If you want just one, all-purpose watch, our watch tester says Rolex’s new entry-level model, the Oyster Perpetual, might be it. Find out more about in this in-depth review, the cover story or our March-April issue.
If you are like me, you sometimes wish you owned a watch that you could wear on every occasion, something that would go well with every outfit and activity, that wouldn’t be ostentatious but would still have character. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 39,would seem to fit that bill. Its design comes close to perfection. Its sportily elegant appearance goes equally well with a business suit or a polo shirt. And its new size (39 mm) is correctly proportioned for nearly every wrist, and is not overly conspicuous.
The popular Datejust was the godfather for the shapes of the hands, the indexes and the case. Little blue blocks adjacent to the hour indexes add a touch of excitement and combine with the anthracite-colored and sunburst-finished dial to create an attractive color combination that looks modern, elegant and special.
With gently curving lugs and a broad bezel, the case makes a harmonious impression. All surfaces (except the upper planes of the lugs) are polished. As is almost always the situation on a Rolex wristwatch, the flat sapphire crystal rises above the level of the case, but slopes diagonally downward along its periphery to deflect potential shocks. Proofs of authenticity include Rolex’s crown- shaped logo lasered into the sapphire crystal at 6 o’clock, the name “Rolex” engraved into the metal ring around the dial, Rolex’s crown logo as an appliqué at the 12, and the serial number at 6.
The crystal has no nonreflective coating and therefore legibility is not always ideal. Luminous material on the hands and on the indexes at 3, 6 and 9 facilitates orientation in the dark. There’s no date display. Its absence assures a tidy-looking dial, but might dissuade some from buying this model. If you’re one of them, Rolex offers the Datejust in 36-mm and 41-mm versions, each with a magnifying lens above the date display, and each at a significantly higher price.
Due to the lack of a date display, operating the Oyster Perpetual 39 is refreshingly simple. The crown, which unscrews easily, has only two extracted positions: one to wind the mainspring and another to set the hands. This model also provides a convenient stop-seconds function that halts the balance, and thus also the hands, to facilitate to-the-second time setting.
The horizontal bar under Rolex’s crown-shaped logo on the winding button stands for the Twinlock crown. With a water-resistance rating of 100 meters, the Oyster Perpetual 39 is impermeable enough for a sportily elegant watch and is well suited for daily use.
The movement’s engineering and decoration are equally impressive. For example, a handsome sunburst adorns the automatic bridge and the rotor. The latter boasts Rolex’s characteristic piercings. Other bridges are embellished with circular graining, also known as “perlage.” All bridges and plates are plated with rhodium and their edges are beveled and pol- ished. The polished heads of the screws look quite pretty, too. Rolex regrettably opted for a solid, not transparent, caseback. It would have offered a lovely view of the mechanisms, while simultaneously making life more difficult for would-be counterfeiters. Must you be willing to forego a visible movement if you opt for a one-and-only watch? Each potential buyer will have to answer this question himself.
The rate results clearly show which five positions Rolex used when finely adjusting the watch. The results would have been nearly perfect were it not for the rogue value posted in the uncommon “crown left” position. If you eliminate this stray number, you’ll come up with a calculated average deviation of zero seconds per day. Even if you include the “crown left” number, the final results are sufficiently precise.
But what about the price? Debiting $5,700 from your bank account will provide you with the least costly entrée into Rolex’s world of gents’ watches. You’ll have to pay significantly more ($7,150) for the 41-mm-diameter Datejust II with date display. Our tested watch offers the best cost-benefit ratio of all Rolex models.
Of course, the concept of a “one-and- only watch” is a myth. If you’re like me, you’ll always become infatuated with another watch. You’ll yearn for it and gaze longingly at it until you finally possess it. But if you were damned to a life of horological monogamy and were permitted to own just one, then the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 39 would be a very good choice – assuming, of course, that you’re willing to do without a date display or a transparent back. If so, then this model’s go-with-every-outfit-and-every-occasion styling, large-enough-but-not- too-large dimensions, and robustly well- engineered self-winding movement will ensure that your wrist is well equipped for whatever the day – or the night – has up its sleeve.
