Oyster Perpetual 36 (White Dial)(Ref 116000) - Initial Impressions

Well, if finally happened. I couple of days ago, I headed over to Shreve and pulled the trigger on that Oyster Perpetual 36 that I've been eyeing for months. I had to pull a double shift at work yesterday, so (given the highly "stand by" nature of the work), I had plenty of time to gain some solid impressions.





First and foremost, the dial - given the huge amount of attention the newly released black and white dials on the OP have received, it seems to be the one thing people want to know most about!

'Eggshell' seems to be the more appropriate term here - it has hints of silver in it that really play with light, and that silver really comes out when the lighting conditions are right. In indoor lighting, the white is pretty evident, and in direct sunlight when the sun his high, it REALLY pops! But at other times, the silver starts making it's presence known, appearing more silver than anything else, darkening in the right conditions to where it appears grey! Overall, it's a delightfully dynamic dial, and I've been truly enjoying see how it reacts to illumination.





Legibility is predictably great. The white gold hands react to whatever lighting is going on around it, and often contrast very well to the dial. Same can be said for the raised white gold indices, and they have the additional bonus of creating shadows that that heighten their presence. The sole exception is in low light, where it's not bright enough to where these things are readily visible, nor dark enough to where the lume (Superluminova, NOT Chromalight) is effective.





The last thing worth noting is fit. I had initially sought out the OP39 (Ref 114300), but the longer proportions of the case (48mm from end link to end link) created just a touch much of overhang for my taste. Hence, I went more traditional with sizing for this one (given how much I was spending, I was not willing to accept any degree of too-big-case), and I'm glad I did. I've been doing that for all other watches in my collection - only my Sturmanskie truly FITS, the rest, I "accept" that they are a bit on the large size. At 6.25 inches, I am loving the gentle drape of the links as they drop over the ends of my wrist. The look really works considering the less sporty, more conservative look of the OP.

At any rate, that's it for the initial impressions of the OP36. A more detailed review will come after a get a good week's worth of wrist time with it.


Cheers,

Alex

Congrats Alex! Wear it in good health! I recently picked up my first Rolex, interested to hear if your experience and impressions are the same.

Nice Watch, congratulations. Did you have a look at the black one? How do they compare?

Looks like a fantastic piece, enjoy your first rolex. I recently picked up a vintage rolex submariner, I do have to say rolex should stick to their more classic case sizes. Their 36mm cases are lovely and the vintage subs (40mm) with the folded end links take up much less space on the wrist than the current super case models.