7 More Watches Rolex Should Revive, According to the Watch Illuminati

After the surprise return of the Padellone this week, we asked experts which other defunct Crown models deserved a comeback.This week, Rolex surprised everyone with a new release. The fact that the Crown randomly dropped something in the middle of September was already news enough, but the watch that was unveiled only furthered the frenzy. The Padellone is a short-lived model from the 1950s that received its name—Italian for “frying pan”—for its big-for-its-era proportions. Now, a new spin on the beloved vintage piece is back as part of the brand’s dressy Perpetual collection. Such an unexpected move got me dreaming bigger about what else Rolex might revive from the archives.Today’s Rolex is known largely for its extremely focused catalog of sport watches—tentpole icons like the Submariner, Daytona, and Oyster Perpetual. Historically, though, the brand’s offerings were looser and more varied, both in terms of models and the types of techniques and finishes it used.“Imagine Rolex bringing back bark or [hammered] Morellis finishing or, better yet, developing an entirely new case finish,” says Cam Barr, the founder and CEO of Craft + Tailored. “Those kinds of small, slightly eccentric details are part of what makes vintage Rolex so much fun to collect, and I’d love to see some of that experimentation find its way back into the modern catalog.”I spoke with eight Watch Illuminati members about the models they’d most like Rolex to revive.Rolex Chronograph Dato-Compax “Jean-Claude Killy” ref. 6236PhillipsThis was the answer I expected to hear most from experts. Rolex made the Dato-Compax from the late ’40s to the early ’60s before the Daytona took over as the sole chronograph in the current catalog. Like the old Padellone, the Dato-Compax featured a triple calendar—which displays the day, date, and month—but it also stacked a chronograph function on top of that. “It was the most complicated production Rolex movement of the 20th century, with vintage examples being extremely sought after,” says Paul Boutros, the deputy chairman and head of Americas for Phillips auction house.Jean-Claude Killy, the gold-medal-winning Olympian skier, was known for wearing a pretty version of the watch with a white dial and an outer track of blue numerals that represented the date. Today, the JCKs are highly sought after by collectors.Rolex Milgauss ref. 6541Iconic Watch CompanyIn 2023, Rolex retired the Milgauss, a watch introduced in the ’50s that was designed to be highly antimagnetic. However, the Milgauss that Rolex put in the attic—with its orange lightning-bolt hand—looked a lot different than one of the most coveted original designs. “The 1950s were such a dynamic time for Rolex, with the introduction of so many models,” says Eric Wind, the owner of Wind Vintage.Both Wind and Michael Morgan, founder of the Iconic Watch Company, shouted out a specific version of the Milgauss: reference 6541, which features a black honeycomb dial and a rotating bezel emblazoned with a red triangle. Morgan believes a revival would “generate tremendous interest among collectors,” he says. Shortly after the model was discontinued, a ref. 6541 sold for $2.5 million—a representative for Rolex conspicuously bid on and won the watch in the room at Phillips auction house in May 2023.Rolex “Prisoner of War” Chronograph ref. 3525Sotheby'sIf we’re basing revivals strictly on which nicknames we’d like to become official, the “Prisoner of War” ref. 3525 would be high up on the wishlist. “The reference 3525 was a historically significant model, as it was produced during WWII and sold to prisoners of war who could get a watch on the honor system and pay for it when the war ended,” says Adam Golden, the founder of Menta Watches. (The watch was sold to the general public as well, but POWs were able to order different pieces, including the 3525.) “In addition to the history, it’s just a beautiful execution of a classic chronograph, and would be a great nod to Rolex’s history and past.”Rolex King MidasPhillipsThe King Midas is one of the most unusual pieces in Rolex’s archive. In the early 1960s, the Crown introduced this asymmetrical model that looks more like jewelry than the Crown’s typical sport fare.“The original was such a wonderfully strange watch,” says Barr. “It was unapologetically angular, heavy, architectural, and almost completely disconnected from the design language we associate with Rolex today, which I think makes it so interesting. What I really love about the King Midas is that it represents a moment when Rolex was willing to take a real design risk. I wouldn’t want to see a literal reproduction, but rather a modern interpretation that captures that same confidence and weirdness. Rolex makes incredible watches, but I’d love to see them make something genuinely unexpected like the Midas again.”Rolex “Pre-Daytona” Chronograph ref. 6238Analog:ShiftBefore the Daytona, there was the ref. 6238, which is now known as the “Pre-Daytona” among collectors. The watch is the immediate predecessor to Rolex’s most iconic chronograph and differs from it in subtle but significant ways. The biggest distinguisher is the location of the tachymeter—the complex scale of numbers that can be used to calculate speed—which the official Daytona moved from the dial to the bezel. The smooth, understated bezel of the Pre-Daytona gives the watch a slightly less sporty and more elevated look.This model is a favorite of James Lamdin, the founder of Analog:Shift. “I’d love to see them reintroduce a chronograph model as a successor to references such as the 6238,” he says. “Rolex has masterful, category-defining execution in the world of sporting chronographs with the Daytona. To me, a slightly downsized, simplified, and more casually-oriented variant with a smooth polished bezel, barrel pushers, and maybe even a Jubilee bracelet would surely be equally desirable in today’s marketplace.”Rolex Submariner ref. 14060Tropical WatchWhen I asked experts which watch they’d most like to see Rolex revive, not everyone said they wanted to see a defunct model. Like Barr’s comments on the distinct feel of a vintage Rolex, Jacek Kozubek, the founder of Tropical Watch, agreed that if he could resurrect something from the Rolex catalog, it wouldn’t be an older model family but a distinct reference that embodies exactly what makes vintage Crown pieces so special.“I would love to see a slimmer, more wearable version of the Submariner,” Kozuek says. He points specifically to the 14060, a ’90s-era take on the Submariner that feels like the platonic ideal of the diver, with narrower lugs, no date window, an aluminum bezel, and even fewer lines of text to give it a much lighter presence on the wrist. “It's not so much about nostalgia for a particular piece,” he says, “but nostalgia for a specific feeling that I miss.”Rolex Chronograph ref. 4113PhillipsBoth Boutros and Barr pointed to the reference 4113. The watch features a split-second chronograph, which is a technical evolution of the typical stopwatch function. The more elaborate split-second function (or rattrapante) features two chronograph hands that start stacked on top of one another. However, at the push of a button, one stops while the other keeps going so you can time, for instance, two people racing. Imagine your first, victorious buddy crossing the finish line, so you hit the designated split-seconds button to catch his time. The other hand emerges from underneath and keeps running until friend number two—a.k.a. the loser—gets there, at which point you’d halt the chronograph and have both finishing times.The 4113 was produced for a short time in the early 1940s and remains one of the rarest models in the Crown’s catalog. “It’s generally believed that only 12 were made, with nine examples known today,” Barr says. “Rolex has become so closely associated with robust, purpose-built watches that I think it would be fascinating to see them reach back into that part of their history and produce a truly complicated mechanical chronograph again, yielding an interesting complication while also still allowing the brand to display its modern watchmaking capabilities.”A take on the split-seconds chronograph would sit in a higher tier from the rest of Rolex’s modern catalog, which would be precisely the point for fans like Boutros. “A true ‘grande’ complication offered by Rolex would be an incredible offering,” he says. The latest vintage example sold for about $3.5 million at a Phillips auction in 2024.Cam Wolf is GQ’s Watch Editor. He joined the magazine in 2017 after working at Racked (RIP) as the site’s (first!) (and only!) Menswear Editor and Complex in the role of Style News Editor. Shortly into his GQ tenure, he immersed himself in the world of watches and quickly fell ... Read More