Rolex dropped a bomb at Watches and Wonders. The Land-Dweller is real, and it’s more significant than anyone predicted.
What Is It? # The Land-Dweller is Rolex’s first entirely new collection since the Sky-Dweller launched in 2012. That’s 13 years between genuinely new product lines. When Rolex creates something new, they mean it.
Geneva transforms this week. Watches and Wonders 2025 kicks off today, and the rumor mill has been running hot for months.
The Confirmed Players # All the usual suspects will be there. Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Tudor, Omega (sort of - they have their own thing but still participate). IWC, Panerai, Jaeger-LeCoultre. The list goes on.
11 PM. Can’t sleep. Open Chrono24.
This is how mistakes happen.
Found a Zenith El Primero from 1992 with tritium dial. Original bracelet. Service history. €4,200.
That’s a fair price. Maybe even a good price. The seller has positive reviews. The photos look legitimate.
Buying coffee this morning. The barista had a Submariner 5513 on her wrist. No date, matte dial, faded bezel insert. Looked like a 1970s example.
I asked about it. Her grandfather bought it new in 1974. Wore it every day for 40 years. Now she wears it every day.
Seiko just announced three limited edition pieces to mark 60 years since their first diver. The original 62MAS from 1965 started something big. Six decades later, Seiko dominates the affordable dive watch market.
Four hour layover in Munich. Perfect opportunity for some watch spotting.
Count for today: three Submariners (two green, one black), two Apple Watches Ultra, one Lange Saxonia on a guy in business class, and what I’m pretty sure was a fake Patek Nautilus.
Seiko released the Prospex Shohei Ohtani Limited Edition GMT Diver last week. 500 pieces. ¥330,000 JPY - roughly €2,100. Sold out in minutes.
The Watch # It’s a GMT diver based on the Prospex platform. 42mm case, 200m water resistance, sapphire crystal. The 6R54 movement handles the GMT complication - same caliber found in the regular Prospex GMT lineup.
Three weeks into January. Time for watch resolutions.
Buy fewer watches. Already failed this one. Picked up a vintage Seiko at a flea market last weekend. €45. Couldn’t say no. The dial was too perfect.
New year, same story. Rolex increased prices by 5% across most of their lineup effective January 1st, 2025. No warning, no explanation. Just higher numbers on the price tags.
The Numbers # A steel Submariner Date that cost €9,550 last month now runs €10,030. The GMT-Master II in steel jumped from €10,550 to €11,080. Even the entry-level Oyster Perpetual 36 climbed from €6,150 to €6,460.