Dress watches usually aim to fly under the radar. Usually. But with the Rolex Perpetual 1908 line introduced in Geneva last year, the brand is doubling down on tradition done just a little differently. Watches and Wonders 2024 sees a new model added to the Perpetual 1908 lineup, a platinum and ice-blue guilloche dial model that wears even bolder detailing than the pieces that debuted last year.
Filling the gap left in the watchmaker’s lineup after the discontinuation of the Cellini line, the Perpetual 1908 models were first introduced in yellow- or white gold 39mm cases, with matte white or matte black dials.
The line’s name harks back to the first Rolex models to be fitted with the Perpetual rotor, and pays homage to the year the brand was first named. So far, so keeping in line with tradition, but with a dash of modernity, like in the fluted platinum case.
For 2024, the ice-blue guilloche dial and platinum case takes the Perpetual 1908 line quite a few steps forward. The dial is a product of guillochage, a technique that uses a turning tool to sculpt the surface in a striking rice-grain motif radiating from the seconds counter at the 6 o’clock position. The guilloche extends to the minute track for a dial, that’s on the whole, exceedingly detailed.
Like the others in the line, this new model features a 39mm case that sits 9.5mm high, and the newly developed calibre 7140 movement with a 66-hour reserve, that can be viewed through the transparent caseback. A matte brown or black alligator leather strap with green calfskin lining, and a platinum clasp rounds things off — a Perpetual 1908 that shows moving forwards with authority can only come from strong traditions.
