New Rolex 2024 Models: Lots of Gold and Diamonds and Only One Steel Watch
Each year in spring, so many eyes are on Rolex that it’s impressive their releases don’t get leaked out earlier, or more often. But Rolex’s releases have been leaked in a variety of different ways. One year, a reddit user looked at source code on Rolex’s website and was able to deduce some references based on the URL’s he saw. Another year, Rolex’s Google Adwords campaign went live a little too early so people were seeing ads for models about a few hours before they were announced. The Rolex 2024 Watches and Wonders releases were leaked without any “hacking” involved: people took videos inside Rolex’s actual booth before the event started and shared them online. Sorry, Rolex! Oh well, now that they’re officially released, let’s go over all the new Rolex 2024 models.
Notable Trends from the Rolex 2024 Watches and Wonders Releases
- Rolex is going way upscale: only one of the many new releases is a stainless steel model. And there are no new two-tone models. Everything else is solid gold or platinum–mostly with diamond bezels.
- All Day-Date 36’s (and yellow gold Day-Date 40’s) are available with trapezoidal diamond bezels now. These square-ish diamonds were previously only offered on the platinum versions.
- Diamond-set Daytonas are no longer off-catalog models. There are now seven diamond Daytona options in the regular Rolex catalog.
- Rolex is playing the “that thing only comes in this configuration” game. The new “panda MOP” dial for the white gold Daytona is sick…but it only comes with a round diamond bezel and an Oysterflex strap. If you want trapezoidal diamonds on a white gold Daytona, it only comes with one specific silver dial, on a bracelet.
Also see: Every Rolex Discontinued in 2024
Steel GMT-Master II with Black/Grey Bezel (126710 GRNR)
Many Rolex fans have been waiting for a return of an all-black bezel to the stainless steel GMT-Master II lineup. Instead, for 2024 Rolex has given us the next-closest thing: the grey/black (GRNR) bezel option, previously available only on two-tone and gold models. It has a green 24-hour hand as well as green “GMT-Master II” text, just as the 116710LN launched in 2007 did. Aside from these color differences on the dial and bezel insert, the 126710GRNR is just like any other 126710.
It’s notable that the 126710GRNR is the only steel Rolex 2024 Watches and Wonders release. There isn’t a single new other new bezel, dial, or bracelet option for any stainless steel model. All the other 2024 Rolex releases are solid gold or platinum models, many with diamond bezels. So, all in all, it’s a pretty objectively disappointing year for collectors looking for Rolexes under $20,000. There aren’t even any new two-tone watches!
Steel GMT-Master II Grey/Black Specs
| Model | GMT-Master II |
| Reference | 126710GRNR |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Case Diameter | 40mm |
| Case Thickness | 12mm |
| Water Resistance | 100m |
| Movement | Caliber 3285 (Automatic, 8 beats per second) |
| Power Reserve | 70 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date, GMT |
| Bracelet/Strap | Stainless steel Oyster or Jubilee strap with |
| MSRP (Apr. 2024) | $10,700 (Oyster bracelet) $10,900 (Jubilee bracelet) |
Gold Deepsea
Rolex releases “teaser” videos a few days before Watches and Wonders each year, usually showing quick zoomed-in cuts of the new watches. One thing we could clearly see, though, was a non-gold caseback on a gold watch. The only explanation could be a gold Deepsea, some thought, because their casebacks need to be titanium due to their crazy depth rating. And they were right. The new gold Deepsea has a rich blue dial, and interestingly, the rehaut itself is dark blue instead of the usual shiny silver color.
Some people say that a gold Deepsea makes no sense, but really, does any $52,100 gold watch “make sense?” There will always be a certain segment of people that want big, beefy gold watches, and now that the Yacht-Master II is gone, it makes sense that Rolex would want to keep a gold 44mm model in their catalog.
Note that the word “Sea-Dweller” is gone. It’s now just a Deepsea. The steel version also gets the “Deepsea-only” dial text but otherwise remains unchanged.
