The luxury watch world isn’t shy when it comes to celebrating milestones, but every once in a while, the brands get a really good excuse to mark an anniversary. A century of the Rolex Oyster is certainly in the upper echelons of historically important wristwatches, so it should come as no surprise that the Crown focused on its long-standing collection for the main bulk of its Watches and Wonders 2026 novelties. That said, in a year when OP is king, Rolex also treated us to its most complicated watch yet with the new Yacht-Master II, as well as a Daytona that is sure to to become a hot ticket item. In what seems to be a year of the micro-rotor, with Vacheron Constantin, Universal Genève, and even Cartier launching examples, Rolex is sticking to what they do best – luxury utility.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 28, 34, 36, and 41
For the Oyster Perpetual’s big year, Rolex lifted the covers off of four new references, one in every size, and with some unusual choices. The watch that has made the headlines and featured in most of Rolex’s WW26 communication is the Oyster Perpetual 41 in two-tone, but with only its bezel and crown receiving a gilded touch. Its dial commemorates 100 years of the Oyster case, replacing the usual “Swiss Made” text below the index at 6 with “100 YEARS”.
What the 100 Years OP41 made up in tameness, the new OP36 Jubilee delivered in opulence, reviving the colourful motif originating in the 1970s. Rolex is no stranger to funky dials like this, previously outfitting the Day-Date with a cloisonné enamel “Puzzle” dial, as well as the Oyster Perpetual itself and its sought-after “Celebration” model, though I prefer “Bubbles” for that one. The brand hints at the complexity in making the new Jubilee dial, as the colours aren’t all printed at once, but rather separately, showcasing yet another example of Rolex’s unmatched precision in a mass-manufacturing context.
You’d be forgiven for confusing the two smallest OP novelties with Datejusts, as they feature semi-precious stone indices and a solid gold case and bracelet. The former breaks completely new ground for Rolex, while the latter was usually not present in the entry-level model. The OP34 gets a 34mm Everose gold case and Oyster bracelet, while its lacquered blue dial subtly integrates ogive-cut indices at 3, 6, and 9 made of dumortierite.
The baby OP28 goes for green, again featuring ogive-cut stone indices at the cardinal points, but this time in heliotrope to match the lacquer of the dial. Rolex explains that this smooth cut of stone was chosen for its resistance to reflection and maximising the surface area to show off the natural properties of the stones.
Rolex Yacht-Master II
You’re looking at the most complicated Rolex watch, ever, and for good reason. This new regatta timer features an advanced memory and chronograph count-down complication that, albeit with an extremely niche use case, is genuinely novel, alongside the added benefit of the Yacht-Master II adopting a look with less overt branding that many had been waiting for. As a quick explainer, Rolex has combined a classic chronograph pusher layout with an additional, programmable count-down hand that points to the inner 10-minute bezel. To start, use the bottom pusher to select how many minutes the chronograph will count down from – this being a regatta watch, the maximum is 10. Next, press the upper pusher to start the chronograph, and as the central seconds hand completes a revolution around the dial, the triangle hand moves in a counter-clockwise direction, incrementing one minute. Should you wish to change the count-down at any time, simply press the bottom pusher, and the hand will jump to the nearest minute. It could be down to my explanation, but it’s a lot more intuitive to use in person, I promise.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 Jubilee gold
A watch that could easily be part of Rolex’s off-catalogue collection – one which we’re not covering here – is the new Day-Date 40 in Jubilee gold, an all-new precious metal alloy. Rolex notes it as “glowing with tones of tender yellow, warm grey and soft pink”, though, expectedly doesn’t go into details of its composition. In person, it has a very soft pink hue, much less vibrant than the brand’s Everose, though I’m not sure about the “warm grey”. For the dial, Rolex chose green aventurine, which unlike its common, star-patterned glass variant, is actual stone – a form of quartzite. The indices are baguette-cut diamonds that have been invisibly set, which looks fantastic paired with the Jubilee gold dial appliques.
Rolex Daytona Rolesium
The most Rolex of all new Rolex releases has to be the new Daytona, sporting a four-piece enamel dial and a platinum/steel case. It had fans excited from the very first tease as it became obvious we’d be getting a white metal, albino Daytona to join the two panda variants in the current collection, but the choice of material for both the dial and case made sure this one was going to be reserved for the brand’s best (and most deep-pocketed) customers. In all honesty, I can joke about it being priced at US$57,800 – some US$40k more than its steel counterparts – but this is exactly the kind of watch that is going to become one of those unicorn pieces once it’s out of production, as I’m fairly certain not many will be made.
Rolex Datejust 41 Ombré
Rounding out the 2026 Watches and Wonders Rolex releases is a new Datejust 41, sporting a green fumé dial, fluted bezel, and Oyster bracelet. It’s a solid addition to the Datejust colour roster, though I do hope Rolex offers this in other sizes and configurations – the fluted bezel and Oyster bracelet combination never sat quite right with me.
