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Rolex has undeniably become the world’s most beloved mass producer of watches.

After finding its rhythm from 1908 into the mid-1950s, it never swayed with trends or tried to chase down the latest fad. Even after its founder, Hans Wilsdorf, passed in 1960, ‘The Crown’ has been stubbornly slow to change, deeply loyal to its legacy, and unwaveringly committed to its established designs.

Aside from some unorthodox releases from the dress-watch department during the disco era, Rolex always remained Rolex. Over the last few years though, Rolex has seemingly begun to ‘act out of character’, like a rebellious child, and totally unbefitting a watch befitting its legacy.

The once-serious watch associated with presidents and royalty somehow morphed into a pastel-coloured puzzle with hippy-dippy messages in place of the weekdays and emoticons in place of the date. As Allen Formello notes in the latest issue of Robb Report:

“We expect trippy watches from the subversive conceptual minds at Moser or the goofy folks at Konstantin Chaykin, but what are we to make of Rolex getting all groovy?”

It reminded me of the time my tweed-and-khakis father came home in a pair of boot-cut Levi’s and a shearling pilot’s jacket. “What’s going on with Dad?”

The good news is that Rolex has seemingly turned its back on the ‘need to beg for attention’, and although this year’s releases may be a little ‘boring’, Rolex is back in form. Perhaps they remembered that ‘The Crown’ does not need a hype watch.

Rolex’s fan base is reputedly overjoyed over a ‘slightly narrower lug on the Submariner, or the inclusion of a minuscule movement upgrade in the Oyster Perpetual or a Jubilee bracelet on a six-digit GMT Master II.’ Small changes, to be sure, but for hardcore Rolex fans, this heralds a shift in the right (read: old school) direction.

Leading the return is this year’s steel GMT Master II with the black and grey Cerachrom grooved ring and green accents – said to embody Rolex’s return to ‘normalcy’. It’s not a flashy watch but it’s not causing anyone to scratch their head either. It is one of the best tool watches on the market, and it’s perfect.

Just like in the ‘good ol’ days’, you can now even order either the steel Jubilee or Oyster bracelet directly from your local authorized dealer.

Even The Submariner didn’t get an update or a new colour scheme, just as it shouldn’t. And the Deepsea (now no longer coupled to the Sea-Dweller moniker) is offered in a seen-it-before yellow gold and blue combo.

We don’t need LSD-infused dials or crowns on the wrong side; just give us boring options like choosing a 3- or 5-link bracelet on a gray and black tool watch, and we will swoon in adulation.

Rolex still plays a little with its dress watches, as it always has, though not to the extent that it did during the disco  1970s. Rolex’s hippy phase appears to have passed.

Celebrities like Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds may prefer Patek Philippe and Omega Speedmasters, but Rolex is the ultimate luxury watch in this writer’s opinion, although I may be biased. In 1974, my father traded a brand-new VW Beetle for a 1969 Rolex Explorer Gilt. At the time, his father scolded him over the ‘stupid trade’. Today, the Explorer is worth close to R450,000 and still runs.

The beetle probably doesn’t.

[source:robbreport]