Gold Deepsea Specs
| Model | Deepsea |
| Reference | 136668 |
| Case Material | 18k yellow gold |
| Case Diameter | 44mm |
| Case Thickness | 12mm |
| Water Resistance | 100m |
| Movement | Caliber 3285 (Automatic, 8 beats per second) |
| Power Reserve | 70 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| MSRP (Apr. 2024) | $52,100 |
Platinum 1908 with Guilloche Dial
The 1908 Perpetual is now available in platinum, with a beautiful ice blue dial. The 1908 is a classy 39mm dress watch that first debuted in yellow and white gold in 2023, effectively replacing the old Cellini dress watch line. The ice blue dial of the new platinum version has a beautiful guilloche texture. Specifically, Rolex calls it a “guilloche rice-grain motif” surrounded by a “finely crimped guilloche-work border.” Nice. Like the other 1908’s, it has the excellently-finished Caliber 7140 movement with an exhibition caseback.
While the movement finishing is undoubtedly well-done, some have criticized Rolex for using “faux chatons” on the 1908. Chatons are small, removable gold or brass rings that are used to hold jeweled bearings in place in traditional high-end mechanical watch movements. Rolex has machined some rings on the movement and gold-plated them to mimic that appearance.
| Model | 1908 Perpetual |
| Reference | 52506 |
| Case Material | Platinum |
| Case Diameter | 39mm |
| Case Thickness | 9.5mm |
| Water Resistance | 50m |
| Movement | Caliber 7140 (Automatic, 8 beats per second, ±2 sec/day accuracy) |
| Power Reserve | 66 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds |
| Bracelet/Strap | Brown or black alligator strap with deployant clasp |
| MSRP (Apr. 2024) | $30,900 |
Diamond-Bezel Daytonas: Pearl Pandas and More
Seven new Daytona references with diamond-set bezels were part of the Rolex 2024 Watches and Wonders releases, with list prices ranging from $61,400 to $119,900. Interestingly, each reference is only available in one configuration. Do you want a yellow gold diamond-bezel Daytona with a bracelet, for instance? Well, the diamonds have to be trapezoidal (square-looking) and the dial will be a baguette champagne dial. Daytonas with diamond bezels historically were all off-catalog models, so it’s a change of pace for Rolex to openly list them all on their website.
The seven exact configurations shown in the picture above are the only diamond-bezel Rolex Daytona models released in 2024. All three colors of gold are represented, as are both Oysterflex and solid gold bracelets. Interestingly, there are no platinum Daytonas with diamond bezels–at least not on Rolex’s website. 2023’s 126576TBR was an off-catalog model, though, so maybe we’ll see some off-catalog platinum diamond Daytona action later this year.
To me, the star of the diamond Daytona lineup is the new Panda mother-of-pearl dial for the white gold Oysterflex Daytona. It looks great, as does the corresponding “reverse Panda” black mother-of-pearl dial that comes on a white gold bracelet. Black mother-of-pearl subdials on a white mother-of-pearl dial, and vice versa–brilliant!
Yellow Gold “Le Mans” Daytona
The white gold Le Mans Daytona is already discontinued, but it has been replaced by a yellow gold Daytona Le Mans model that seems to be even rarer. The “100” on the bezel is still red, meaning it is still a bona fide Le Mans 100th anniversary edition.
Jubilee Bracelet Option for YG and RG Sky-Dweller
Yellow gold and rose gold Sky-Dwellers are now both offered with Jubilee bracelets. This is noteworthy because it’s the first time in decades that Rolex has made a rose gold Jubilee bracelet.
Day-Date TBR (Trapezoidal Diamond) Bezels
Rolexes with references ending in “TBR” have trapeze-cut diamond bezels. Trapezoidal brilliants, which basically look square, are much rarer than the typical RBR (round brilliant) diamond bezels. They’re usually reserved for special off-catalog or platinum pieces. In fact they were already offered on both 36mm and 40mm platinum Day-Dates. But for 2024, Rolex has begun offering trapezoidal diamond-set bezels for the Day-Date 36 in every shade of gold. Yellow gold Day-Date 40’s now get the TBR option as well.
