Tag: Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 124300
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 124300
It’s now official! Not unsurprisingly, Rolex has presented an update to its Oyster Perpetual collection. Rolex has officially discontinued the Oyster Perpetual 39mm and gone all-in on 41mm. With that said, Rolex has now presented the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41mm reference 124300 with a ton of new bright and bold dial colors! This new movement features the new generation caliber and also a long-requested upgrade to the clasp to feature the Easylink extension system! To mark this, Rolex has slightly upgraded the design and fitted it with the in-house caliber 3232.
The predecessor 114300 is now officially discontinued and has been replaced by the new reference 124300. Apart from only updating the design, Rolex also upped the size from 39mm to 41mm.
All of the official Rolex retailers we have spoken with have told us that during 2020, they practically received no Oyster Perpetual 39 114300. Some have received only one piece, whilst others have gotten just a few pieces. This can be further confirmed by the fact that what is normally a watch that can be found in essentially all AD windows, has been nowhere to be found for the most part during 2020.
The Oyster Perpetual 39 has not been a “waitlist” watch that is hard to get, but in recent times, they have become more and more difficult to find. This is not necessarily because the demand for them has increased, but rather that the supply has more or less come to a full halt.
With that said, this has been an indication that Rolex has been up to something with the Oyster Perpetual 39, and now, it has been officially confirmed. Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41mm reference 124300 has been working on a new generation Oyster Perpetual. Of course with the new generation movement 3230.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 39 114300 was originally presented in 2015. More recently, in 2018, Rolex also presented two new colors for the model – black and white. But this watch has, since its launch been equipped with the 3130 calibers, and with Rolex’s continuous pursuit of introducing the new “32” calibers into all its model lines (in 2019, it was the GMT-Master II with the caliber 3285), 2020 is the year when it is the OP 39’s time to get an upgrade.
Rolex presents the new Oyster Perpetual 39 with the new reference 124300, which unsurprisingly follows the same format for the new reference number by replacing the 11 in the beginning with a 12 to indicate the latest generation. Since Rolex is about evolution rather than revolution, the updates and changes are not huge. But the biggest upgrade is indeed the new caliber which boasts a 70-hour power reserve as opposed to the previous 48 hours.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41mm reference 124300 upgrade of this model was due, so it is nice to see a substantially improved technical aspect of this watch. The Oyster Perpetual is a true classic that doesn’t need a whole lot of visual changes or refinements, so Rolex has chosen to play it safe.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 124300
In addition to a revamped Rolex Submariner watch collection, 2020 sees Rolex release a new 41mm wide version of the entry-level Rolex Oyster Perpetual in a larger case and with a new generation movement as the reference 124300 collection. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 watch debut with seven exciting dial colors, including those which have not been featured on Rolex dials for a long time. Rolex has certainly needed the “bright colors are in” trend, and created both conservative and genuinely fun versions of what will for many people the entry-price point for a men’s Rolex watch in steel.
The 124300 Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch builds on the 114300 watches that were originally debuted in 2015. The previous largest case size for the Oyster Perpetual was 39mm wide, and that now goes up to 41mm wide for 2020. Note that introduction of the Oyster Perpetual 41 signals the discontinuation of the Oyster Perpetual 39 (which is now no longer made). The Oystersteel-cased watches features polished, rounded bezels, and a simple “no date” dial display. In fact, the movements Rolex uses in the Oyster Perpetual 41 watches is the newer in-house made caliber 3230 automatic, which is the same movement used in the also new for 2020 Rolex Submariner 124060 “No Date” watch. The 4Hz, 70 hours power reserve automatic movement is both COSC and in-house Rolex “Superlative Chronometer” certified and is accurate to a stunning 2 seconds a day on average.
For all the talk of watch sizes going down, Rolex is bucking that trend by moving up. It is true that, there are also new smaller versions of the Oyster Perpetual watch for 2020, but this years’ new Rolex watches are dominated by the 41mm wide size. In modern Rolex history this size has until now been mostly associated with the Rolex Datejust 41 (aBlogtoWatch review here). Thus, both the new Oyster Perpetual 41 and new 2020 Rolex Submariner watches all feature 41mm wide case sizes.
The all-brushed steel case of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 is paired with a matching steel bracelet which features Rolex’s updated design with even lower tolerance between parts it seems. The bracelet does have an “easy extension” clasp, but not the fancier Glidelock micro-adjust feature in the more expensive Rolex Submariner models. The cases of the Oyster Perpetual 41 watches are water resistant to 100 meters. As of 2020, Rolex now produces the Oyster Perpetual watch in 31, 34, 36, and 41mm wide sizes. Many of the watches share dial colors, and so care should be taken when someone is selecting a watch to buy.
Rolex updated the Oyster Perpetual 41 dial with more than just new colors. For 2020 the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock hour markers have “double bars” giving then a larger size and visually creating a look that feels more familiar with the Submariner – which has different hour marker shapes on the dial. A lot of collectors might note even at first notice the existence of the “double bar” hour markers on the Oyster Perpetual 41. What they no doubt will notice are the new color options. The boldest of which are yellow, turquoise, and “coral red” dial colors. Also available for the 124300 watch are traditional “bright black,” silver with gold markers and hands, deep metallic “bright blue,” and forest green dial color options. During our meeting with Rolex, they did not have all the 41mm wide dial color version, so for demonstration purposes some of the watches shot use the reference 126000 Oyster Perpetual 36 cases.
Between the seven new 124300 Oyster Perpetual 41 watches, and the three new all-steel versions of the Submariner 41, that is a total of at least 10 new all-steel men’s Rolex watches for 2020. Why is this important? Steel Rolex watches have been in high-demand and very challenging to make. Rather than over-produce any given model to meet consumer demand, Rolex is here choosing to simply release more steel watches, none of which will experience “greater than normal” production numbers in order to not dilute market value over time.