Rolex Datejust 36mm with Fluted Motif

IT'S FLUTED!

THE NEW DIAL CONJURES UP

A FAMILIAR ROLEX DESIGN

By DANNY CRIVELLO

This year Rolex unveiled new versions of its Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36, including one with a fluted dial motif. When I spoke to a Rolex rep about the new watch motif, she told me the dial design mimics the pattern found on the fluted bezel, which has become one of the brand’s signature aesthetic styles. So the new dial was essentially inspired from the well-known Rolex bezel.

Transposing the famous fluted pattern to someplace other than the bezel of a Datejust or Sky-Dweller is not new for Rolex. You could say it was hiding in plain sight. When I was invited by Rolex to the last Baselworld, in 2019, the fluted motif was already adorning the walls inside the booth. 

The Rolex Dubai boutique, the biggest Rolex boutique in the world, is also invoking the fluted motif. 

 

In this video, Emkwan takes us on an incredible tour inside that boutique—and it's amazing!

Rolex just announced it would redesign its existing home on the corner of 5th Avenue and 53rd Street in New York, which it has occupied since the 1970s. The new 25-story high-rise, which looks like five cubes stacked on top of each other, will also have the corrugated windows that use the fluted motif.

In Search Of Hans Wilsdorf...

In Search Of 

Hans Wilsdorf

What an amazing week it has been in the world of Rolex. Seeing Rolex's founding father, Hans Wilsdorf almost come back to life on Rolex.org is so heartwarming and interesting! As a leading Rolex historian I have been in pursuit of unearthing and sharing Hans Wilsdorf's story for over a decade. Why? Because Hans Wilsdorf is one of the most successful and interesting entrepreneurs in the history of the world.

Hans Wilsdorf, Founder of Rolex in 1952

When I started Jake's Rolex World 11 years ago, there was almost zero information available anywhere on Hans Wilsdorf—and this frustrated me to no end. More than anything, it make me dig that much faster and deeper, and the result of all my research can be seen in my story titled, "The Complete History Of Rolex Leadership. Part 1: Founder Of Rolex—The Hans Wilsdorf Story, "Ghost In The Machine." 

Now Rolex seems to be more committed than ever to documenting his amazing story, and I hope they continue to share more details on what made him tick! In the coming years I hope to put even more puzzle pieces in place to complete my biography of Hans Wilsdorf!!! The single most inspirational detail about this endeavor is that I have only been able to put together so much detail based upon so many of my incredible international readers who constantly send in Hans Wilsdorf puzzle pieces.

As a matter of fact, the photo above just seemed to magically appear in my inbox minutes ago, and it came from a dedicated reader of mine named Alan who lives in Hong Kong, and is an AMAZING researcher!!! I have never seen the photo above of Hans Wilsdorf before today, and I am certain there is much more rich Wilsdorf content out there, and together we will find it and share it with the world!!!

LIEDL Jewelers

Linz, Austria

Founded in 1830

The source of this amazing Hans Wilsdorf photo is from the leading Rolex Authorized Dealer in Austria named LIEDL, which has been around since 1830. From what I understand, like with many of the Rolex authorized dealers in existence today, Hans Wilsdorf personally granted LIEDL their Rolex dealership, which made them the very first Rolex Authorized Dealer in Austria. LIEDL is the oldest jeweler in Linz and has was founded in 1830. As a matter of fact, Claudio Fallerini who was the chief architect of Rolex first took a look at the old LIEDL shop on Landstrasse, he said, "This can be really nice!"

LIEDL is pictured above in a recent photo and is located on Linzer Landstrasse. LIEDL has been offering high-quality mechanical watches for 188 years! Maximillian Carmann is the master watchmaker at LIEDL and has been a watchmaker for a quarter century. Maximillian is the only qualified master watchmaker in Upper Austria with all Rolex special training.

As an added bonus to this story I am including the only known video footage of Hans Wilsdorf which was filmed in 1959—one year before he passed away. Hans Wilsdorf speaks French in this interview and even if you don't speak French you get a good idea of his personality.