Watch enthusiasts, how excited are you right now?
It’s that time of year when those who wear, collect, or simply admire fine watches are delivered a host of exciting new announcements.
The flurry of news comes thanks to revelations happening at luxury watch trade show Watches and Wonders. Held in Geneva, it’s an annual event top houses use as a platform to reveal their newest models and innovations. Hosting journalists, retailers and collectors, there are exhibitions, demos, and industry talks celebrating all that is new and notable from the world’s biggest watch brands.
Among the most anticipated presentations is undoubtedly that from Rolex, and this year’s announcements from the prestigious Swiss watch company have just dropped.
The house says this year’s developments reveal a continued focus on materials science, dial-making artistry and performance.
Notable among the collection of new watches? The celebration of 100 years since the Oyster case was created. The revolutionary waterproof wristwatch created by Rolex in 1926 was a major breakthrough in watchmaking, and the house has new pieces to honour the occasion, including a special edition model, the Oyster Perpetual 41. The yellow Rolesor version features a combination of alloys expressed through a bezel and winding crown crafted from yellow gold, paired with a case and bracelet in Oystersteel. Another, the Oyster Perpetual 36, has a colourful dial to further acknowledge the milestone.
Plenty are also buzzing about the exclusive Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona in a Rolesium version, combining Oystersteel and platinum – a first for this model.
Rolex new watches for 2026
Oyster Perpetual 41
This new watch is a celebration of the birth of the Oyster and comes equipped with calibre 3230, a self-winding mechanical movement. Presented in a yellow Rolesor version, the bezel and winding crown are crafted from yellow gold, married with a case and bracelet in Oystersteel. These touches of yellow gold recall the case elements of some early Oyster watches.
The watch also includes a number of other details evoking the Oyster’s centenary. The winding crown features the number 100 in relief. On the slate dial, the inscription ‘100 years’ appears at 6 o’clock in place of the usual ‘Swiss Made’ marking. Moreover, each five-minute interval on the minute track is denoted by a green square, and the name ‘Rolex’ is pad printed in the same green, the brand’s emblematic colour.
Oyster Perpetual 36
A joyful explosion of colour, the multicoloured lacquer dial on this watch is decorated with the Jubilee motif, where letters of the brand’s name are playfully represented.
Each of the ten colours is applied individually by pad printing – a lengthy and complex process requiring the utmost precision. Crafted from Oystersteel, the watch is is waterproof to a depth of 100m and is equipped with calibre 3230, a self-winding mechanical movement.
Oyster Perpetual 28 & 34
Offered in 18 ct gold, the Oyster Perpetual 28 and Oyster Perpetual 34 feature an elegant satin-finish case and bracelet and come equipped with calibre 2232, a self-winding mechanical movement.
The Oyster Perpetual 28 is fashioned from 18 ct yellow gold and features a green stone lacquer dial, while the Oyster Perpetual 34 is presented in 18 ct Everose gold with a blue stone lacquer dial. The hour markers at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock are crafted from natural stone, a first for the brand.
Oyster Perpetual Datejust 41
Brining together some iconic hallmarks with timeless style, this watch in a white Rolesor version is adorned with an ombré dial, lacquered in the brand’s signature green hue and features a fluted bezel, and robust steel and precious white gold combination. The Datejust 41 is equipped with calibre 3235, a movement at the forefront of watchmaking technology, enabling it to display the date as well as the hours, minutes and seconds.
Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II
Sleek, simplified, modernised and with enhanced legibility, the regatta chronograph by Rolex makes a comeback. The countdown function of this nautical watch has been entirely redesigned to more effectively assist sailors during the critical start sequence of races. The display of the various functions and the operation of the countdown have been redesigned for enhanced legibility and easier manipulation. This new version is equipped with calibre 4162, an evolution of calibre 4161 that powered the previous version of the model. As well as benefiting from a completely reengineered countdown function, this new movement incorporates a number of the major innovations that Rolex has brought to its movements, including the Chronergy escapement.
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40
Another stylist option playing with colour and finish, the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 is offered in 18 ct Jubilee Gold. The colour almost ‘glows’ with tones of tender yellow, warm grey and soft pink in a brand-new alloy, entirely developed and produced in-house. The devlopment illustrates the innovation capabilityof Rolex and its technical mastery in the field of precious metals.
The prestige of this watch is further elevated by the choice of light green aventurine for its dial, whose hue complements the gilded effect of the case and bracelet.
Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona
An original and exclusive configuration of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona is presented in a Rolesium version, combining Oystersteel and platinum and is equipped with calibre 4131.
It features a Cerachrom bezel in the colour anthracite – a new shade – with a redesigned tachymetric scale, and showcasing a white enamelled dial, the watch also features a transparent case back and a cut-out oscillating weight made of yellow gold. For the specific metallic gleam on the bezel, Rolex developed a specific type of ceramic composed of zirconia enriched with tungsten carbide, for which a patent application was filed.
The white enameled dial is unique, also requiring the development of a special production process. The ‘grand feu’ (literally ‘high fire’) method is so-called because, following application of the enamel powder mixed with water, the future dial is placed in a kiln heated to over 800° C. Traditionally, the liquid enamel mixture is applied to a metal base. In the case of this watch, however, it is coated onto ceramic plates – one for the dial itself and three others for the counters – which are fitted to a brass base after the vitrification firing phase.
