Rolex, We Have a Problem
In the words of every 90s sitcom’s child actor, “Here we go again…”
Rolex recently released another Oyster Perpetual Dial, a very bright, very different turn in design and aesthetic: the “bubble” dial. “Well…that’s definitely different,” I considered. And after the ghost of an indignant, monocled man in a top hat stopped gripping my shoulder, it grew on me. But then my other shoulder was clamped down on. “What are the odds that this is another limited edit–oh, yeah, there it goes.”
I’ve written about it before and that probably won't be the end of it: that all watches, both big brand and micro, are designed with someone in mind. And to dismiss them as “not worth it” or calling out their design with anything but respect isn’t helping anyone let alone the person condemning the watch. Simply put, there’s a watch out there for everyone.
That said, I can wonder about other things. So let's start with the design decision a la the new bubble dial. That was a watch made with the word “fun” written on the whiteboard in a room of Rolex HQ during a brainstorm. It's colorful. It's loud. It has an “...effervescent, euphoric design and is the product of artistry and masterful technique”. (“The new Oyster Perpetual - Effervescent excellence”, n.d.) It kind of screams 80s/90s beach party and I’m here for it. It could, indeed, be someone’s GADA. That may have been part of the concept of its design. But what of its intention?
What I mean by intention is what effect the watch brings to the horological world? What drove the brand to release this particular timepiece? What need does it satisfy? Looking at it from over here, it looks like another backyard sparkler; burning bright, hot, and dazzling but gone too soon all the same since they, “...will be produced in very limited quantities and become niche collector’s pieces”. (Khan 2023) But I’m not knocking the design or how popular it will be.
Rolex doesn’t need “hype” in the traditional sense, it doesn’t need traditional marketing strategies. Hell, that's why their Instagram account rarely interacts with anybody, even the comments (which, they don’t really need to but it’d be a nice gesture). And ultimately, it doesn’t need to try as hard to stay relevant. The brand is always going to be at the center of the watch zeitgeist. Yes, I know they aren’t the most horologically advanced brand and so on and so forth but when people think of nice watches, they’ll probably name three or four brands in that breath and Rolex is in it, even if it's at the end of a sigh.
The intention of the bubble dial then couldn’t be a fight for relevancy or to thrust Rolex to the center of the conversation since it's already in it by default. Maybe, maybe its intention was to manufacture another scramble and shuffle for a “rare” exclusive. Just looking at the Oyster Perpetual series in particular, since this is where the bubble dial sits, its last two “batches” of releases were in 2015 and 2020, respectively. (Smith, n.d.) Remember the Rhodium dial? The white dial Rolex? Grape? Those dials are now considered “rare” by definition of scarcity. In fact, the only ones to make it out unscathed and into a modest “continuous production” are the forest green and Tiffany blue dials. Otherwise, there isn’t even a waitlist for the others anymore, they’re just straight up gone. In the space of three years? Five?
The spirit of innovation and change has to move forward for the sake of it but not for the excuse of it. Which leads me to conclude there isn’t just one single answer to the bubble dial’s intention but that it’s intention is married to the concept of exclusivity from its conception: that any potential Rolex coming out that's not in their sportier ranges needs to be highly exclusive, the collector’s collectable, and sought after in a way that is manufactured from the start rather than an effect of time. It's fine to release limited edition timepieces, I’m not trying to dictate how much or at what point there shouldn’t be. There could be an anniversary, a collective cause where from each sale some of the proceeds go to something great, or maybe they’re released for the hell of it. But releasing limited editions for the sake of limited editions, year after year, in the same series where they’re then damn near inaccessible after a week…that's just. Frustratingly hollow.
But before this article turns into clickbait finger pointing, I have to consider that maybe it isn’t all on Rolex. Maybe Rolex is reacting a bit to our desires, our consumerist appetites where we demand more and more and something new year after year. Where even the changing of a bezel color or updating the case size is received with some disappointment from fans for not doing something a little bit more. It's kind of like ordering from the Taco Bell menu these days (Europeans, I’m sorry, you’re just gonna have to trust me on this example): their menu is the same five or six ingredients prepared a different way but every so often they have a limited edition item for about a week and then it's gone til the next year. But for that week everyone who enjoys fast food loses their minds posting about finding it, posting about eating it, then sarcastically or very altruistically posting about how it's gone.
The watch community watches for hints and teasers across social media platforms when a brand whispers about a release. Extensive “What ifs…” and “Could they…'' content is churned out. Then comes the actual release day and it's a race to put out initial thoughts and shots and maybe someone gets to spend a day or two with the release and produces a balanced write up. The community collectively decides if its “hype”. Then comes the waiting list or the knock down, drag out fight to get one in three months. And brands like Rolex are taking notes.
What it boils down to is this: Rolex isn’t all to blame for their limited editions, their waitlists, or their hype. They are responsible for starting it, manufacturing it, and stirring the pot of soup that is our culture. But that was probably built upon market research of us. Us, being the proverbial Indy, willing to go into any temple now matter the danger and come back out (mostly unscathed) with the prize.
But.
It is tiring to watch it happen from the sidelines (I’m not immune to hype, I’m just broke). And it's tiring to watch it again and again every year. How Rolex creates its next wave of limited editions, they go out, they stay out of reach by virtue of them being marketed (and sometimes not marketed that way but it's planned to) as niche and exclusive, and then we rinse all rinse and repeat.
Look at brands like Nomos (shameless shill here!). They release new dial colors for their Club line maybe twice a year and aside from some exclusives in different series’, they keep the color lines open. When they’re released, that's it. A modest campaign letting the community know they have some new options, that the new colors are available, and then they’re back to work. Nomos has the concept and intention of designing good timepieces in different colors that everyone can enjoy and that ethos of their marketability is one of accessibility. There are watches out there for everyone.
Literally.
And maybe that's in part why the first Moonswatch release did so well, in complete contrast to an Oyster Perpetual release. Yes, it was a fun watch. Yes it had different designs. And yes, it was accessible to everyone given its price range. It could also be that, for once, (even if there was a huge line and its one watch per person), in true actuality, that this was a watch that everyone could get. No waiting list. No gray market hunting. No praying to a foreign deity. No limited editions. And yes, the case could be made for the exclusivity of the hunt, that we like being Indy. Which is fine, for some of us, the hunt is the best part. But watching year after year where an increasing amount of Rolex pieces join that manufactured exclusivity lineup and that whole gargantuan steampunk built beast starts up again every season is just…
Exhausting.
References
Khan, Bilal. 2023. “Hands-On: Rolex's “Puzzles & Bubbles” Watches and the Death of Self-Seriousness.” WatchTime. https://www.watchtime.com/featured/hands-on-rolexs-puzzles-bubbles-watches-and-the-death-of-self-seriousness/.
Smith, Emily. n.d. “Complete Guide to the Rolex Oyster Perpetual.” WatchBox. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://www.thewatchbox.com/blog/rolex-oyster-perpetual-guide.html#variations.