What Did We Learn From Watches And Wonders 2021?

When you are one of the leading producers of custom rubber watch bands, as Rubber B is, you begin to look for ways to use whatever platform you may have for a common good. In our case, we have placed a strong emphasis on using our blog to educate the general populace about important events taking place in the world of horology, as well as various other topics related to watchmaking at large.

Because Watches and Wonders 2021 took place recently, we thought it would be important to report back to you our findings from this year’s event. As we mentioned at the conclusion of our last blog post on the topic, we promised we would follow up with another piece on this year’s event.

What Did We Learn From Watches And Wonders 2021?

We’ll focus on some of the major brands and what we were able to learn about what they put out this year and where we think they may be headed, as well as some of our final thoughts about the overall event.

What Did We Learn From Rolex At Watches and Wonders 2021?

It makes sense to start with Rolex here for several reasons, and not just because they’re the most recognizable name out of all of the vendors who appeared at the event this year. Their appearance at the event was a historic one, as Rolex has never before appeared at Watches and Wonders, as they usually reveal new product launches at their annual Baselworld event.

The most notable takeaway actually had to do with a product that doesn’t get discussed very often among Rolex watch lines – the Rolex Explorer. Many attendees were surprised to learn that the newest iteration of the Rolex Explorer was being downsized to 36 mm, which is well below the market average (which is normally 41 mm.) Rolex isn’t exactly known for downsizing their timepieces, so no one can really say they saw this coming.

Also, this year marked the first time that the Rolex Explorer was available as a two-tone watch. This is not a timepiece that is known for “looking pretty,” as it’s always been marketed as more of a scientific tool, so this just seems to reaffirm Rolex’s long-standing commitment to making more of their watches available in a two-tone color style.

Finally, Rolex seems to have focused on making several small technical improvements to many of their watches that, while they are improvements, no one seems to have particularly asked for. While it is always nice to see things being improved just because they can be, no one was really clamoring for any of these changes to be made in the first place. Outside of the new version of the Rolex Explorer, there isn’t really much to take away from Rolex’s booth this year.

What Did We Learn From Tudor At Watches and Wonders 2021?

One of the other vendors who had some things of note to discuss from this year’s event was Tudor, and even though they are owned by Rolex, Tudor is going in a much different direction than its older brother. Many people were excited to see display backs available on their watches for the first time, and there was a lot of enthusiasm surrounding the fact that Tudor was putting out two precious metal dive watches as well.

Ultimately, both of these things signal towards something really great, which is that Tudor is willing to be much more experimental than a lot of other legacy brands in terms of what kind of products they are putting out. Oftentimes, as with most other companies, legacy watchmakers will simply stick with what works, no matter how stodgy or tired that formula may be. It is absolutely a breath of fresh air to see such a respected watchmaker willing to make radical, interesting changes to their product lines.

What Are Our Final Thoughts About Watches and Wonders 2021?

Our main takeaway from this year’s Watches and Wonders event was how luxury-themed many of the releases seem to be. A lot of product lines that were not known for having precious metals and gems attached to them were suddenly receiving one, or both, of these things on their bracelets and dials. It will be interesting to see how these increased price points affect the market going forward.