Latest news with #RolexOysterPerpetualLand-Dweller
Forbes
13-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How The Zenith G.F.J Stole The Show At Watches And Wonders 2025
The Zenith G.F.J., with its bright blue lapis and mother-of-pearl dial, brickwork details and hero movement, quickly became the social media sensation of the 2025 Watches and Wonders, with journalists and collectors worldwide choosing it as a favorite. A few things account for the popularity of the watch, whose social media hits rivalled that of the new Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller. Foremost is the movement, a genuine milestone in watchmaking from the 1950s that gives the watch high credibility among collectors and adds not only cachet but value as a collectible. Caliber 135 is one of the legendary movements that entered and eventually won multiple prizes in the famous observatory chronometer competitions held in Neuchâtel and Geneva, Switzerland, as well as Kew Teddington in England, and Besançon, France, in the first part of the 20th century. The golden years of the competitions, which judged accuracy and reliability, were 1950 to 1954, just before the quartz revolution. Zenith's caliber 135 was the star of that era, with five consecutive first prizes. Altogether, the movement received 235 chronometry prizes, a record in the history of watchmaking. The movement was discontinued in 1962, but Zenith's revival of the caliber reproduces its basic architecture, including an outsize balance wheel for accuracy, while adding improved technology that increases the power reserve from 40 hours to 72 hours, along with its reliability and precision. The name G.F.J. stands for Georges Favre-Jacot, who founded Zenith in 1865. In his endeavor to create 'the perfect watch,' Favre-Jacot created movements that over the years won a total of 2,333 chronometry prizes, more than any other brand. The aesthetics of the watch is also a nod to the founder. Favre-Jacot, a stickler for vertical integration, opened a brick factory to supply the materials for building the Zenith manufacture, located in Le Locle, Switzerland. The brick pattern is engraved on the outer dial ring, on the center links of the bracelet and on the buckle of the strap version. The dial is another big draw. Blue is the dial color of the moment, but among the materials used to convey the color – which range from enamel and ceramic to simple embossing – nothing is more saturated and vibrant than the hardstone lapis lazuli. The center seconds – which is outsized on the dial to emphasize its accuracy – is mother-of-pearl that is dyed an equally striking blue color in another shade. The G.F.J. is a 160-piece limited edition, celebrating the brand's 160th anniversary, in a 39 mm platinum case. Strap options include a dark blue alligator strap, a black calfskin strap, a blue Saffiano calfskin strap or a seven-row platinum bracelet. It is priced at $49,900. The watch can be purchased as part of a boxed set that includes three other Zenith 160th anniversary pieces with cases and bracelets made of bright blue ceramic. They include the Chronomaster Sport 160th Anniversary Edition 41 mm ($22,700); the Defy Skyline Chronograph 160th Anniversary Edition 42 mm ($23,800); and the Pilot Big Date Flyback 160th Anniversary Edition 41 mm ($15,500).
Khaleej Times
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Rolex, Patek Philippe: Highlights from Watches and Wonders 2025
Watches and Wonders is more than just a trade fair – it's horology's grandest stage, where the world's most storied maisons unveil their boldest ideas, cutting-edge technologies, and artistic feats. At its heart lies a celebration of innovation not just in mechanics, but in imagination too. And while this year's edition, held from April 1 to 7 in Geneva, unveiled marvels across every segment of watchmaking, we look closely at four watches that revealed the philosophical breadth and technical ambition that define this golden age for the industry. None perhaps was more quietly radical than the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller. In an era where complexity often wins applause, Rolex introduced an entirely new model – its first in many years – with nothing more than three hands. But therein lies the genius. The Land-Dweller, available in 36mm and 40mm, is Rolex's most contemporary vision yet: a sublime fusion of technical prowess and design restraint. With 32 patent applications, including a new high-frequency 5Hz calibre 7135, ceramic balance staff and Dynapulse escapement, this is no minimalist gimmick. It's a redefinition of purpose. The honeycomb-patterned dials – set in Rolesor, Everose or platinum – and the integrated Flat Jubilee bracelet speak to a brand in full command of its aesthetic language. Amid a sea of hyper-complications, it offers a refreshing return to purposeful elegance. If Rolex's creation is a study in pared-back perfection, Vacheron Constantin's Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication – La Première is its polar opposite. A watch that looks to the cosmos and finds poetry in precision, it is a horological universe contained within a 45mm white gold case. With 41 complications, including five rare astronomical functions and a celestial chronograph – the first of its kind – it now stands as the most complicated wristwatch ever made. Eight years in development, driven by the 1,521-component Calibre 3655, it is as much an astronomical instrument as it is a wristwatch. Civil, sidereal, and solar time are woven together, alongside a Westminster minute repeater, tidal indications, and a stunning display of the Sun's path. Solaria is a technical and aesthetic marvel, symbolising Vacheron's 270-year commitment to pushing the limits of possibility. Equally arresting is the Patek Philippe Ref. 5308G Quadruple Complication, a symphonic fusion of four grand complications: split-seconds chronograph, minute repeater, instantaneous perpetual calendar, and moon phase. Patek's newly developed R CHR 27 PS QI calibre features 799 parts and two patented innovations – an anti-backlash wheel and an isolation system for the rattrapante – to ensure remarkable energy efficiency. The calendar's instantaneous jump – executed in just 30 milliseconds – is a marvel in its own right. Encased in hand-finished white gold and dressed in a sunburst ice blue dial, this watch is Patek at its lyrical best: reserved yet resonant, intricate yet elegant. The final piece in this quartet of greatness is the A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual, a rare union of German engineering and emotive craftsmanship. Limited to 50 pieces, this platinum timepiece features the manually wound calibre L122.2, which introduces refined mechanics like a patented hammer blocker and pause elimination for uninterrupted acoustics. The perpetual calendar – accurate until 2100 – and the hand-enamelled white gold dial with Lange's iconic outsize date, reflect the house's unique voice in high watchmaking: stoic, cerebral, and unrelentingly precise. From Rolex's contemporary minimalism to the orchestral complexity of Patek, Vacheron, and Lange, these four watches show the full spectrum of what fine watchmaking can be in 2025. Together, these four watches form a constellation of vision and virtuosity. The Land-Dweller speaks of restraint and reinvention; Solaria of celestial grandeur; Ref. 5308G of lyrical complexity; and the Lange of Teutonic rigour laced with emotion. In their own way, each charts a course into the future – where horology remains not just about measuring time, but mastering, refining, and embellishing it.
