23

In a world first (correct me if I’m wrong), we have got our hands on the new Rolex Land-Dweller and road tested it for a week out in the wild!

What is now becoming something of a common and unfortunate issue, the new Rolex releases were leaked about a week out from Watches & Wonders this year. We had seen teasers obviously on Rolex’s social media, but then someone leaked the images, and this got the watch world buzzing.

Unfortunately, these images would never have done the new Rolex models any justice whatsoever, thanks to their poor quality. However, it gave us enough to see what the new models were, and for me, piqued my curiosity as to what they would look like in person.

The one thing I’ve learned with the Rolex is, and this is coming from someone who owns several pieces and actually loves the brand, you can never judge a book by its cover with them. And this year was certainly no different – the turquoise dial Daytona is actually quite stunning in the metal and on the wrist, the rose gold GMT with the Tiger Iron dial is now one of those pieces I have added to my wish list should I win the lotto, and then there was the Land-Dweller. This watch got perhaps the most scrutiny as it was a brand new model, something that Rolex very rarely does.

Now, if you are like me and you have seen a lot of the commentary around the Land-Dweller, you’ll know many people weren’t thrilled with this release, to the point where people would go as far as comparing it to the Tissot PRX. However, those lost souls of the watch world would be somewhat mistaken and misguided, as this is anything but Rolex trying to copy another brand. And for those who know their history of watches, they will know that the Land-Dweller had its inspiration taken from early Rolex Oysterquartz models, such as the Rolex Datejust and Day-Date Oysterquartz models from the 70s, which themselves stemmed from the Rolex Date 5100 in 1970.

The Oysterquartz was then launched in 1977, a full year before Tissot launched the PRX in 1978, and when you look at the design of the Land-Dweller with the image above, you can see exactly where the Land-Dweller gets its inspiration from. In the words of Davide Airoldi, head of design at Rolex: “A model to be inspired by our aesthetic heritage but looking to the future – This was the brief for the design of the Land-Dweller… We came up with creative new codes without ever losing sight of the brand’s DNA or its style.”

First Impressions

Walking into the showroom, or I should say the “Touch and Try” and photo shoot sessions in the Rolex booth at Watches & Wonders, I was quite keen to get my hands on these new pieces. Everyone had been talking about it, and I was keen to find out exactly what made this thing so special (outside of the 32 patents the watch has, something I’ll touch on later). When I picked up the steel, I kind of understood why there was hype around it, and as much as people thought it wasn’t the best release, when you get these in your hand, you quickly change your mind! Trust me on this.

The first thing about the Land-Dweller you notice is the brushing on the bracelet, and the case is just sublime. The Flat Jubilee bracelet with those polished inner links just looks amazing when it’s on the wrist. The fluted bezel is also not quite as prominent as a Datejust or Day Date, but it suits this watch, given that it’s a throwback to vintage Datejust models.

The honeycomb dial does, in fact, work on this piece when you see it up close, and whilst I’m not necessarily a fan of white watches, this looks kind of elegant. However, part of me still wants to see some other colours, which I’m looking forward to when they inevitably get released. Outside the steel version, if I can take a bit of a detour for a second, the platinum with the ice blue dial looks absolutely amazing in person, so I can’t wait to see what Rolex does in other colour variations, and the way the brushed 18k rose gold model looks in person is very reminiscent of, (and don’t hate me for this), perhaps better than an AP.

The Design

As I touched on at the start of the article, the Rolex Land-Dweller took inspiration from those early Date and Datejust models. When you look at images of the 1977 Datejust Oysterquartz specifically, you can immediately see where many of the design cues of the Land-Dweller come from. So much so that this watch could almost be considered as a modern incarnation of that 1977 Oysterquartz in my opinion. The way the bracelet integrates with the case, the polished inner links, the polished bevel on the side of the bracelet links that flows through from the case, even the smaller notched fluted bezel, all have that vintage 70s appeal.

However, Rolex, being Rolex, hasn’t rested on its laurels here. What they have done with the Land-Dweller is they have taken the best parts of the vintage watch, refined them, and created an entirely new model that suits both 2025 tastes and vintage lovers alike. On top of this, Rolex has done some great things with the design as well as the movement. As you know, Rolex doesn’t create a new model every day, and when it does, it is not coming up with something entirely new from scratch out of someone’s imagination, but a design that is classic and understated – doing what Rolex does best, iterating and refining the watch to be the best it can be.

And that is the thing that you quickly learn about Rolex when comparing its watches to others, and trust me, I have handled a lot of watches. There is something about Rolex watches that just work. They wear exceedingly well, they are incredibly accurate, and the way they are designed and fit the wrist is hard to beat. Now I’m not a Rolex fanboy, but I will say that these days I find I am wearing my GMT or Starbucks on a daily basis over everything else, and that says something!

