Rolex: New Watch Releases 2026

Words by Robin Swithinbank

Rolex’s iconic Oyster is 100 years old – here’s how it’s celebrating.

Few words in watchmaking tell a story quite like ‘Oyster’. The Rolex waterproof case design was introduced a century ago this year, changing how watches perform forever. At Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, the brand known simply as ‘The Crown’ celebrates its renowned invention with a new collection.

This year, honouring the centenary of the world’s first waterproof case, the Oyster, Rolex is celebrating by introducing a series of new material and dial innovations for the Oyster Perpetual collection. The hero piece of the year is the yellow Rolesor Oyster Perpetual – a mix of its highly anti-corrosive Oystersteel and 18-karat gold. Aside from being the first Oyster Perpetual in Rolesor, this model is also unusual because the gold appears only in the bezel and crown, while on a typical Rolesor model, you’d find it running through the bracelet, too. Thus, while the Oyster Perpetual has long been the doorway into Rolex, this model also becomes the doorway into Rolesor. Other special nods to the 100-year landmark are the green Rolex logo and green square accents above the hour markers, the ‘100’ embossed into the crown, and the words ‘100 Years’ inscribed below the six o’clock position where ‘Swiss Made’ would normally appear. The application of gold carries a similar historical note: early Oyster watches were in gold, too. As deliberate as the echo is, the brand’s intention is that this watch should appeal to a new generation of collectors. Not a bad place to start, certainly. Take your pick from 41mm, 36mm and 31mm models.

A wildly colourful Rolex dial has become more familiar of late. Following highly collectable recent pieces such as the popular ‘Bubbles’ celebration dial and emoji-stacked ‘Puzzle’, comes the Oyster Perpetual featuring what Rolex has named a ‘Jubilee motif’ dial. It features the letters of the word ‘Rolex’ in a eye-catching recurring mosaic motif resembling a kaleidoscopic, arranged in blocks of 10 different colours, based on a style that was first introduced in the late 1970s. Each colour is lacquered separately, starting with the lightest first and then building up to black. One dial takes a week to complete, once drying time has been taken into account. Beyond, the watch is the same dependable, ultra-versatile Oyster Perpetual design in Oystersteel on a three-link Oyster bracelet (note how influential the term has become, chosen by Rolex to identify a number of its most redoubtable elements), complete with its Calibre 3230 – a supremely accurate automatic that delivers 70 hours of power. It’s available in 41mm, 36mm and 31mm – form an orderly queue, now.

There’s a simplicity to the Oyster Perpetual, which has made it both evergreen and ever popular. But Rolex has proved it’s not averse to elevating its design by casing it here in solid 18-karat gold. There are two versions: 28mm and 34mm, both in gold and Everose gold, the name Rolex gives to its warm, rosier gold, crafted in its own foundry. One dial option for the 28mm gold features a green stone lacquer dial with a rare natural stone called heliotrope set into the hour markers at three, six and nine, while another option in the 34mm features a blue stone lacquer dial with three, six and nine-hour markers, set with an even more uncommon stone called dumortierite. These days, the idea of a gold Oyster Perpetual seems almost novel, and yet it was only in 2007 that Rolex introduced steel into the line. Rolex has given the case and dial a soft satin finish, making them feel intensely luxurious without losing the versatility that has made the Oyster Perpetual collection so universally valued.

Is there a modern watch that communicates luxury more effortlessly and universally than the Datejust? Rolex’s timeless collection was introduced in 1945, when it became the world’s first waterproof, self-winding chronometer with a date at three o’clock. The ‘Cyclops’ lens was added in 1953, completing a look that has resonated ever since. This year, Rolex has added a green lacquer ombré dial to the 41mm white Rolesor version of the watch. Ombré refers to the gradient colour effect, which darkens almost imperceptibly to black at the dial’s outer edge. With its verdant, brooding centrepiece, white gold and Oystersteel case, and three-link Oyster bracelet, it’s a hugely memorable expression of a classic. Inside its Oyster case is Rolex’s automatic Calibre 3235. As endlessly serviceable is the bracelet’s Oyster clasp (another usage of the ‘Oyster’ designation), which wearers can adjust by up to 5mm. On a hot or cold day, as the bracelet becomes either a little snug or a little loose, it makes a noticeable difference to how comfortably the watch wears.

The hits keep coming – enter a new twist on the Cosmograph Daytona, one of the most desirable watches on the planet. It’s the first Cosmograph Daytona to appear in Rolesium, Rolex’s term for a watch with a mix of Oystersteel and platinum – a material combination previously reserved exclusively for the Yacht-Master collection. It also has a white Grand Feu enamel dial. Then there’s the bezel, here in a new anthracite version of Rolex’s Cerachrom ceramic. Finally, the numerals on the bezel’s tachymeter scale have been arranged horizontally, rather than in a circular fashion, which – as Cosmograph Daytona experts may recall – is how they appeared on the first era-defining pieces of the 1960s.

One watch had to come last in this list, but it’s worth sticking around for. Rolex’s regatta-themed Yacht-Master II makes a return with this new and very clever take on the concept. As in previous editions, its signature function is the countdown timer, which can be set for up to 10 minutes to keep track of the start sequence before a sailing race gets underway. Before, the countdown display was operated via Rolex’s Ring Command rotating bezel system and read off against bezel markings, but this function has been simplified. Now, the countdown is controlled via two buttons: one at four o’clock to set it, and a second at two that sets its red central second and minute hands running counter-clockwise – a rare sight in watchmaking. Should you need to adjust the time remaining on the fly, press the button at four o’clock and it reduces the time remaining by a minute, without stopping the clock. This wonderfully compelling function – which could have any number of practical uses – is powered by Rolex’s new Calibre 4162, an automatic that was five years in development and has more components than any other movement in the Rolex stable. It’s 44mm in diameter and comes in either Oystersteel or 18-karat yellow gold.