The Watches & Wonders Novelties and Their Impact on the Market
The Watches & Wonders Novelties and Their Impact on the Market
The novelties of the Geneva fair are out. What's next for the market?
Last week, the eyes of watch enthusiasts around the world were on Watches & Wonders, the most important event of the year celebrating innovation and excellence in luxury watchmaking. During this extraordinary event, some of the industry's most distinguished brands lifted the curtain on so many new products, capturing the imagination of watch lovers with jaw-dropping designs, cutting-edge technology and impeccable craftsmanship.
In this article, we will closely explore the major new products that rattled the heartstrings of enthusiasts during last week's Watches & Wonders. From bold reinterpretations to revolutionary designs, we will dive into the watchmaking works of art that caught the eye and set industry trends for the near future, and of course analyze the impact these innovations are causing and will cause in the market.
The New Rolex Daytona “Le Mans”
The first news we analyze is the that the Daytona "Le Mans, one of the most talked about watches of 2023 is now discontinued. Introduced almost a year ago on the occasion of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Made of 18K white gold, this special Cosmograph Daytona sports a black Cerachrom ceramic bezel. On the tachymeter scale, the red ceramic number 100 pays tribute to the race's centenary. Standing out on the glossy black dial are deep white subdials, whose graphics are inspired by traditional Rolex dials. The Oyster case has a transparent case back, and this original timepiece is equipped with an exclusive movement, Caliber 4132.
Unlike the Daytona 2023 animated by the 4131 movement where the counter at 9 o'clock is limited to 12 hours as in most chronographs, the 4132 marks 24 hours equal to the duration of a Le Mans race. This makes it possible to count the hours of the chronograph function over 24 hours (another reference to the race) instead of the model's usual 12.
What has all fans jolted is the presence of a reverse-panda dial in the style of Paul Newman's Rolex, a clear reference to the Daytona 6263 of a time among the most iconic ever.
Being a celebratory model of the Rolex centennial during Watches & Wonders discontinued this version, but given the huge success this watch has had, they decided to continue producing this version but with a yellow gold case.
This news immediately generated a major effect on the white gold configuration; prior to the Geneva fair, the watch was trading between €170,000 and €180,000, an already very high premium over the retail price of €53,400. More than a week after the start of the W&W, the same watch is now being offered on the market at prices even higher than €300,000. This major change in announcement prices has had an impact on our price list, which currently quotes the "Le Mans" near €235,000, a value that translates into an increase of 23.8% over the previous month and 32.9% over the past three months.
This is most likely an effect that will increase in the near future, given the relevance, desirability, and rarity of this reference.
Rolex Gem-Set Daytona
In addition to the new “Le Mans”, which is not available on the site because it is an out of catalogue model, Rolex also unveiled a number of new Daytonas, distinguished by the presence of gemstones on the bezel.
Rolex presents two new versions of the Cosmograph Daytona in 18-karat white gold with black and white mother-of-pearl dials, both with inverted mother-of-pearl counters and diamond-set bezels and fitted with Oysterflex and Oyster bracelets.
In addition to these the maison presented a yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold model, available with both Oyster bracelet and Oysterflex and all strictly diamond bezel.
Daytonas made with precious stones are becoming increasingly sought after in the market, both the vintage ones such as the "Leopards" and the “Eye Of The Tiger" and the newer ones such as the "Rainbow." In recent weeks, the latter appeared on the public market for the first time in the white and yellow gold version (no pavé) at over $500,000.
It will be interesting to see what the performance of the new Daytona 2024s will be, given the collector's emphasis on gemstones these days.
The New Tudor Black Bay 58 and The Old Rolex Pepsi
One of the most popular Watches & Wonders watches has been the new Tudor Black Bay 58, which for the first time is equipped with the GMT complication. The Black Bay collection, and in particular the 58, is one of the most successful of the maison's, capable of repositioning the brand at a very high level.
We have spoken many times about the strategy adopted by Tudor, with watches that have a strong vintage appeal and that above all follow the demands of a large part of the enthusiasts. The watch community has long been clamoring for a GMT with a smaller size than the 41mm in production, and Tudor has surprised everyone by offering this new 39mm model embellished with the 'Coke' bezel, a clear reference to Rolex's iconic model.
So many had expected a red and black color scheme for Rolex's GMT, because in the months leading up to Watches & Wonders news had spread that Rolex had filed a patent in 2022 to create a red and black ceramic bezel. This was supported by the fact that the crowned maison seems to have difficulty creating the classic Pepsi bezel and had therefore implemented a new production method. This new process seems to have succeeded in solving the problems with the color combination of the bezel, making it even more robust. However, from what emerged from this news, the blue/red color combination seems to be impossible to produce with the new patent.
Because of this, there have been so many rumors generated regarding an imminent production release of the 126710BLRO resulting in a rather sustained increase, as can be seen from the graph analyzing the performance of the past three months.
Most likely, the non out of production news will generate a drop in the price of this reference, although nevertheless the low production, and consequently low supply, will still keep the price at fairly sustained levels.
Rolex GMT Master II - Black and Grey Bezel
While everyone expected the "Coke" Rolex instead released a gray-black coloring unexpected by virtually everyone. Actually it is not completely new because this combination had already been released in 2023, but it was only available in full yellow gold and steel-gold with GMT hand also in gold.
This year the crowned house launched the same bezel but with a steel case and bracelet and, more importantly, a green GMT hand. The reference is to the old model with an all-black bezel, reference 116710LN-0001, discontinued in 2018.
Before now the 116710LN had benefited in the marketplace from the fact that it was the last model to be made in this shade. On the one hand, this reference is the last to have an all-black bezel, and this could be a plus for its collectibility. On the other, however, the new production of a watch that is very similar could diminish its value on the market. We will see what happens.
Final Thoughts
Many feel that Rolex's W&W was a bit below expectations; after all, there were not as many big novelties as in past years. However, many of the novelties presented will have major impacts on the market.
On one hand, the Daytona "Le Mans" and the Gem-Sets follow the trends of recent periods and will most likely impose themselves on the market with very high prices. On the other hand, also the new GMT and the non-release of the Pepsi, will generate very important repercussions on this collection.
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