The Rolex “Sports” Watch
Well, it’s finally time to dive into some important details above Rolex watches. Let’s start with defining the Rolex “sports” watch from the others in the Rolex inventory.
Two Types of Rolex Watches
Rolex divides their watches into two types: The Oyster and the Cellini groups. Rolex invented the waterproof watch in 1926, and called it the “Oyster” after the mollusk which seals itself tight. They achieved this by making a screw-down winding crown with a gasket and the crystal had a fluted bezel so it could be gripped and screwed down to make it water tight as well.
In contrast, they have always made high-end dress watches, referred to as their Cellini brand. They come in a remarkable array of styles, a few of which are shown below. Often they involved diamonds and usually precious metals.
Two Types of Rolex Watches
Rolex divides their watches into two types: The Oyster and the Cellini groups. Rolex invented the waterproof watch in 1926, and called it the “Oyster” after the mollusk which seals itself tight. They achieved this by making a screw-down winding crown with a gasket and the crystal had a fluted bezel so it could be gripped and screwed down to make it water tight as well.
In contrast, they have always made high-end dress watches, referred to as their Cellini brand. They come in a remarkable array of styles, a few of which are shown below. Often they involved diamonds and usually precious metals.
Pictures from BobsWatches.com
There are waterproof dress watches (not as fancy as the Cellini models) in the Oyster class, like the ladies DateJust, Oyster Perpetual, and Rolex Day-Date President models shown below from left to right.
Pictures from BobsWatches.com
Precious metals like gold and platinum are naturally rust resistant and do not corrode, and Rolex eventually combined both metals in their watches to give them a more dressy appearance that could be worn after work as well as on the job. Today, the most collectable, and costly, watches are the Sports models in the Oyster class. They come in solid precious metal, gold/platinum paired with a high-grade stainless called Oystersteel, or just plain Oystersteel. Most often they come with a wide flat-linked bracelet called, of course, the Oysterflex bracelet, like the middle picture above; although, there are other styles like the jubilee bracelet shown above, left.
Fame was brought to Rolex by Mercedes Gleitze, a professional British swimmer, who was the first person to swim the Straits of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa. Rolex had instroduced the Oyster case in 1926 for sale. Mercedes (on her 8th attempt) became the first woman to swim the English Channel, in 1927, wearing (around her neck) a Rolex Oyster that stayed dry and still worked after her 10-hour swim. A 1926 version is shown, above right, and it was available in different styles. Notice the fluted bezel which helped screw the crystal down tight and became the beginnings of the “tool” type Rolex watches. Watch Photo from ablogtowatch.com
on her wrist; I wonder if this might have something to do with not wanting to pay her estate. BTW, all her earnings went into charities supporting the homeless. Photo Above and Details from Wikipedia
In 1953 Rolex improved its sports reputation by introducing the Submariner, the first watch capable of remaining waterproof up to 100 meters (330 feet) underwater.
President 41
In 2008 Rolex recognized the increasing interest in the sports watch (which their marketing helped develop) by modifying the President dress watch to a larger size to command more attention on the wrist. It was a time when “big” watches were showing up on the wrists of women as well as men, as the dainty era for “delicate” women seemed to be giving way to female as well as male superheros.
Incidentally, Rolex uses five sizes (28, 21, 34, 36, and 41mm) for the Oyster Perpetual watches. Cellini falls at 39mm. The Sports watches are all around 40mm:
• 44mm Yacht-Master II & Sea-Dweller Deepsea
• 43mm Sea-Dweller
• 42mm Explorer II, Sky-Dweller, Yacht-Master
• 41mm Day-Date II, Datejust II, Oyster Perpetual, Submariner 41
• 41mm 2008 President (only all gold or platinum)
• 40mm Submariner 40, GMT-Master, GMT-Master II, Sea Dweller 40, Explorer II 40, Dayton, Yacht-Master 40, Milgauss, Air-King 40, and Day-Date 40
Some vintage watches are available in smaller sizes, but very few Sports watches can be found under 40mm. Be careful of the Yacht-Master which came in 35mm (called the Midsize) and even a 29mm size as they are designed for women and not collectable in general. You’ll see big discounts in price for women’s size watches vs. the same model in ≤40mm, which simply reflects the much larger interest of men in Sports watches as opposed to ladies’ watch models.
