How Did Rolex Do In 2024?

2024 was a chill year for Rolex, especially after 2023’s Puzzles & Bubbles, aka the Oyster Perpetuals adorned with colorful circles and the infamous Emoji Day-Date jigsaw. We saw the total discontinuation of the Yacht-Master II collection and the end of the Daytona Le Mans Ref. 126529LN’s brief run. Also, those lovely palm-dial Datejust 36 Refs. 126200 and 126233 got the axe, so to speak. Of course, there were some captivating new releases launched at Watches & Wonders this year —with the funny little caveat that only one singular watch was a steel model. 

In other news, while Rolex typically increases prices annually, this year had two price increases. Due to the increased cost of gold, most precious metal Rolex references saw ~4% price hikes earlier this summer. Overall, Rolex prices in 2024 are up 14% from two years ago in 2022 with the white-gold Daytona seeing over a 19% increase in that timeframe.

The Crown’s theme for this year was “Harmony of Contrasts,” which is certainly poetic and actually apt, although a little less than illuminating at first. My favorite type of release is one that seems middling at press launch but gathers some steam and real interest once brand meetings begin and we get to see the pieces “in the metal,” so to speak. I think this year’s Perpetual 1908 did just that. Launched in 2023 as a replacement for the Cellini dress watch, the 1908 got off to a decent start and certainly got some attention for having a standard exhibition caseback (an extreme rarity for Rolex). This year’s iteration in platinum with an ice-blue guilloché dial didn’t do it for me — initially, at least. But then I got my hands on it and noticed that Rolex uses a real engine-turning machine for the dial. So, while it’s not something from Kari Voutilainen or Josh Shapiro, it’s still far superior to industrialized methods like stamping. Honestly, it’s a lot of watch for $30,900. 

And then there was the Deepsea Ref. 136668LB (note the Sea-Dweller designation has been eliminated from the Deepsea), a solid 18k yellow-gold diver weighing a hefty 322 grams. Does anyone really need a solid gold watch that has a whopping 3,900 meters of water resistance? Well, that’s none of my business but it is cool as hell with that vibrant blue Cerachrom bezel and matching dial. At 44mm wide and 17.7mm thick, this isn’t for the dainty of wrist nor is it for the dainty of bank account, with a price of $54,200.

The single steel Rolex release this year was the GMT-Master II Ref. 126710GRNR (GRNR meaning “Gris Noir” which is just French for "Grey and Black"). The Rolex method of introducing new bezel colors typically begins with a precious-metal version followed by a steel one, and that holds true here with last year’s yellow gold Ref. 126718GRNR and two-tone Ref. 126713GRNR. Sure, a lot of people were hoping for a “Coke” GMT-Master II with black-and-red bezel but I think there’s something discrete and, for lack of a better phrase, “nickname-avoidant” about these GRNR models that is a refreshing in a world of Pepsi, Root Bear, Sprite, and Coke. These new releases of the GMT-Master II — which is probably the most iconic travel watch ever — are priced at $10,700 on Oyster bracelet and $10,900 on the Jubilee bracelet.

However, none of the above ranks at the top of the Rolex releases that got me personally amped. I am speaking, of course, about the mass proliferation of mother-of-pearl dials. In particular, my single favorite release was the Day-Date 40 Ref. 228239 in white gold with a pearlized white mother-of-pearl dial that appears to almost be holding a sky worth of densely packed clouds ranging from light to dark. Matching the dial with baguette-diamond hour markers doesn’t hurt either. $48,750 just seems fair considering how much watch you get here. There were also some other notable non-MOP releases like the Day-Date 40 in Everose gold with a slate ombré dial, a Day-Date 40 in yellow gold with a beautiful white lacquer dial, and a Day-Date 36 with diamond-set bezel and a really deep vibrant blue-green dial. Oh, and there were also two new Sky-Dwellers in Everose and yellow gold available on a Jubilee bracelet for the first time.

Mother-of-pearl also made its way into the Daytona collection with two white gold additions that go all-in with diamond bezels (taking the place of the tachymeter scale) and indices. The Ref. 126589RBR-0001 has a white MOP dial with black MOP sub-dials while the Ref. 126579RBR-0001 does the reverse. These come on either an Oysterflex bracelet, priced at $64,000, or on a matching Oyster bracelet, for $73,000.

At a high level, 2024 was a conservative year for Rolex but I have to give the company credit for pushing some more design-forward releases. It’s funny that the Crown released only one steel watch in a year where gold prices are soaring but price fluctuations are out of anyone’s control and are inherently fluid. As for 2025, I am going to guess people will make the same predictions they always do — only to find out they were completely wrong yet again!