May 29, 2019

THE ROLEX 2019 COLLECTION

by AHMED SEDDIQI & SONS

Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons becomes the first Middle Eastern retailer to offer the new Rolex collection

No new collection is awaited more keenly every spring than Rolex’s. Switzerland’s largest and most powerful watch brand is a global byword for quality, luxury and style and the arrival of new models is always an historic moment.

This year’s collection brings the point home. The new Yacht-Master 42, fresh versions of the GMT-Master II and the Sea-Dweller in Rolesor (a term Rolex has used to describe watches made with steel and gold since the early 1930s) will all live long in the memory –

Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons has been the official Rolex retailer in Dubai for almost 60 years. This year, it will be the first in the Middle East to offer these new watches to a discerning clientele.

Here are five of the new models to whet the appetite, all available now. Contact your nearest Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons showroom for more information and to arrange a viewing.

Rolex Yacht-Master 42

This larger version of the popular Yacht-Master sports watch will please watch buyers with larger wrists. The 42mm white gold watch comes heaving with Rolex technology, starting with that prominent bi-directional rotating bezel, which has a matt black ‘Cerachrom’ – Rolex’s proprietary ceramic – insert with a 60-minute diving scale in relief. The strap might look simple in a picture, but in the flesh the Oysterflex rubber bracelet has an Oysterlock safety clasp and Rolex’s ingenious Glidelock extension system that enables quick adjustment if ever you’re wearing the watch over a wetsuit. Less tangible, but just as important, is the Calibre 3235 automatic movement inside the watch. This is one of Rolex’s new-generation power units, which promises anti-magneticand anti-shock properties, accuracy to an impressive -2/+2 seconds a day, and a weighty 70-hour power reserve.

Rolex GMT-Master II

Some Rolex watches become such crowd favourites that they acquire nicknames that become more familiar than the watches’ proper names. Unofficially, of course… There are several versions of the GMT-Master II, so named because of its second time zone, which means it has more than one pet name. When it has a red and blue dial, as pictured, it’s known as a ‘Pepsi’, after the colour palette of the famous cola drink. When it has a black and blue dial it’s known as the ‘Batman’ after the Caped Crusader. New versions of both join the collection this year. Pictured is the Batman version in 40mm of white gold on an Oyster bracelet (the term Rolex gives its three-link metal bracelets).

Rolex Sea-Dweller

The Sea-Dweller sits at the more technical end of Rolex’s Professional collection. It’s water-resistant to an astonishing 1,220 metres, or 4,000 feet, and has an automatic helium escape valve, a device useful to saturation divers. Because of these tool-like qualities, it’s typically made in Oystersteel, Rolex’s hardened stainless steel. This year, Rolex has made a Rolesor version, bringing yellow gold into the line for the first time. This of course doesn’t add any weight to its professional credentials – on the contrary, it’s a signal of the swish style statement the rugged Sea-Dweller has become.

Rolex Day-Date 36

Is there a more instantly recognisable watch, or indeed a more imitated watch than Rolex’s Day-Date 36? The 36mm model’s fluted bezel, ‘Cyclops’ magnifier over the date and day window at 12 o’clock are its signatures – and a dead giveaway from 20 paces. This year, Rolex has introduced a raft of new models in white, yellow or its own Everosegold with a new dial colour palette to suit a variety of tastes, moods and occasions. This model has a gradient blue ‘ombré’ dial set with eight brilliant-cut diamonds and two baguette-cut diamonds, and comes on Rolex’s graphic-looking ‘President’ bracelet.

Rolex Datejust 36

The look of this watch is so familiar – the Datejust is the classic Rolex, introduced in 1945 when it became the first automatic,water-resistant, chronometer-certified wristwatch with a date display. The look may not have changed dramatically in the near-75 years since, but the materials and technology certainly have. What’s interesting about the new models is not just that they include pieces in Rolesor (gold and steel used together), but that the steel is mixed with white gold, rather than yellow or Everose gold. The modest luxxy touch this creates is all but imperceptible to the onlooker – but the owner will take great satisfaction knowing it’s there. In this model, the bezel is set with 52 brilliant-cut diamonds (totalling approximately 1.36 carats), and there are a further 24 diamonds set into the Roman numerals at 6 and 9 o’clock.