Feb 08, 2016

Baselworld Predictions for Rolex for 2016

by Aleta Saeger

Yes campers, the horological equivalent of the Detroit Auto Show is just around the corner. March 17 – 24, to be exact. Baselworld is where the watch world puts their new kids forward for the press, retailers, and the general public to see (except for the Richemont Group – they had their few days in the sun at SIHH a couple of weeks ago).

Baselworld

The run-up is a Silly Season of sorts, with predictions coming from hither and yon, and a stream of press releases that starts as a trickle and becomes a torrent even before the show actually opens.

And so, with hopes and dreams in mind, here are some of what we here at Everest think will be forthcoming from The Crown.

Rolex is known for often (but not always) releasing new editions in precious metals a year or two before releasing them in steel.

Is the ceramic Pepsi coming in steel?

So will this be the year we see the Pepsi GMT-Master II (or the Coke, with its black and red bezel) in steel? Interestingly, the Batman (BNLR) was released in steel and has never seen precious metal while the new Pepsi has been around for almost two years in white gold, but no steel. We’d sure like to see that situation rectified!

Rolex coke watch

Rolex’s big surprise last year was the Oysterflex bracelet on the redesigned Everose YachtMaster. Might they release it on a steel version of the yachting watch?

Or, dare we whisper, might they port it over to the Submariner and GMT-Master lines? It’s patently obvious that we here at Everest are partial to rubber straps on Rolex watches, and the Oysterflex would certainly be a way to gain that look from a factory piece.

Rolex Submariner

We think the Oysterflex would look particularly good on a Coke GMT-Master II.

Lastly, a few years ago was the 50^th anniversary of the Cosmograph Daytona. Many thought that was the right time to release an updated version of the Paul Newman dials. Alas, that ship has probably sailed. Nonetheless, we still hold out hope that one of these years, Rolex will acknowledge the extreme popularity of the 626x Daytonas and pay proper homage to them.