No matter what the watch industry is doing and launching, everybody is holding their breath to see whether this time Rolex had added or subtracted half a milimetre from its watches or whether they bring some infinitesimal changes to the design.

This is the power amassed over more than a hundred years by a brand whose core values seem to be consistency and an almost fanatic respect for the name and the watches that they represent.

Aline, the lovely and perfectly knowledgeable Rolex official that introduced the new models to me, was delighted to witness my (totally positive) shock when I saw all the colors and the changes that Rolex brought this year. Please don’t think that they did a tourbillon. Or a perpetual calendar. Or a watch in collaboration with Alec Guinness. No, they did just what they had been doing since 1905 – bringing their watches one step closer to their definition of perfection, but always, always keeping them in line with the DNA codes of the brand, set out by Mr. Wilsdorf.

To finish the gushing, let’s move on to the actual watches – whoever has been reading my watch stories for the past 20 years knows that I am very strict and that there are only very few brands that I truly admire.

First of all, Rolex did a new Submariner. New in the sense that they enlarged both the Submariner and the Submariner date to 41 milimetres, the bracelet was remodelled, whereas the union between the case and the bracelet is more fluid.

They are equipped with Rolex movements, of course – the Submariner with calibre 3230, a new calibre unveiled by the brand this year, and the Submariner Date with calibre 3235, offer- ing both time and date functions, and used in the Submariner range for the first time.

The new Submariner in Oystersteel has a black dial and rotatable bezel with matching Cerachrom insert. A yellow Rolesor version (combining Oystersteel and 18 ct yellow gold) of the Submariner Date presents a royal blue dial with a rotatable bezel and a blue Cerachrom insert.

Two versions of the Submariner Date, one in Oystersteel and the other in 18 ct white gold, bring distinctive colour combinations, with the dial and Cerachrom insert in different hues. The first watch blends a black dial with a green bezel (a very distinctive green, as you can see), while the second proposes a black dial and a blue bezel.

My absolute favorite from all the Submariner models and, in fact, from all the new Rolex models is the white gold Submariner Date, which features a black dial and a blue bezel. It looks much better, more solid, brighter in reality. This is a pleasantly heavy watch, with a strong personality, the way I like them.

The black dial steel Submariner is priced at 6,350 euros (which, needless to say, is a very good price, only that, needless to say, it will be impossible to find this watch, for which, I am told, waiting lists sometimes stretch to 10 years). My favorite, the white gold Submariner Date, will be 31,150 euros.

Next, Rolex presented four new white Rolesor versions (combining Oystersteel and 18 ct white gold) of the Oyster Perpetual Datejust 31. The first watch, featuring a bezel set with 46 brilliant-cut diamonds, has an aubergine, sunray-finish dial that is adorned with a diamond-set Roman VI. The three other versions are fitted respectively with a mint-green, sunray-finish dial, white-lacquer dial, or dark-grey, sunray-finish dial, and a fluted bezel in 18 ct white gold. The hands and index hour markers or Roman numerals on all four watches are in 18 ct white gold.

Needless to say, I liked the aubergine version, because of the unexpected burst of color. Also, it goes really well with the diamonds on the bezel. Also, please notice how everything sounds better in French or in French-origin words – I don’t think that eggplant would have had the same ring to it…

The aubergine model is priced at 12,600 euros, the mint green dial will be sold for 6,250 euros, just like the dark grey dial, whereas the white dial goes for 6,100 euros.

And now, about this shocking explosion of colour that nobody had seen coming. Rolex presents the new generation of its Oyster Perpetual watches and brings a new model to the range, the Oyster Perpetual 41, as well as versions of the Oyster Perpetual 36 displaying dials in vivid colours – candy pink (my favorite), turquoise blue, yellow, coral red and green. The silver or the black dial 41 mm version is priced at 4,600 euros, whereas the 36mm candy-colored models are sold at 4,400 euros. All the colors are also available in the 41mm version, except for the candy pink, which I think was a very wise decision, since a 41mm pink dial watch would not retain its cute, cloud-like quality.

The 41mm silver and black dial are priced at 4,600 euros, whereas the 26mm coloured versions cost 4,400 euros.

Last but not least – the Sky-Dweller. Rolex presents a new 18 ct yellow gold version of its Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller, fitted with an Oysterflex bracelet. The watch is the first in the Classic category to include this innovative bracelet made of high-performance elastomer. It also features a bright black, sunray-finish dial with hands and hour markers in 18 ct yellow gold. The light reflections on the case sides and lugs highlight the profile of this 42 mm Oyster case.

I like the bracelet very much and I think it is the best-fitted for this watch, it gives it strength and a more powerful profile, much better than a leather strap. The Sky-Dweller is priced at 31,400 euros.

I end this first story about the Rolex novelties of 2020 telling you that, of course, you can read more in the upcoming issue of Lifetime