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Supercollector Eric Ku responds to the 5 key 2021 Rolex releases in this candid video

Supercollector Eric Ku responds to the 5 key 2021 Rolex releases in this candid video

Andrew McUtchen

It’s crazy to think we only crossed paths with Eric Ku in January of last year, when he so kindly donated a Tiffany stamped Rolex to the Watch & Act auction.  Since then, yet another luminary in the game who had previously been a face on a screen – Hodinkee’s Talking Watches a real highlight – has become a regular feature in a WhatsApp thread of champions. Personally speaking, I still completely fan out when I hear from George Bamford, Wei Koh, Jean-Claude Biver or Jeffrey Kingston. Eric is 100% on the list. When it comes to collecting, restoration, custom pieces, real commentary, he’s the man.

This very thread lit up at 3am Aussie time this morning when Rolex dropped the hammer on a first sortie of 2021 releases. As you can likely tell from my far from sunny complexion in this video, I haven’t been getting much sleep lately, as Watches & Wonders unfolds on the other side of the world, with the most exciting bits invariably happening at the darkest hours before dawn. But 3am be damned, I had to know what Eric’s thoughts were. We went back and forth until I fell asleep with a phone in my hand. In the morning, we agreed to do it all again on Zoom and hit record.

This is what happened, in terms of topics discussed:

  • The unexpected drop of the Rolex Explorer in two-tone
  • The enduring appeal – and quality – of Rolex meteorite dials
  • The laser-etched craftmanship of the ‘Festive Palm’ motif on the 36mm Oyster Perpetual Datejust
  • The place in the Rolex family of the Explorer II, and how visible the new changes will be
  • The bracelet changes on Sky-Dweller to Jubilee and GMT-Master II to Oyster