Rolex Daytona & Explorer 2: A Tale Of Two Series: Successes & Failures of Luxury Watch Redesigns

Win an Omega Speedmaster: http://swee.ps/yaafnZkVR This evening, Watches Tonight travels time. Due to live-stream equipment failure, this episode has been recorded and posted for your viewing pleasure. Tim Mosso greets our audience of watch buyers, watch collectors, and watch enthusiasts as a blast from the not-too-distant past with an evaluation of the Rolex Daytona, Omega Seamaster, Rolex Explorer 2, and other case-studies of luxury watch redesign triumphs and travails. Fundamentally, the luxury watch hobby is a passion of aesthetics. Despite fixation on movement engineering, micro-component finishing, and historical authenticity, the reality of collecting is one of arm’s length evaluation; if the watch doesn’t look good, there’s no point in moving forward. Even the most technically accomplished luxury watch can’t beat the rap if it’s ugly or inert. Our stories of success include several of the signature models of elite brands. The 1993 Omega Seamaster stands apart as a transformational model that lifted the fortunes of the Omega watch brand, revitalized the Seamaster dive watch line, and established lasting design language that has endured a quarter century to find new life in the 2018 Omega Seamaster Diver 300M The Rolex Daytona is a chronograph tale in two acts; the first is one of futility, obscurity, and anonymity. The Cosmograph Daytona’s second act was as spectacular as the first was listeless. From 1988, the new automatic chronometer chronograph set luxury watch