South China Morning Post
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Behind the new Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller is 5 years of designing and engineering
It takes Rolex five to seven years to create a new watch model, I just learned. Advertisement It is March 24, and I am sitting in the Geneva headquarters of the watchmaker with the platinum version of its brand-new, not-yet-announced Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller in my hands. It is a fresh entry in a lineage that includes such legends as the Datejust , the GMT-Master II, the Submariner and the Cosmograph Daytona I was summoned to this top-secret meeting to discover the wonders of this new timepiece. A week later, the Land-Dweller will be introduced during the Watches and Wonders trade fair across town in the Swiss city, and within minutes of its debut, collectors and fans around the world will be dissecting it. A close-up of the Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller 40. A totally new collection from Rolex is a rare thing. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Rolex's highly anticipated Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller, the patent-packed new watch that's already a favourite of Testimonee Roger Federer, is finally here
What better way to start the first day of Watches and Wonders, the salon in Geneva where the great and good of horology gather annually to debut their newest timepieces, than with a launch from Rolex, one of the most famous of all watch brands Style was on-hand for an exclusive preview of the Land-Dweller, a thoroughly modern model that will surely become one of the most hotly discussed timepieces of the whole show. Until this moment, Rolex had always kept the next development in its famous Oyster Perpetual range tightly under wraps. Now we know that the new Land-Dweller packs a whopping 32 new patent applications and patents: 18 exclusive to this watch, with 16 of them involving the movement and one each for the dial and bracelet. This is all elegantly encased in a 40mm platinum and Rolesor (combining Oystersteel and white gold) case, or a 36mm 18k Everose gold case set with diamonds. Advertisement The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller in its 36mm diamond-set Everose gold guise. Photo: Handout Both models come with the brand-new Flat Jubilee integrated bracelet – a design with echoes of the 1969 and 1974 Datejust models that first introduced the integrated bracelet style to Rolex. The modern aesthetics of the Land-Dweller speak to the entrepreneur type, a client who appreciates a flowing silhouette with an unbroken line from bracelet to watch case, and the combination of polished and satin finishes creating a play of light. The wider bracelet is built for comfort, with an intricate and discreet mechanism joining the case to the strap, giving 90-degree movement in the hinge – an innovation that is among the patent applications. The use of reflected light, so visible on the bracelet, is continued onto the bezel. The 1908 Perpetual, launched in 2023, possesses a densely packed bezel of 180 flutes; this has been reduced to 60 flutes for the Land-Dweller, creating a more open pattern that catches the light in a very architectural way. The luxurious trapeze-cut diamonds on the Everose iteration Ref. 127286 and platinum Ref. 127386 add to the sparkle, with the overall aesthetic being clean and contemporary. Rolex testimonee and tennis legend Roger Federer wearing the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller. Photo: Handout A honeycomb pattern decorates the dials – a motif echoed on the second hand – while the ice blue dial is Rolex's signature colour for its platinum models. The hour markers are open-ended, while the font used for the 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock is a close cousin to that on Rolex's Explorer range. The Land-Dweller is a flagship of design and development that will launch a new generation of Rolex watches. This is especially noticeable in the development of the new movement, calibre 7135, which Rolex says is an evolution of the calibre 7140 in its 1908 model.
Bloomberg
31-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
How Rolex Makes a New Watch: The Story Behind the Land-Dweller
It takes Rolex five to seven years to create a new watch model, I just learned. It's March 24 and I'm sitting in the Geneva headquarters of the most important watchmaker in the world, with the platinum version of its brand-new, not-yet-announced Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller in my hands. It's a fresh entry in a lineage that includes such legends as the Datejust, the GMT-Master II, the Submariner and the Cosmograph Daytona. The Land-Dweller, which also comes in steel and rose gold, looks a bit like a Datejust—with a glittering fluted bezel, a cyclops bubble over the date window and a metal bracelet with a mix of link sizes and textures. Of course, on second glance, any aficionado will see there's a world of difference. More on that later.
