Why the Rolex Sky-Dweller 326933 May Be the Best Watch Investment Right Now.
The Rolex Sky-Dweller was first released in 2012 and it was a milestone: the luxury watchmaker’s first new model in two decades. On top of that, it was also a technical marvel, with an annual calendar complication that automatically compensates for the lengths of the 12 months in each year.
The price of entry to purchase a Rolex watch continues to grow higher and higher, so finding a true bargain has become extremely rare. As Watchfinder & Co. points out, however, there’s currently one watch in particular that could be the next best cost-effective investment for watch enthusiasts: the Rolex Sky-Dweller 326933.
In 2017 Rolex re-released the model using steel instead of gold. Interest and sales soared with the help of its new accessible price point, but the steel and gold version of the model, the Rolex Sky-Dweller 326933, ended up going unnoticed by most as it fell at a price point in between gold and steel. In the video above, Watchfinder & Co. explains the rocky journey of the Rolex Sky-Dweller and why the once overlooked 326933 model could be the best watch investment right now.
It is one of the most practical watches, the perfect instrument for travellers or busy business people piece. It is a complex watch, with many functions, but not just for the fun of it. Indeed, as nice and mechanically interesting as a perpetual calendar can be, it has a rather subjective inherent purpose. An annual calendar however, which is much easier to develop and assemble, only slightly less precise and much more accessible, offers real added value, compared to a normal calendar. This is one of the functions of the Sky-Dweller. Add to that an extremely practical function for business travellers: the dual-time display, allowing you to keep track of home-time when traveling or another time-zone when you’re working with colleagues in another city/country for example.
The dual-time function created some debate at first, when the watch was introduced, simply because it was quite oddly positioned on the dial. Rather than a 24-hour bezel (as on the GMT-Master II) or a dual-time window (like many competing brands), Rolex decided to equip the Sky-Dweller with a rotating 24-hour disc, with an off-centered position (yet with a look and fonts that recall the GMT-Master II). However, this display animates the dial and gives the watch a rather unique look. Plus, legibility is great – a triangle at 12, below the Rolex logo, points to the current hour on the disc. Local time is indicated classically by 3 hands (hours, minutes, seconds) on the central axis.
The Rolex Sky-Dweller is powered by a specific movement, developed especially for this watch: the Calibre 9001. It is one of the most complicated movements that Rolex has ever developed. It is of course a Superlative Chronometer, it boasts 72 hours of power reserve, it features Paraflex shock absorbers, a large variable inertia balance wheel and the blue Parachrom hairspring (antimagnetic). And even with the Ring Command Bezel and the SAROS (annual calendar) mechanism, it is built to last a lifetime.
The Sky-Dweller is still for sale directly from Rolex and it retails new for $17,150 / 16 300 €.
