Bold, colorful and bright – the new Rolex models for 2021

Oyster Perpetual Explorer and Oyster Perpetual Explorer II – the call of the peaks

Watches in the Explorer range have mastered the extreme frontiers of exploration: from mountain tops to the biting cold of the Arctic. The Explorer was born at the top of the world and developed in collaboration with legendary mountaineers, among whom Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. They were the first to climb the highest peak on the planet, Mount Everest The Himalayas. Since then, the Explorer has constantly evolved to meet explorers’ needs, each time becoming more robust and easier to read.

The new-generation Explorer and Explorer II are emblematic of Rolex’s perpetual drive to improve, its never ending quest for excellence. And, without ever sacrificing performance – one of the range’s essential requirements – the watches are also elegant.

This year, the Oyster Perpetual Explorer is available in a yellow Rolesor version. Combining Oystersteel and 18 ct gold, Rolesor is a signature Rolex style that flawlessly blends strength and elegance. Oystersteel, a unique alloy with incomparable strength and clarity, remains a key element of the Explorer models’ case and bracelet. Corrosion-resistant and designed for the most challenging conditions, it is part of what makes the Oyster Perpetual Explorer II an essential instrument for every explorer. On all types of adventure the Explorer II, thanks to its 24-hour display, became the watch of choice for polar explorers, speleologists and volcanologists.

The new-generation Chromalight display on both Explorer and Explorer II is particularly impressive. In dark conditions, the intensity of the blue glow emitted by the hour markers and hands now lasts longer thanks to the innovative and exclusive luminescent material with which they are filled or coated. In daylight, these display elements also have a brighter white hue.

The new “faces” of Rolex

The dial is often known as the face of the watch. Rolex presented new dials for Datejust 36 and Cosmograph Daytona, imbued with sources of unique, ancient energy. One comes from materials created deep within the Earth. The other has travelled from the outer reaches of our solar system. This energy gives soul and personality to Rolex dials, honed thanks to the experience and knowledge of the brand’s artisans.

The new dials on the Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36 feature a palm motif, inspired by tropical forests, or a fluted motif that incorporates one of Rolex’s signature aesthetic styles. Olive green, silver or golden, they are made from age-old materials such as copper, zinc, nickel, chromium, titanium and silicon, combined with cutting-edge technology to create deep, vibrant metallic colours.

The new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona are in 18 ct yellow, white or Everose gold. Their meteorite dials bear witness to energy that has journeyed through time and space.

This material displays patterns that were formed as the heart of an asteroid cooled slowly on its journey through the cosmos – a process that takes millions of years. Rolex selects metallic meteorite according to very strict aesthetic criteria. Each fragment has a unique internal structure, making every Cosmograph Daytona with a meteorite dial truly one of a kind.

Revealing the radiance of diamonds

Diamonds come to us from the very distant past. Formed in the depths of the Earth over more than a billion years, the diamond’s raw beauty is showcased through faceting, which brings out the graceful reflections in the stone. The gemmologist and the gem-setter work in harmony to reveal the diamond’s radiance. One selects the stones, the other sets them one by one into the dial, bezel, case or bracelet. These incredibly precise motions, passed from one generation to the next, are perfected over the course of many years. They are repeated several hundred times when embellishing the new Day-Date 36 and Lady-Datejust.

The new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 feature hour markers and alligator leather straps in matching colours. They are coral-coloured on the 18 ct yellow gold model, turquoise on the 18 ct white gold version and burgundy on the watch in 18 ct Everose gold. With these watches, the prestigious and iconic Day-Date 36 is reimagined in swathes of diamonds. The new Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust, set with 1,089 diamonds on the middle case, bezel, dial and President bracelet, is an exceptional watch whose brilliance and sparkle is perfectly suited to a slender wrist.

The new Rolex timepieces reveal the innate company’s mastery of creating adventures. Feel for experiment, exploration and limitless quest for excellence can be noticed in every atom of these creations.