TBR models are expensive. The list price for a diamond-less yellow gold Day-Date 40 is $38,500. If you want the trapeze-cut diamond-set bezel, the 228398TBR starts at $85,700! $47,200 for a bezel upgrade! That’s $30,000 more than even the regular round diamond version (228348RBR). That does seem ludicrous, but there really is far more labor involved in trapeze-cut diamonds.
With round diamonds, you need to match the size and cut of the diamonds (and hopefully clarity and color). But with a trapeze cut you pretty much need to match the whole shape perfectly. Keep in mind that the outer edge of each diamond has to be slightly larger than the inner edge in order for them all to fit together in a circle.
“Each stone needs to be pre-cut prior to setting, therefore it takes much more time and effort than with simple round diamonds.”
Luxury Bazaar partner Alex Roiz on trapeze-cut gems
Day-Date 40 Mother-of-Pearl
Mother-of-pearl dials aren’t terribly rare on Day-Date 36’s, but they’ve never been offered on a Day-Date 40 until now. For Rolex’s 2024 releases, they’ve added a mother-of-pearl dial option for every metal of Day-Date 40–rose gold, yellow gold, white gold or platinum. In years past, mother-of-pearl dials were pretty unpopular with collectors, but that has slowly changed.
Day-Date 40 Roman Ombré Dials
Rolex already released a slate ombré dial for the rose gold Day-Date 40 to celebrate the 2024 Oscars, and now they’ve released a green ombre dial for the yellow gold Day-Date 40 and a blue one for the white gold and platinum versions.
New Roman Numeral Day-Date 36 Dials (Including Ombré)
It seems like Rolex is bridging the design language gap between the DD36 and DD40 by unifying the styles of both diamond and Roman numeral hour markers. All the newest diamond DD36 dials have baguettes, like the DD40, and the “every-other hour” Roman numeral style (where the odd hours are just sticks) has now made its way to the smaller size as well.
These new Roman DD36 dials include some ombré dials (brown for rose gold, blue for white gold or platinum, and green for yellow gold). But even regular white Roman numeral dials (and ice blue dials for the platinum version) have the new style as well. I guess Rolex felt that the old, standard Roman numerals were dated.
Day-Date 36 Baguette Dials
Dials with baguette diamonds at every hour were previously reserved for the Day-Date 40, but the modern Day-Date 36 line got its first baguette diamond dial option in 2023: the ice blue baguette diamond dial on the platinum 128236 model. Many other Day-Date 36 diamond dials are now getting the baguette treatment, too.
Four colorful Day-Date 36 dials with baguette markers were released at Watches and Wonders 2024. The yellow gold DD36 gets a vibrant green dial color previously seen only on the Day-Date 40. The Everose gold version gets a blue-green color that first appeared on the rose gold Sky-Dweller in 2023, and that might be my favorite release of the year. Great color. Meanwhile, the white gold and platinum models get a pink baguette dial option as well as a “bright blue” color previously seen on the Oyster Perpetual lineup.
It’s not just the colorful dials getting baguettes. Mother-of-pearl and silver diamond dials now have baguettes, too. Plenty of small-diamond dials with the familiar two-baguette format (at 6 and 9 o’clock) still appear in the catalog, though. Here’s a comparison of the old and new mother-of-pearl dials, both still in the current lineup for ref. 128235:
Rolex 2024 Releases: In Conclusion
While I like some of Rolex’s new dial offerings, particularly the blue-green Day-Date and the panda MOP Daytona, this year’s extreme emphasis on diamond-set models is a little bit disheartening for collectors hoping for options closer to $10,000 than $100,000. One new steel model for the whole year. One! Pretty wild.
More on Rolex:
The Rolex Waiting List Explained: 2024 Edition
The Best Rolex Datejust Alternatives
Rare Rolex Watches: A Collector’s Guide
Rolex 16610 Submariner: A Collector’s Guide
Platinum Rolex Watch Prices: A Collector’s Guide
