My FAVORITE Watches Redesigned: Patek Philippe, Rolex, Vacheron Reviewed In Depth

The 41mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual costs $6,150. It's an entry-level watch in the Rolex collection, and yet, you will find aftermarket watch dealers selling these for tens of thousands of dollars. How did this happen? The 2021 redesign of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 124300 turned a once-overlooked steel sports watch into a genuine market rival to the company's own GMT Master II, Submariner, and Cosmograph Daytona. Historically, the Rolex "Explorer" drew on the lore of adventurers and, yes, explorers, to sell what was always a basic watch. A Rolex Explorer has three hands, no date, an automatic movement, and very little else. Add a tri-Arabic-numeral dial and a Rolex Oyster bracelet, and you have the basic idea. And, although Rolex attempted to inject a youthful infusion of fun with bright colors and new a new 39mm case in 2015, the model never had much traction in the marketplace. Enter 2021. Rolex's headliner for the model year was supposed to be the new Submariner 124060 and 126610. But a new 41mm Oyster Perpetual case size and revived "Stella" dials stole the show. 41mm cases mean the Rolex OP no longer is dismissed as a "boy's watch" or "wife watch." 41mm is more than a GMT or Daytona and on par with the new Submariner; it means business. The Rolex "Stella" dials take one step further than Rolex's tentative 2015 dalliance with colorful Oyster Perpetual dials. Inspired by the so-called "Stella" (star) dials of the 1970s, these lacquered colors are vibrant and glossy. Rolex