It is that time of the year again, Rolex has just announced its new watch releases for 2022. With that, Rolex also tends to discontinue several watches. Looking at the new Rolex catalogue, who is in and who is out for 2022? Below are a few key models worth highlighting…
NEW ROLEX MODELS 2022
New Rolex Air King in 40mm
The Rolex Air King received a refresh. Firstly, we have the addition of the crownCrown The knob on the outside of the watch that you typically use to either wind the mainspring or set the time [Learn More] guards. It still very much looks and feels like the previous model, however Rolex has tweaked the dial a little bit. The dial is now slightly larger (0,8mm) whereas the case size remained the same. Looking at the dial, most notable is the addition of a 0 next to the 05 minute marker. This finally balances the dial which was a bit of an odd design choice with the previous version. The 3 6 and 9 hour markers are now also finally lumed, which is similar to what we find on the Rolex Explorer dial. On the movement side, the new-generation Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King is equipped with calibre 3230.
New Rolex GMTGMT A GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) complication is a feature found in some watches that allows the wearer to track two time zones simultaneously. It typically includes a 24-hour hand and a bezel or a second hour hand that can be adjusted independently of the main hour hand to track the time in a different time zone. [Learn More]-Master II ‘DESTRO’ with Black and Green Color Scheme
There’s a new steel Rolex GMT-Master II joining the family at Rolex with a completely new color scheme dubbed the Rolex GMT Destro by some, or the Rolex GMT Sprite by others. Other than the new color scheme, what stands out is that it is in fact a lefty! Yes, you read that right, the crown and date window have been moved to the lefthand side of the case. This new version of the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II is equipped with calibre 3285, which was launched in 2018. The GMT-Master II with the crown on the left is available with an Oyster or Jubilee bracelet>
New Rolex Yacht Master 42mm
We also see a few new additions to the Yacht Master lineup, powered by the modern caliberCaliber The caliber ('movement') is the heart and engine of a watch. It consists of a number of interconnected components that work together. Energy is transmitted through the gear train, to the escapement mechanism. The escapement mechanism releases this energy in a controlled manner. This drives the gear train, which ultimately rotates the hands of the watch and keeps time. [More Info] 3235. Two models stand out to me. First is a new model in yellow gold pictured above. Both the case and the clasp are in 18K yellow gold, the Oysterflex bracelet itself has remained unchanged.
However the one that stands out most to me is the 18K White gold Rolex Yacht Master in 42mm with a Falcon’s Eye dial. Check it out above, it looks funky! I have never seen a dial like it, in fact I initially started wiping down my computer screen as I thought it had a smudge on it. Apparently not, this appears to be the actual dial. Clearly hard to judge based on the (terrible) pictures alone, so I’m curious to see this one in the metal soon. I’ll keep a closer eye on this one, no pun intended, as I’m intrigued by the choices that were made here by the Rolex design team.
New Rolex Day Date 40mm
While there are several new variants to be found, the one that Rolex rightly highlights in its release announcement is the Day Date in platinum with the ice blue dial. A thing of beauty!
Other New Rolex Additions
The Rolex Deep Sea already existed in 44mm, however this latest iteration has received an updated movement with the introduction of caliber 3235. A very Rolex-like update to this classic.
In addition to all the abovementioned models, which is just a limited number of the new releases we also find the typical new colors and material options for the Day-Date and Datejust models in a variety of sizes.
DISCONTINUED ROLEX MODELS 2022
There are a number of Rolex watches that have been discontinued as well for 2022. Despite persistent rumors, the Rolex GMT Master-II Pepsi has not been discontinued however. In fact I would say that a LOT of models have stayed in the catalog this year, which is a nice change (last year was particularly brutal for example). However, based on what we can see right now, one particular model has received the axe treatment more so than others when talking dial options….
Rolex Oyster Perpetual
The Oyster Perpetual in 41mm seems to have lost most of its funkier dial options, including the massively hyped Turquoise dial (Tiffany Blue Rolex OP for some). In addition it appears that we have lost both coral red and yellow dial options which were only recently introduced.
Note: We will be updating this list as we get additional confirmations on the discontinued models and dial options.
And A Look At What Rolex Discontinued For 2022