I spent three weeks with a Rolex Explorer 124270. I went in skeptical of the hype and came out understanding why people don’t shut up about it.
This is one of those watches that makes sense the moment you strap it on.
I’ve seen more Land-Dweller content in the past six weeks than I’ve seen for any watch release ever. Every YouTube channel. Every forum. Every Instagram account.
And I can’t decide if it’s genuinely exciting or just hype-cycle machinery doing what it does.
Four months after the January increase, Rolex bumped prices again. This time by 4%, effective May 1st.
Two price increases in five months. That’s new territory even for Rolex.
The Math Adds Up Badly # That Submariner Date that cost €9,550 in December 2024? After January’s 5% jump, it was €10,030. Now it’s €10,430.
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.
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.
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.
