Rolex celebrates 100 years of the Oyster Perpetual, the pearl of its watch designs, with some standout models
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36mm in steel with Jubilee dial, £5,600
There are few things watch brands love more than an anniversary, especially when it offers the opportunity to rehash an old model or celebrate a numerical milestone with a limited edition. Yet, Rolex takes a low-key approach to its special occasions, often bypassing dates that others might exploit as “milestone anniversaries”.
But even the mighty Crown couldn’t ignore the fact that 2026 marks a centenary of not only its own greatest invention, but one that transformed the wristwatch from a delicate timekeeping instrument into a dependable tool. The Oyster case, brainchild Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf addressed the longstanding achilles heel of every watch: its susceptibility to the ingress of dust, humidity and water, three things that spell doom for clockwork.
Specially developed by the brand, Oystersteel belongs to the 904L steel family, alloys most commonly used in high-technology and in the aerospace and chemical industries
As with many visionaries, Wilsdorf didn’t create the Oyster from a blank sheet of paper (although he did come up with the name). Instead, he observed others’ previous attempts at making a watch waterproof, recognised their faults and overcame them. Perhaps the most important step forward was his acquisition of the patent from Perregaux and Perret, for the design of a sealed, screw-down crown which successfully closed off one of the most vulnerable points of any watch.
While the original 1926 Oyster was a horological gamechanger, it was in 1931 that Wilsdorf introduced the advancement that would establish the Rolex reputation for making the world’s best-engineered of all wrist watches.
That was the perfection of the self-winding wristwatch movement – another invention that Rolex adopted from someone else (in this case, the Lancashire-born watch maker John Harwood) and turned it into a definitive development. Dubbed “Perpetual”, the reliable self-winding mechanism further enhanced the waterproofness – as Rolex still likes to call it – of the Oyster case by eliminating the need to fiddle with the crown at all.
The colourful motif displays the letters of the Rolex name in a contrasting interplay of no fewer than ten colours
And so it was that the Oyster case and Perpetual movement were combined to create what has become a cornerstone of the entire Rolex range: the Oyster Perpetual. Four new Rolex models mark a century of the Oyster case, the first being a 41mm version in yellow Rolesor (a combination of gold and steel). The watch gets the number “100” embossed on the crown, five-minute markers in Rolex green and, at the bottom of the dial, you’ll find the legend “100 Years”.
Next come 28mm diameter and 34mm diameter versions in yellow or Everose gold that feature special hardstone markings at the 3, 6 and 9 points on the dial. And finally, an eye-catching 36mm model in steel. The standout centenary Oyster Perpetual displays a 10-colour abstract “Jubilee” motif on its lacquered dial, made up of the five letters of the Rolex name perpetually tiled in repeat.
While not to everyone’s taste, the watch is undoubtedly an instant classic – and, as with many Rolex models, you’ll have real cause for celebration if you can actually get your hands on one at the RRP.
From £5,600; rolex.com
