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The waters of the English Channel were unforgiving in 1927, yet Mercedes Gleitze pressed on, determined to prove herself. Around her neck hung an early Rolex Oyster, a watch designed to withstand what pocket watches could not. Mercedes Gleitze's achievement marked the first time an athlete's triumph was leveraged to validate a product's technical innovation. Video courtesy of Sotheby's. For more than ten hours, it endured the salt, the cold, and the relentless swell, keeping perfect time. When Gleitze emerged, the watch had done more than accompany her—it had announced itself as a new kind of wristwatch, one built for the modern age.  Mercedes Gleitze, the very first Rolex "testimonee." Photo courtesy of Sotheby's. Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex's founder, had been waiting for this. Gleitze was not only a swimmer, she was proof incarnate. Her "Vindication Swim" became a spectacle: boats trailed her in the water, musicians played to keep her spirits alive, and journalists scribbled notes while planes circled overhead to capture the scene. What they were witnessing was more than endurance sport; it was marketing genius unfolding in real time. When the Daily Mail published Rolex's full-page ad declaring the Oyster "the watch that defied the Channel," Wilsdorf had written the first great chapter of modern brand storytelling.  "The Oyster was instrumental in the transition from pocket to wristwatches and the Mercedes Gleitze watch played an important role in this transition, rendering it one of the most significant wristwatches still in private hands." – Sam Hines, Sotheby's Global Chairman, Watches. From that day forward, the rules of watchmaking changed. Craft alone was no longer enough—watches needed narratives, ambassadors, proof forged in the extremes of human achievement. The Oyster became not just a waterproof wristwatch but a symbol of possibility, and Gleitze, unknowingly, the first in a long line of brand "testimonees." The alliance between athlete and object, between press and product, ushered in an entirely new era of marketing—one that every watch brand has followed, in one way or another, ever since.  For watch fans and historians, a truly magnificent engraving. Now, nearly a century later, as Sotheby's prepares to auction Gleitze's Rolex Oyster in Geneva this November with an estimate exceeding CHF 1 million, the watch surfaces once again as both artifact and myth. It is the watch that proved itself in the Channel, the watch that crowned Rolex a cultural force, and the watch that rewrote the script for an industry still living in the story it set into motion.  The beginnings of ingenious marketing tied to sports sponsorships. Photo courtesy of Sotheby's. The Mercedes Gleitze Rolex Oyster—the world's first practical waterproof wristwatch and one of the most significant timepieces in history—defined Rolex as we know it today. This legendary watch will make its first appearance in 25 years at Sotheby's Important Watches Live Sale in Geneva on November 9, 2025, with an estimate exceeding CHF 1 million / USD 1.3 million.
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I’ve been lost lately in Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters, a kaleidoscope of pulsing beats and supernatural battles where every frame is washed in a surreal violet haze. Whole cityscapes glow in lavender light; shadows bleed into pop shades of aqua and fuchsia. Watching it, I realized how rare the color purple truly is in our everyday lives, unlike black, blue, or silver—staples of the watch world—purple feels almost illicit, a shade reserved for dream sequences, royalty, or rebellion. That scarcity is precisely what makes it so irresistible. And in 2025, purple has also become the year’s breakout star in watchmaking.  The sure-to-be-influential color palette of Netflix's K-pop Demon Hunters includes a vast array of purples, violet, and lavender. End of 2024 NOMOS Glashütte set the tone with its Club Sport Neomatik 34 “Purple,” a Bauhaus silhouette enlivened by a sunburst dial that shifts from lilac sparkle to midnight plum. Rolex reintroduces a muted lavender Oyster Perpetual, reviving the cult memory of the “Red Grape” OP and proving the Crown knows the power of a color comeback. TAG Heuer goes bolder, with a Carrera Glassbox gradient dial that deepens toward black, a perfect marriage of sport and drama.  An example of the mesmerizing lavender hues of the most-watched movie in NETFLIX history, Kpop Demon Hunters. Hublot, predictably maximalist, builds an entire Big Bang case out of translucent purple sapphire, turning color into architecture. Independents take it further still: Speake Marin’s Tourbillon Purple Hour bathes its openworked dial in violet PVD, while De Bethune’s Starry Varius DB25XS heat-treats titanium into shimmering reddish-purple sky. Across price points and philosophies, purple is no longer a curiosity—it’s a movement. Playful, regal, cultural, futuristic: in 2025, purple is the shade through which watchmakers are rewriting the rules of color.  