Rolex has done a great job of making this integrated bracelet sports watch look like its vintage counterpart, but with all the refinements you would expect almost 50 years later. The bevelled edges of the case that flow through to the bracelet gives the entire watch a uniformity, and the vertical brushing on the case and bracelet is actually quite sublime in person. As they have created a new bracelet in the Flat Jubilee, it wears just like the traditional Jubilee, but aesthetically looks very different.

The aesthetics of the Land-Dweller’s dial was somewhat of a contention from those who initially saw the watch, especially over the week of Watches & Wonders, as I had heard mixed reviews from people. Personally, I actually like the honeycomb pattern dial. In white, it has a silky effect to it that just photographs beautifully, also giving the watch a somewhat understated look. Having seen the ice blue dial on the platinum Land-Dweller and the way it looks almost like shimmery water, I can only imagine what new colour ways will look like in the future – I’m especially excited to see a blue or green variant in these should they come out over the next 12 to 18 months. Fingers crossed!

The indices that are applied to the dial, like the Datejust, are simplistic but effective. But don’t be fooled here as this is just one of the innovations and patents in the Land-Dweller. Most Rolex indices or hour markers have Chromalight lume inside, but as this is filled, the indices have to have sides. With the Submariner, they are round and hollowed out, with the Datejust, they are long and rectangular, but again, hollow to allow the Chromalight to be added. With the Land-Dweller, Rolex has actually created a solid version of Chromalight that allows it to be machined, meaning the indices don’t need to be hollow with four sides, but in this case are more like channels that flank the Chromalight on each side.

Mathieu Vorontchouk, head of dial prototypes at Rolex, explains; “For the applique index hour markers, which are open ended, we used a new variant of luminescent material that can be machined. This technical characteristic allowed us to create an original look and extend the material the full length of the markers.”

The numerals at nine and six have been inspired by Rolex Air-King and Explorer models, and while some people think they look a little clunky, I actually don’t mind them. Again, I’ve said many times in person to people, this is a watch that will most definitely grow on you the more you see it and the more you try it on. Well, this is certainly the case with me and those who have seen it up close.

How It Wears

The one thing that people know about me, especially those guys in the local watch group as well as all those sales staff in the boutiques, when I pick up a watch, I’m pretty fussy when it comes to the way the watch wears and sits on my wrist. My wrist isn’t exactly round, neither is anybody’s, for that matter, but it’s not evenly proportioned all the way around. What I mean by this is, the underside of my wrist isn’t quite parallel with the top side of my wrist, and that means that when I size my bracelets, rather than having the same number of links on either side, so the clasp is exactly even with the case, it needs to be slightly off on the 12 o’clock side of the bracelet.

Yes, this seems a little weird, I know, but that is my wrist shape. Because of this, it means getting the exact right fit of a watch, for me at least, anyway, isn’t the easiest. So I’m a little bit finicky when it comes to the way the bracelet is sized, and as a result, this can affect the wearing experience for me. Case in point, I am pretty sure I tried multiple different combinations of full and half links on either side of the oyster bracelet on my Submariner when I first got it. Yes, this is a problem for me!

Bringing this context back to the Land-Dweller, this is a bracelet that wears very well, and if you’ve tried on or own a Jubilee on either a Datejust or a GMT, then this wears pretty much the same, with two small differences. The first, rather than having rounded links on the outside, Rolex has given this a flat look (hence the name), and this enhances the way to watch looks on the wrist. Secondly, Rolex has given the bracelet a folding Crownclasp, similar to that on the Day Date. It means that you get a beautiful, uninterrupted flow around the wrist, with just the Crown to unclip. My one small issue is, like most integrated bracelets on the market, the lack of an on-the-fly microadjustment. It is a small thing, but one I needed to mention. If Rolex somehow come up with a Crownclasp with micro-adjustment, then it’s game over!

The case is perfectly proportioned at 40mm in diameter, and as this is an integrated watch, the lug-to-lug dimensions of 46.5mm are not overly large. It means it wears fairly true to size when compared to other integrated sports watches. The other aspect that assists in the wearing of the watch is the case thickness. On the 40mm model that I am showcasing here, the case is only 9.7mm thick, which, for an integrated sports watch, is on the thinner side.

For me personally, I actually loved the way that this watch contours and hugs the wrist, and with that slight vintage feel, it really gives you the sense of wearing something elegant and special, but a watch that can be easily dressed up or down. For me, this is one of the selling points of the watch, and watches in general, in my case, that being the versatility of a watch. With the land dweller, you get a watch that can be dressed up or down. If I were trying to label it, this would be a dressier sports watch, but you actually do get a true sports watch, like with most Rolexes. With a 100m water resistant rating and a twin lock screw on crown, this is very much a watch you could wear anywhere should you choose. . 

