(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Collectors have long coveted Rolex’s tool watches—rugged Cosmograph Daytona chronographs for keeping time on the racetrack and Submariners you can read deep underwater. So it was a curious move last year when the brand introduced the Perpetual 1908, a simple 39-millimeter dress watch.
Offered in 18-karat white or yellow gold with a black or white face, it merely told the time. The case rim was delicately fluted, not like the glittery crenellated bezel on some Oyster Perpetuals. And instead of a brawny link bracelet? An alligator strap. It was so subdued.
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Could this line enter the Rolex canon? Many people want a watch to be subtle, but no one wants it to go unnoticed.
Signs point to yes: A luxe platinum $30,900 version, with a rare transparent caseback, arrived in spring with an arresting ice blue dial. Its guilloché motif evokes ripples of rain curving across the surface of a pond. It feels like the start of a fresh tradition in a sturdy metal to last generations.
And shoppers have been showing up at boutiques asking for the 1908 by name.
“Given the popularity of Rolex, there was immediate interest when they released an entirely new model. Since its launch, we have seen strong demand for all iterations of the 1908,” says David Hurley, deputy CEO at Watches of Switzerland Group. “The platinum variation with an ice blue dial offers a modern take on a classic style and fits right into the trend we’ve seen with dress watches growing exponentially over the past few years.”
Is it beautiful? Yes. Is it daring? Not really. But Rolex didn’t get where it is by breaking tradition. It’s at its finest when it merely bends it.
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