The Rolex Oyster Perpetual, featuring a matte lavender dial, is available in 28mm to 36mm diameter configurations. Rolex Oyster Perpetual “Lavender” – Rolex revives its cult-favorite purple tones, from lilac to the deeper “Red Grape,” bringing fresh energy to the Oyster Perpetual line. A rare burst of color from the Crown, it blends heritage with a dash of irreverence.  The Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. Limited Edition SLGB005 Ice Forest "Violet Dawn" Grand Seiko unveils the color's newest addition, Spring Drive U.F.A. Limited Edition SLGB005 Ice Forest "Violet Dawn", powered by the groundbreaking Caliber 9RB2, which achieves ±20 seconds per year accuracy. The textured violet dial captures dawn breaking over Shinshu's frost-lit forests, a poetic background for the smooth glide of the seconds hand. Limited to 1,300 pieces worldwide, this creation embodies Grand Seiko's relentless pursuit of beauty, precision, and innovation.  Nomos Club Sport Neomatik 34 “Purple” – A softer expression of the trend, this 34 mm everyday piece uses a sunburst purple dial that shifts between shimmer and shadow. It’s playful without abandoning Nomos’ restrained Bauhaus DNA.  TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Purple – This 39 mm chronograph goes bold with a gradient dial that fades from luminous purple at the center to near-black at the edge. Sporty yet elegant, it shows that purple can be powerful, not playful.  Part of the Big Bang 20th Anniversary “Master of Sapphire” set features five examples of the Big Bang MECA-10, each cased in a different sapphire or SAXEM case: transparent sapphire. The purple example, seen here. Hublot Big Bang Purple Sapphire – The most audacious of the lot, Hublot constructs the entire case from translucent purple sapphire. Architectural and futuristic, it transforms purple into both a material and a manifesto. Sold as an anniversary set of five different color sapphire watches.  Unveiled during Geneva Watch Days 2025, the Speake Marin Openworked Tourbillon Purple Hour. Speake Marin Tourbillon Purple Hour – A bold, high-complication take on the purple trend, this 38 mm or 42 mm titanium piece features a 3D purple PVD dial framing a flying tourbillon at 1:30. Technical yet theatrical, it pairs haute horlogerie mechanics with unapologetic color, proving that purple can be as serious as it is striking.
London Jewelers has unveiled a new Rolex Boutique at 28 Newtown Lane in East Hampton, bringing the world of Rolex to the heart of one of the Hamptons’ most storied addresses. The boutique is housed in the former Odd Fellows Hall, a shingle-style structure designed in 1897 by architect Joseph Greenleaf Thorp. Originally built as a summer cottage before becoming a fraternal lodge, the 4,800-square-foot landmark has served as a cultural, social, and commercial hub for over a century.  Your new Rolex home away from home! Photo courtesy of Rolex Over the decades, the building transitioned from community hall to retail destination, housing shops such as Parsons Electric in the 1960s and later a designer fashion boutique in the 1990s through the 2010s. More recently, the space was home to Chanel’s ephemeral summer boutique before finding its latest—and perhaps most enduring—expression as a dedicated Rolex showcase. The evolution of this address mirrors the East Hampton Village itself: a place where heritage architecture adapts to meet modern luxury.  Ready for consultation and tempered expectations. Photo courtesy of Rolex Inside, the new boutique reflects both Rolex’s design codes and the relaxed elegance of the Hamptons. American walnut wall panels, parquet floors, and natural light set the tone, while a Verdi Alpi marble anchor wall and subtle green accents recall the brand’s aesthetic. Custom details even nod to local history, with wall stuccos featuring East Hampton’s iconic Hook Windmill. The result is a space that feels both intimately tied to its location and unmistakably Rolex.  A series of private and semi-private rooms decorated with historical and informative Rolex ephemera. Photo courtesy of Rolex For London Jewelers, this opening represents more than an expansion—it is the continuation of a 50-year partnership with Rolex and nearly a century of family heritage in fine jewelry and timepieces. “It is truly our greatest honor to be part of the Rolex family with the opening of this unique boutique in one of the most prestigious communities in the world,” said Mark and Candy Udell, CEO and President of London Jewelers. By marrying local history with global prestige, the new East Hampton boutique underscores Rolex’s ability to remain timeless while continually reinventing how we experience luxury.  La Dolce Vita, East Hampton style. Photo courtesy of Rolex |
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