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Rolex Teases a Seriously Surprising New Sports Watch

Who saw this coming?

Close-up of a polished stainless steel watch case with a ridged bezel and a crown featuring a logo.Rolex
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By Johnny Brayson

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Welp, I guess I spoke too soon regarding Rolex’s annual teaser video ahead of this year’s Watches and Wonders trade show.

I previously noted the brand’s initial teaser was unusual because it teased just one new watch: a two-tone Oyster Perpetual. Now, the brand has released a second, more traditional teaser video that gives us a better look at that Rolesor OP as well as six other new models.

And one of those models has me really intrigued.

Watches and Wonders Geneva: Rolex, Grand Seiko and dozens of other heavy hitters gather in Switzerland every year to release their biggest watches. Catch up on all the new novelties.

A Sporting Chance

The new model in question is a sports watch, and one that doesn’t resemble anything in Rolex’s catalog … either past or present.

While we get just a brief shot of the watch from the side, we can see a little bit of the bezel, which is clearly a blue Cerachrom dive bezel. OK, so a new blue dive watch? Well, not so fast. On the side of the case, flanking the crown, are a pair of chronograph pushers. We’ve never seen a Rolex chronograph with a dive bezel, so whatever this is, it’s something new.

It also looks to be pretty high-end. The crown has three dots, signifying a Triplock crown, and the center dot is larger than the outer ones, which means this is a white gold case.

Close-up of a polished silver watch crown and bezel with the Rolex logo on the crown.
A chronograph with a dive bezel? Interesting.
Rolex

The combination of a precious metal with a dive bezel and a chronograph complication has most of the internet convinced that this watch marks the return of the Yacht-Master II.

Unceremoniously discontinued in 2024, the Yacht-Master II is famously maligned. I’d be surprised if Rolex brought it back, especially so soon after abandoning it. What’s more, the YMII did not previously have a dive-time bezel. It featured a unique Ring Command bezel marked from 1 – 10 that could be used to program a countdown timer for regatta races, making it one of The Crown’s most innovative and complicated watches.

If this is a new Yacht-Master II, it will mark a major departure from the previous version. However, Rolex is heavily investing in SailGP as its official timekeeper, so the watch’s return would make sense for the brand.

Still, I’m thinking it could be a new model, which would be a surprise given that Rolex has launched entirely new model families at two of the past three watches with the 1908 and Land-Dweller, so maybe the brand got tired of the accusations that they’re boring and predictable.

More newness

There are six other unreleased Rolex models in the new teaser video. Three, I’ll admit, aren’t terribly exciting.

We get a side view of an Oyster Perpetual in Oystersteel. A Datejust 41 with a fluted bezel and a green ombré dial. And a Day-Date in Everose gold. Meh.

Now, on to more exciting things. We get a brief shot of a Daytona with an open caseback. Currently, this feature is only available on precious-metal versions of the chronograph, but the three small dots on the crown here point to this being in steel. If that’s the case, then we could be getting a refresh of the Daytona… but I think this is more likely a commemorative model celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Oyster case, which is Rolex’s theme for this year.

Close-up of a gold Rolex watch bracelet with the Rolex crown logo embossed on a brushed metal link.
That is a fully brushed gold Oyster bracelet.
Rolex

The other interesting model we see has an Oyster bracelet in full yellow gold that’s entirely brushed, something that Rolex doesn’t currently offer on any model.

The bracelet is secured with an Oysterclasp, and there are just two Rolex model families that currently use this clasp: the Datejust and Oyster Perpetual. Of the two, only the Oyster Perpetual has a fully brushed Oyster bracelet (in steel), so does this mean we’re getting a full-gold OP in addition to the previously teased two-tone version?

Close-up of a gold Rolex crown emblem with "100" embossed below it on a reflective surface.
Rolex seems to be positioning its celebratory two-tone Oyster Perpetual as this year’s headline release.
Rolex

Finally, we get a better look at that Rolesor OP, and I no longer think it features titanium… this is definitely a steel and yellow gold combo. We also get a great look at its yellow gold crown, which features a “100” below the Rolex crown logo. Neat.

We’ll have the full story on Rolex’s new releases on Tuesday, April 14, when the Gear Patrol team and I will be reporting from Watches and Wonders in Geneva.

About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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