Rolex Land-Dweller – you’ve seen it teased, leaked, and hinted, and now it’s finally here – what’s it all about?
Borna Bošnjak- A slew of new Land-Dwellers will be joining Rolex’s newest collection, in 36mm and 40mm sizes, across three metals – white Rolesor, platinum, and Everose gold.
- There are two dial choices and bezel choices, the first with fluted bezels and Arabics at 6 and 9, or a gem-set variant with baguettes on both the bezel and dial.
- Other than the new look, the flat, integrated Jubilee bracelet and new 5Hz 7135 calibre with the Dynapulse escapement are the biggest novelties.
Having been teased to death via shoddy screen caps and subtly flexed by tennis GOAT Roger Federer hours before its unveiling, we finally have the details of the Crown’s latest models. The Rolex Land-Dweller launches as a fully-fledged collection, with three material options across two sizes available at launch, with further configurations with gem-set dials and bezels also available. But this isn’t just a new watch for Rolex, it’s the most recognisable watch brand finally jumping onto the integrated bracelet bandwagon, and it’s doing it in the expected Rolex fashion – late, and with all the details ironed out.
Starting with its physical dimensions, the Land-Dweller clocks in at 36mm or 40mm in diameter – an encouraging start to immediately have two size options. What’s more, the angular Oyster case that draws much inspiration from the Rolex Beta 21 quartz and Oysterquartz stays at under 10mm in height despite retaining that all-important water resistance of 100 metres, which is fairly impressive.
Just like those aforementioned vintage legends, gone are the recognisable, swooping curves that you might see on a Datejust, replaced by rich brushed surfaces and angles. That said, this is a Rolex after all, and that’s a brand that can’t stay away from a bit of bling. As a result, you’ll find plenty of polished surfaces all-round, including the rounded case flanks, fluted bezels and flat mid-links.
Just as important as the case is the bracelet, especially in an integrated bracelet watch. For the Land-Dweller, Rolex chose to modify its legendary Jubilee style, flattening its top surfaces to better match the 1970s aesthetic of the angular case. The rich brushing on the outer links matches that of the case, while the mid-links are as shiny as they get, sure to be noticed from across the room – so, the usual Rolex way.
The Land-Dweller is also the piece that probably comes closest to bridging the gap between the brand’s Professional and Classic families, though it still very much leans towards the latter, also indicated by the hidden clasp. If I can just point out one tidbit that I’m surprised wasn’t completely smoothed out, it’s that first, central link coming from the case – it just looks a little disproportionately long compared to the rest of the bracelet.
What surprised me most was just how detailed the dials were. As Rolex is positioning the Land-Dweller as a daily wearer, I would have expected a simple, lacquered or sunburst dial to be the one the watch is launched with. Instead, we got this honeycomb that makes the whole dial quite busy, especially with the numerous lines of text, cyclops lens, and Arabic numerals there at the same time. In any case, the Rolesor and Everose variants get an opaline white colour, with case-matching hands and indices, while the 950 platinum expectedly goes for an ice blue.
As now seems to be the case with an increasing number of Rolexes, we have yet another model with a display caseback. Here, it shows off the brand new Calibre 7135, which also happens to be Rolex’s very first high-beat calibre. Beating at 5Hz, it has a 66-hour power reserve, but more importantly for us watch nerds, also introduces the new Dynapulse escapement that sports superior efficiency when compared to a traditional Swiss lever. You might’ve seen claims of Rolex launching their first natural escapement, but we can now see that’s not the case with the Dynapulse. Unlike a natural escapement, Rolex’s latest development doesn’t involve any direct impulses to the balance, instead delivering both impulses via the twin escape wheels to a lever. Instead, Dynapulse achieves the claimed 30% efficiency increase by using one escape wheel to impulse the lever after unlocking, thus eliminating flutter between the teeth of the two escape wheels.
Finally, just briefly touching on the decoration side of things – the 7135 is finished as you may have expected Rolex to finish one of their displayed movements. It’s industrial, but handsome, with striping to most of the bridges, and fine brushing elsewhere. I’d still like to see Rolex really push forward with decoration – it feels like that’s the only avenue they have left to explore – but we’re more likely to see that happen in something like a complicated Perpetual 1908 than a robust daily.
Rolex Land-Dweller pricing and availability
The Rolex Land-Dweller is now available. Price: A$22,700 (36mm, Rolesor), A$24,200 (40mm, Rolesor), A$68,400 (36mm, Everose), A$143,500 (36mm, gem-set Everose), A$74,900 (40mm, Everose), A$167,500 (40mm, gem-set Everose), A$94,400 (36mm, platinum), A$151,400 (36mm, gem-set platinum), A$101,300 (40mm, platinum), A$186,500 (40mm, gem-set platinum)
| Brand | Rolex |
| Model | Land-Dweller 36 Land-Dweller 40 |
| Reference | 127234 (36mm, Rolesor) 127334 (40mm, Rolesor) 127235 (36mm, Everose) 127285TBR (36mm, gem-set Everose) 127335 (40mm, Everose) 127385 TBR (40mm, gem-set Everose) 127236 (36mm, platinum) 127286 TBR (36mm, gem-set platinum) 127336 (40mm, platinum) |
| Case Dimensions | 36mm (D) x 9.7mm (T) 40mm (D) x 9.7mm (T) |
| Case material | White Rolesor Everose gold Platinum |
| Water Resistance | 100 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Honeycomb, optional baguette hour markers |
| Bracelet | Integrated case-matching bracelet, hidden folding clasp |
| Movement | Calibre 7135, in-house, automatic, 5Hz |
| Power Reserve | 66 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | A$22,700 (36mm, Rolesor) A$24,200 (40mm, Rolesor) A$68,400 (36mm, Everose) A$143,500 (36mm, gem-set Everose) A$74,900 (40mm, Everose) A$167,500 (40mm, gem-set Everose) A$94,400 (36mm, platinum) A$151,400 (36mm, gem-set platinum) A$101,300 (40mm, platinum) A$186,500 (40mm, gem-set platinum) |