I popped by my local AD yesterday to try on a few of the new Rolex offerings and something occurred to me...

Two of my forum favourites are the What aRe yoU Wearing today and the What Did yoU Buy today threads.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that enjoys an occasional visit to the local watch shop to try on a few new releases, so I thought it might be helpful to have a thread devoted to sharing pictures and our general impressions of the watches we are trying on for the first time.

I'll start! My visit was initially to try on the new Autavia, thanks to a call from the awesome rep I work with at my local Rolex/Omega AD. Our discussion soon turned to Rolex and their 2017 releases. Below are the three of the new models I had a look at:

First up - the new Sea Dweller! This thing is an absolute beast on the wrist. As hard as I tried, I couldn't adequately convey in pictures just how large this watch feels on the wrist.

For reference, my wrist is not insubstantial 7.25" and the SD felt too large for my tastes.

For someone who likes big watches and always felt the Submariner was too small, this is your watch. The overall proportions seem identical to the Sub, just scaled up for a larger person.

One final thought... theadditipn of the red script on the dial is unsurprisingly awesome. I would love to see Rolex do the same thing to the Submariner.



Next up is the new Black Bay Chrono.

When I first saw the press releases for this watch, I have to admit, I was not a fan. Snowflake hands on a Chronograph??? What, why? Why would you include a chunky hour hand on a watch with subdials?

Oh, and Submariner-style indices? Is this a chrono or a diver? Decide, Tudor!!!

A funny thing happens when you strap this on your wrist... it all comes together. This is, IMO, a brilliant watch and the best incarnation of the Black Bay series yet (and I am a big fan of the BB in general).

The case feel chunky but well proportioned. The dial is simply gorgeous and the snowflake hands seem to have been thinned out to reduce the amount they will obscure the subdials.

I am in love with this watch and now badly want to own one. For around $5000 CAD you get Tudor/Rolex build quality and a movement that will cost you nearly double the price if the case has a Breitling logo on it.

The only negative for me are the screw-down pushers... I get it... it's theoretically a dive watch, but, for me, it would mean dramatically reducing the amount I would use the chronograph complication.



The final new model I was able to try out turned out to be the unexpected star of the group... the new Datejust 41...

The revised Datejust somehow escaped my attention when is was announced this year.

I think a big reason for this is that I'd written off the modern DJ as a watch not intended for me.

To me, the DJII feels garish... designed by Rolex to be noticed... large and full of bling.

The DJ41, on the other hand, feels like a modern interpretation of the classic Datejust. Sleek, thin, elegant, understated, yet exuding luxury and quality.

The case is thinned out considerably from the DJII. The bezels are less substantial and mate nicely with the dials. The proportions now seem spot-on.

The two dials I sampled were both gorgeous, but my favourite was the sunburst blue.

Inside is, of course, Rolex's newest movement, which is by most accounts incredible.

I still feel 41mm is too large for a watch like this, but outside of that one issue, Rolex has knocked this one out of the park.