The Movement

So this is where it gets interesting. Tucked beneath the caseback (and, unusually for Rolex, under a sapphire crystal window) is the all-new Calibre 7135 – a movement that’s quietly rewriting the rules for how Rolex keeps time. Rolex has never rushed into trends, and the Land-Dweller’s movement is proof of that deliberate pace, given it has been 10 years in the making. The Calibre 7135 is an evolution of the 7140 which we saw in the 1908 released in 2023 and encaspulates a lot of innovation – something we haven’t seen a whole lot of when it comes to movements in the watch world in recent times – not when it comes to things like esapement technology and the likes.

The 7135 brings a high-frequency 5Hz beat rate, ticking away at 36,000 vibrations per hour. For context, that puts it in the same category as Zenith’s El Primero, however, what’s even more impressive is it does all this while delivering a 66-hour power reserve, thanks to a newly developed Dynapulse escapement. This energy-efficient mechanism that is able to deliver the 66hrs of power, thanks to the mechanism being 30% more energy efficient than the standard escapement, meaning the mainspring and barrel can

What’s under the hood here isn’t just technically impressive; it’s a leap forward for Rolex, and perhaps the industry itself. Rolex has filed 16 separate patents for the Calibre 7135, covering innovations across its escapement, silicon oscillator, gear train, and shock absorption system. That includes dual silicon escape wheels, a newly engineered Paraflex shock system, and a ceramic balance staff—all designed to maximise efficiency, stability, and long-term performance. It’s a rare moment where Rolex lifts the curtain just a little, revealing the kind of quiet innovation usually kept under wraps.

And yet, for all that, the 7135 doesn’t scream for attention. Winding the Land-Dweller feels almost meditative – fluid, quiet, deliberate. Setting the time offers the kind of mechanical feedback that reminds you this is watchmaking which has years of refinement built into the design and mechanics.

Frank Vernay, head of movements at Rolex, explains: “Fitting such a complex mechanism into the same space as a conventional Swiss lever escapement constituted a real technological challenge, as did the production and pre-assembly of the small components in silicon. Then, assembling the Dynapulse escapement in the calibre entailed a complete rethink of our movement manufacturing and assembly processes.”

Final Thoughts

It is rare to get hands-on with a new Rolex release and have it for a substantial amount of time in the wild. So this privilege is not lost on me at all. Saying this, I wanted to really get to know the watch and give it time to sink in. Just because it is Rolex, doesn’t always mean it is a great watch, even though some would have you think this. But, I will say that writing this review and looking at the pros and cons of this watch, I did find it hard to find much fault with it.

This is a watch that looks great on the wrist – the fluted bezel always is a good idea, and the new Flat Jubilee bracelet is executed so well, both in construction and aesthetics. Yes I’d love a microadjust on the clasp, but I can live without it. I do like the honeycomb dial despite what others have said, but this is, like all design elements of a watch, subjective to personal tastes. I’ll let you make your mind up on this. And then there is the movement…

What makes the Land-Dweller’s Calibre 7135 so good isn’t just the tech specs, it’s what it represents. This is Rolex moving forward, quietly and methodically, how very Rolex. A movement that blends next-gen thinking with classic watchmaking. It’s the kind of innovation you don’t notice at first, or probably ever, as the watch just beats away on your wrist, as it should, with the accuracy of a Superlative Chronometer at +2/-2 seconds per day.

And as I spoke about at the start of the article, the more time you spend with the Land-Dweller, the more you realise what a special watch this actually is for Rolex, and quite possibly, the industry. Should you be able to acquire one, and I have it on good authority, these will not be easy to get, which is one ongoing downside with Rolex, you’ll have a piece of Rolex history on the wrist!

Reference: 127334

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 40mm x 9.7mm thick x 46.5mm lug-to-lug
• Case Material: Brushed and polished Oystersteel
• Dial: White honeycomb sunray finished dial with applied indices and Chromalight
• Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective coating
• Case Back: Sapphire crystal case back
• Water Resistance: 100 metres / 10 bar
• Movement: Automatic, self-winding Calibre 7135 Rolex Superlative Chronometer beating at 36,000 vph (5 Hz) with proprietary Dynapulse escapement
• Power Reserve: 66 hours
• Bracelet: Integrated Flat Jubilee with brushed and polished links and Crownclasp

Australian Retail Price: A$24,200 for 40mm Rolex Oystersteel and White Gold

Availability: Enquire via your local Rolex boutique, authorised retailer, or head online to Rolex.com for more details.