the brand get rid of most of its leather strap options? Why is the Yachtmaster 41 model discontinued? All of these follow a new decade for Rolex watches.
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