There's a totally rejiggered Air-King and a left-handed GMT Master II with never-before-seen bezel colors. But that's not all. When you're talking about Rolex, even the subtlest changes can be a big deal — but this year, we got updates both big and small from across the brand's ranges.
The new GMT Master II is unexpected in a couple ways
Rolex
This GMT Master II (ref. 126720VTNR) is Rolex's first lefty watch. Ever. The crown is on the lefthand side, as are the date display and "cyclops" magnifier.
Rolex could've simply reached into its archives and pulled out one of the nicknamed bezel designs fans have been clamoring for. Instead, they gave us something without a nickname (though how about "The Starbucks?").
Rolex is a brand generally associated with green, and it's an on-trend color, but nobody saw this move coming.
The Air-King (ref. ref. 126900) boasts small tweaks and refinements, but it's really the Oyster case with its sporty crown guards that gives this watch a niche all its own within Rolex's catalog.
Of course, its unconventional dial will always be rather polarizing, but the new Air-King feels overall like a cohesive offering — not to mention a proper pilot's watch.
No doubt: the new GMT Master II and Air-King are Rolex's key announcements from Watches & Wonders, but release weeks like this always bring welcome extensions to existing collections with new dial colors and the like. This reference 228236 Day-Date comes in platinum with an "ice-blue" dial.
We were cautiously hopeful that Rolex might drop its first titanium watch, but what we got instead was this still lovely Yacht-Master 42 in 18k yellow gold.