In 1953 Rolex improved its sports reputation by introducing the Submariner, the first watch capable of remaining waterproof up to 100 meters (330 feet) underwater.
President 41
In 2008 Rolex recognized the increasing interest in the sports watch (which their marketing helped develop) by modifying the President dress watch to a larger size to command more attention on the wrist. It was a time when “big” watches were showing up on the wrists of women as well as men, as the dainty era for “delicate” women seemed to be giving way to female as well as male superheros.
Incidentally, Rolex uses five sizes (28, 21, 34, 36, and 41mm) for the Oyster Perpetual watches. Cellini falls at 39mm. The Sports watches are all around 40mm:
• 44mm Yacht-Master II & Sea-Dweller Deepsea
• 43mm Sea-Dweller
• 42mm Explorer II, Sky-Dweller, Yacht-Master
• 41mm Day-Date II, Datejust II, Oyster Perpetual, Submariner 41
• 41mm 2008 President (only all gold or platinum)
• 40mm Submariner 40, GMT-Master, GMT-Master II, Sea Dweller 40, Explorer II 40, Dayton, Yacht-Master 40, Milgauss, Air-King 40, and Day-Date 40
Some vintage watches are available in smaller sizes, but very few Sports watches can be found under 40mm. Be careful of the Yacht-Master which came in 35mm (called the Midsize) and even a 29mm size as they are designed for women and not collectable in general. You’ll see big discounts in price for women’s size watches vs. the same model in ≤40mm, which simply reflects the much larger interest of men in Sports watches as opposed to ladies’ watch models.
Sports Watches – The Marketing Ploy
The fluting on the original dive watches became so identified with the Rolex brand that they applied it to dress watches like the DateJust and President (see above) as a design accent; although the bezel was fixed and did nothing. Watches with functions like a rotating bezel that could mark elapsed time for a diver became known as “tool watches.” This included watches that could indicate time in two zones at once, antimagnetic scientific watches, as well as chronographs that contained stop watch functions. Commonly, tool watches are known as sports watches, today.
This led the way to strategic marketing, something Rolex excells at, as the concept of “sports” watches contrasted with the stuffy reputation other makers of fancy dress watches like Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Glashutte, Van Cleef & Arpells, Vacheron Constantin and other typically much more expensive watch brands, whose names could barely be pronounced. Indeed, adding the Oyster case to their dress watches like the DateJust and President helped keep the branding of even the Rolex dress watches exciting and youthful.
Who, under the age of 80, would want an Audemars Piguet “Royal Oak” versus a Rolex GMT Master and Sky-Dweller worn by jet pilots, the Cosmograph Daytona worn by race car drivers like Steve McQueen, or a Yacht-Master worn by, well, yachtsmen! Those with an adventurous experience could buy, and identify with, a Rolex Explorer. These are also sometimes called tool watches, a less glamorous depiction – but, all have a working function to make them part of the branded Rolex Oyster Professional watch family.
Another way Rolex is unique is its carefully thought out marketing strategy to appeal to the younger well-to-do, professional audience, as well as wealthy seniors who want to feel and be seen as younger. A brilliant strategy, and we all fall under Rolex’s spell. It is the watch de rigueur of any female airline attendant, who are required to wear a watch of certain size and design. Whether it’s on James Bond’s wrist (Omega paid plenty to replace Rolex there), all over Wimbleton, worn by Jacques-Yves Cousteau or on Lloyd Bridge’s wrist througout Sea-Hunt, the Rolex sports watch is here to stay.
Picture from Rolexmagazine.com
Next up, we’ll discuss some terms unique to Rolex.
