Get a Submariner or Datejust and you are investing in a look which has been around for more than 60 years. Being able to know what you are getting and that the thing you are getting is already popular is one of the major benefits of getting a Rolex. So what happens when the most conservative watch brand out there offers up something new?
Mind you that today in 2018 the Rolex Sky-Dweller is hardly new but it is still the newest kid (more or less) on the Rolex block. I don't know the instance prior to the Sky-Dweller launch that Rolex introduced a brand new collection name, but it seems to have been quite long ago. The Sky-Dweller introduced a brand new movement, which happens to be the most complicated movement that Rolex produces. This annual calendar GMT is their "grand complication" and is assembled by a dedicated team among the larger Rolex watchmaker staff. The movement is a beautiful thing in operation and concept, but we will get to that more later.
What also set the Sky-Dweller apart from most other Rolex watches was the size. Even though the case design continues to be the Rolex Oyster that we know and love, Rolex produced it in a 42mm wide case, making it the largest "dressy" timepiece produced by the brand. Also predictable at the time of release was that that Sky-Dweller would be very expensive. Rolex tends to debut new models and movements in all-gold cases, only to release the watch in a two-tone or all-steel variety later. As such, Rolex didn't debut a Rolesor (steel and gold) version of the Sky-Dweller until 2017. There are no all-steel models because Rolex's signature fluted bezel is made in gold. However, the most "accessible" version of the Sky-Dweller comes with an all-steel bracelet and case with just the bezel in 18k white gold. To put things in perspective the Sky-Dweller in 18k Everose gold on a matching bracelet currently costs $48,850 while the entry level price for the mostly steel model is $14,400. The reviewed reference 326933 is priced at $17,150 because of the added gold material in the bracelet and crown.
The purpose of the Sky-Dweller was to introduce a timepiece for the modern jet-setter who uses his watch both for utility and as a status item. Rolex listened to the desires of many people to produce a larger, everyday non-sports watch and also understood that something many of its customers have in common is travel. The in-house made caliber 9001 automatic movement offers the wearer a different GMT time read-out as compared to Rolex's other GMT-hand equipped watches, and introduced one of the best annual calendar systems on the market. Annual calendars tend to be considered an ideal combination of complexity and practicality in the context of a mechanical calendar – especially when considering how today's mechanical watch wearers rely on their watches and often wear multiple watches. Perpetual calendars are indeed more complex, but for many people they simply aren't practical when you consider that today's luxury watch lovers tend to wear more than one watch in rotation.