The new 2024 Rolex watches are a “return to normality” after “crazy” debuts

After a 2023 marked by hype watches, Swiss luxury watch giant Rolex is taking a step back with toned-down debuts for 2024, reflecting a watch market returning to normality.

At the Watches and Wonders trade fair, which is taking place in Geneva this week, the biggest brands in the industry such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and IWC are presenting their new models for the year. Rolex usually takes center stage for debuts at the show, and this year offered some of its most popular models with refreshed looks, precious metals and diamond embellishments.

Chief among these models is the new GMT-Master II in stainless steel with a black and gray ceramic bezel, which the brand launched last year with a two-tone steel and gold bracelet. Available with either a standard Oyster or a more elegant Jubilee bracelet, it will likely continue the trend of Rolex steel pieces like the previous GMT-Master II and Submariner being virtually impossible to find at retail. If you can find it, the new GMT will cost $10,700, depending on the bracelet.

One surprise was a new Deepsea, Rolex's most extreme dive watch, in a striking 18-karat gold case and bracelet with a blue dial and bezel. The 44mm watch is slightly larger, but the gold lettering on the dial and bezel gives this Tool watch a much more luxurious appeal, and the sheer size along with the weight of its gold case make it a large Rolex. The new Deapsea is designed to dive up to 12,800 feet and will retail for $52,100.

Finally, there was a big luxury update for the model that Rolex fans are looking forward to: the Cosmograph Daytona is becoming even more high-quality. Rolex added two versions with mother-of-pearl dials and contrasting mother-of-pearl subdials and diamond-set bezels. The two cases are made of 18k white gold and come with an Oyster bracelet or an Oysterflex rubber version. The Daytona on the Oysterflex starts at an eye-watering $61,400, while the bracelet version costs $70,100.

While these new watches (and others, including a new platinum 1908 and a new precious metal Day-Date) are certainly eye-catching, they haven't achieved the hype of last year's Rolex unveilings, when the Rolex “Emoji” Day-Date was introduced I got all the buzz (and hate).

The story goes on

“I would say that overall the collecting community is very underwhelmed with Rolex releases, but that's okay – the last few years have been almost too crazy when it comes to extremely desirable watches,” said watch expert and retailer Eric Wind of Wind Vintage told Yahoo Finance.

“If last year someone complained that Rolex had strayed too far into the circus of color – that The Crown was just having too much fun whizzing around – then this year proves that Rolex would always return to its quiet place at the center the clock galaxy,” wrote watch expert and Robb Report editor Allen Farmelo.

There was also weakness in the secondary market, which is often used as an indicator of the popularity of various luxury watch brands and models. The Bloomberg Subdial Index, which tracks the secondary market using a basket of the most popular watches such as Rolex Submariner, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus, has fallen 40.4% over the past 24 months but has stabilized over the past six months with only 2% loss.

Rolex, likely seeing this weakness in the secondary market coupled with the unavailability of its new models at retail, has pulled out all the stops to get more supply into the hands of its buyers while the market for its watches is still strong. The company launched its own certified pre-owned program in late 2022 to offer customers more models with a Rolex warranty, announced plans last year to boost production with new factories and bought jeweler Bucherer, owner of Tourneau, to strengthen its retail presence.

It may seem strange that Rolex, which produces an estimated 1 million watches a year and has sales of $10 billion, is still struggling with supply, despite what Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour told Switzerland's NZZ on Monday , that the good times may not last.

A strong Swiss franc, material costs and higher interest rates are immediate concerns.

“The increased interest rates are also affecting people's buying mood, and the geopolitical situation is not helping either,” he said.

The more subdued 2024 Rolex models will likely still be a top seller and an investment.

Not surprisingly, Rolex is against the pure investment model for watches, even if it boosts sales in the new and used markets. “I don't like it when people compare watches to stocks. This sends the wrong message and is dangerous,” Dufour said.

While they may not like it, Rolex and Dufour are likely to see the watchmaker's new models traded like prized commodities at retail and when they eventually hit the secondary market, with buyers implicitly calculating the ROI of a deepsea of ​​solid gold, the first of its kind or a new GMT made of stainless steel.

“Will this return to normality make it easier to get these watches at retail? We assume that a resounding 'no' is the obvious answer,” Farmelo quipped.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can keep following him Twitter and further Instagram.

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