The New Rolex Land-Dweller
The new Rolex Land-Dweller was both a bit of a surprise and not when we first put it on our wrist in Geneva. It fits into the line-up in an interesting place. For one, it isn’t exactly a new look as Rolex released a similarly-shaped model in the past with an integrated bracelet and a Quartz movement; so there is a history to this.
For another thing, it is a Rolex has a more modern look and feel. It is slim on the wrist and quite comfortable. The bracelet looks straight and sharp but is effectively kind of a flipped Jubilee or what they are calling a Flat Jubilee, with the curves wrist-side, well-finished and properly beveled.
In photos, what catches your eye is the “intense white” honeycomb-motif on the dial and the fluted bezel which is in white gold on the Oystersteel 40mm case. But whereas on the screen those details look strong, on the wrist there is much more subtlety and elegance. The dial comes off with texture and glow more than anything else, and the fluted bezel gives just the right bit of glint to the case.
The Land-Dweller slips quite nicely under a well tailored sleeve, and comes off as a more classic watch than some of the more sporty models—or even some of the Oyster Perpetuals, Datejusts, and Day-Dates. Definitely easier to wear for many than the thicker Sky-Dweller.
A very nice detail is the sapphire crystalSapphire CrystalAn extremely scratch-resistant, clear, transparent material used to cover luxury watch dials, produced synthetically from aluminum oxide. Sapphire crystal ranks near diamond in hardness, and it keeps a watch faceGo to Sapphire Crystal Glossary caseback, allowing wearers a view of the Rolex Manufacture Calibre 7135, which shows you a very key component. The movement has a high frequency of 5 hertz and has a revolutionary escapement. The movement itself has 16 patent applications.
Price-wise, the steel model comes in above the steel models such as the GMT-Master II and the Datejust with a white gold bezel, but below the complicated, but larger, steel and white gold Sky-Dweller. So it does take a position of elegance—the very classic 1908 models are all precious metal. You can have the Land-Dweller in full precious metal, in 36mm, and with diamonds.
The Land-Dweller 40 in platinum is surprisingly subtle even with the ice-blue honeycomb face. The larger size is also available in Everose gold, and you can have diamonds in any of the precious metal pieces. There are also 36mm models available in the same variations. The Oystersteel model is there, as well as are the platinum and Everose gold with and without diamonds.
What the Land-Dweller does is bring a fresh look to a solid model line-up—still nodding to
history, and still with details that are true to the look of the house, but it debuts an exciting, new set of pieces that are delighting both collectors and those that want a different look for a daily-driver, flexible-use watch.