Rolex Has Discontinued Its Most Controversial Watch
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Rolex has ceased production of its Oyster Perpetual “Celebration Dial”, the colourful and playful version of its entry-level time-only watch it released in 2023, to a blaze of attention.
The model's unusual dial – for anyone, but especially Rolex – featured a lacquered turquoise base covered in 51 colourful balloon-like bubbles, in pink, blue, yellow, red and green.
(At the same time Rolex also released a Day-Date watch with a dial featuring a rainbow-coloured “jigsaw puzzle” motif, a date window that displayed emojis not dates, and a day window that displayed “inspirational words” such as “Happy”, “Gratitude”, “Peace” and “Love”, not days. Many wondered what the most traditional of all traditional Swiss watchmakers had been smoking that year.)
The Insta-friendly “Celebration Dial” OP was well-received, a whimsical and fun break from the brand’s conservative portfolio.
Others found its departure from tradition and its perceived gimmickry harder to take.
“Trendy and frivolous” according to one commentator. “A little bit of a sacrilege,” said another.
Naturally that only made it celebrity wrist-bait, and the "Celebration Dial" was soon spotted on Tom Holland, Kendrick Lamar, Lionel Messi, Tom Brady and more.
The hype sent prices jumping, too. The watch came in three versions – 31mm that retailed for approximately £4,150; 36mm for £4,500 and 41mm for £4,850.
On the secondary market those almost immediately doubled.
Right now they’re triple.
With today’s news that production will cease, expect prices to head further north.
It’s not the first time Rolex has discontinued a watch so soon after launch – it cancelled its white gold Daytona Le Mans in April 2024, having released it less than a year earlier to mark the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. (It was “replaced” with a yellow gold version.)
And the party for the “Celebration Dial” seemed designed to come to an end sooner rather than later.
“The time for Celebration is OVER!” says Andrew Morgan, the YouTube expert and boss of luxury watch consultants AMW.
“2025 is all about the hard graft. Everyone’s got to do it, even the authorised dealers, and so the bubbly, colourful Rolex has been discontinued. After two years on the trot, it’s time to move on.
"It’s indicative of Rolex’s move to desirable limited-edition pieces that keep collectors coming back. The white gold Le Mans was discontinued after a year, the yellow will likely be too, and that gives Rolex a fresh canvas to keep us guessing into 2025 and beyond.”
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