Rolex Land-Dweller & the new Caliber 7135

This year's Watches & Wonders fair in Geneva was packed with new releases, and perhaps the very biggest was Rolex's completely new model line Land-Dweller. But not only that, the new luxury sports watch also contained a completely newly developed movement, a release at least as big as the watch itself. Eqotime digs into the Land-Dweller, with particular focus on the new Caliber 7135.  

Text: Filip Ericsson

The seemingly eternally popular segment of “luxury sports watches with an integrated link”, which was created by Audemars Piguet with their Royal Oak in 1972, has got many brands to release their own variations on the theme over the years. This has led to there being a luxury sports watch today in just about every price class – from the Tissot PRX for a few thousand kronor up to the stratosphere with the Patek Philippe Nautilus and company.  

Rolex however has never really landed in the segment. Admittedly they were in there testing the market during the 1970s, first with the Oyster Perpetual Date 1530 and the Datejust 1630, and then with the quartz-driven Oysterquartz, but after all they soon remained forgotten dragonflies, whereupon the traditional Oyster models continued to dominate sales.  

And sure, the Datejust, Oyster Perpetual and Explorer all have attributes that cross over with the luxury sports watch's characteristics. But they were there long before the genre had even been invented, and after that they have just sort of existed as eternal, typical Rolex expressions – without any integrated links. 

That is why the Land-Dweller hit like a bomb when it was unveiled at Watches & Wonders earlier this spring. Not only did it constitute a completely new model series, unusual enough in a Rolex context; it had moreover been chiselled out and positioned straight into the heart of the luxury sports watch market. 

Rolex's entry into the segment is almost too obvious. Here is a retro-tinged, slightly rough-hewn design with a wild flirtation with the seventies where it all started. Here is the integrated link and the thin case – a mere 9.7mm compared with around 12mm for an ordinary Datejust.  

So this is about a real luxury watch in steel with a high-grade movement inside, which should cope with a tennis match but also work nicely in Monte Carlo's better quarters at dinner time too. Thus the very definition of a luxury sports watch.  

Inspiration from the 70s 

The inspiration for the Land-Dweller has been taken unashamedly from the Rolex Datejust ref. 1630, which was launched in 1975 and manufactured for only two years. This one (and its sibling the 1530) was nothing other than a stopgap while waiting for the brand's first quartz movement to be finished, which the new luxury sports watches had actually been developed for.  

As soon as the quartz movement was ready they scrapped the mechanical variants and let the battery movement take its place in the new watch. The Rolex Oysterquartz was born.

From that perspective the new Land-Dweller has quite a lot of retro watch about it, because the design elements are very similar. The angular case, the “flat” jubilee link and of course the integrated design; everything speaks a clear 70s language.  

Alongside the newly drawn case and link it is the dial that really stands out. It has been endowed with an eye-catching honeycomb pattern that has been cut out with a laser. Whether it is good-looking or not is for each person to decide, but it is certainly distinctive. It might perhaps be felt that the design becomes rather busy in combination with the fluted bezel, which for the moment is the only option. 

The hands and the indicators are new too with a stringent baton design. The tail end of the seconds hand mirrors, incidentally, the dial's honeycomb pattern.  

Finally the Land-Dweller has a glazed back, something that separates it from the other Oyster watches which by tradition have covered backs. And you certainly understand the decision when such an exciting movement sits enthroned in there! 

The new Caliber 7135 

When Rolex releases a new movement it is at least as big a piece of news as a new watch model, particularly if it contains never before seen technology. The big news in the Rolex Caliber 7135, which was released at the same time as the Land-Dweller at the Watches & Wonders fair, is called Dynapulse. 

The “Dynapulse escapement” is about reducing friction in the movement, the mechanical movement's greatest enemy. It replaces the traditional Swiss lever escapement mechanism that drives most mechanical watches. Thanks to a sequential distribution of the lever escapement mechanism, according to Rolex the energy is transferred through a rolling motion rather than a sliding one, as is the traditional way. 

Two distribution wheels activate an impulse arm that activates the balance wheel. There is thus no direct impulse from the distribution wheels to the balance wheel. The traditional construction steals a lot of energy from the mainspring instead of transferring most of it to the balance wheel, and the Dynapulse construction is thus intended to ease that problem.  

The parts in the Dynapulse mechanism are made of silicon and are extremely light, and thereby protected against magnetic fields as well as very energy efficient, 30 percent more efficient according to Rolex. This means that they have increased the frequency from 28 800 beats per minute to 36 000 without having to sacrifice the power reserve, which is stated as 66 hours. 

Otherwise the Caliber 7135 is as expected a Superlative Chronometer, that is to say Rolex's tougher chronometer certification, something that means a stated precision with an astonishing +2/-2 seconds of deviation per day – and that after being fitted in the watch. 

The movement has 16 patents (eight of them just for Dynapulse), a rotor in yellow gold, 39 jewels, a hairspring in silicon, a ceramic balance bridge, and a load of other odds and ends. So the Caliber 7135 will surely remain a hard to beat movement, especially as it is intended for mass production. Do not be the least bit surprised if it eventually finds its way down into the other Rolex watches. 

Variants & prices 

Besides a new, retro-tinged design and the remarkable movement, the Land-Dweller holds traditional Oyster values: an Oyster case with water resistance to the equivalent of 100 metres and a date with the so very Rolex-typical cyclops eye in the crystal. It is delivered at first exclusively with a classic fluted bezel, and it is unclear whether a smooth one will be added later.  

A variant inspired by the 1975 Oyster Perpetual Date 1530 with its smooth bezel and flat Oyster link would look rather delicious! 

Two case diameters are available at launch: 36 and 40mm. They can both be chosen with case/link in steel with a bezel in white gold, case/link in rose gold or the same in platinum. The gold and platinum variants can moreover be fitted with diamonds on the bezel and the indicators.  

The dial is white on the steel and gold variants and light blue on the platinum version. More versions will surely turn up in the future.  

The Swedish list price starts at 170 600 kronor for the 36mm variant in steel and ends at 1 397 900 kronor for a 40mm watch in platinum with diamonds. Availability however risks being limited as is customary for most Rolex models today. Anyone who is not designated an important customer but still wants a watch is therefore likely to be referred to the grey market – and has to pay a considerably higher price.  

Below follows the whole price list anyway: 

Steel/white gold 36mm: 170 600 kronor. 

Steel/white gold 40mm: 181 600 kronor. 

Rose gold 36mm: 513 000 kronor. 

Rose gold 40mm: 561 000 kronor. 

Rose gold diamonds 36mm: 1 075 900 kronor. 

Rose gold diamonds 40mm: 1 256 900 kronor. 

Platinum 36mm: 707 000 kronor. 

Platinum 40mm: 761 000 kronor. 

Platinum diamonds 36mm: 1 134 900 kronor. 

Platinum diamonds 40mm: 1 397 900 kronor. 

Positioning 

With a starting price of 170 000 kronor the Land-Dweller is positioned somewhere between the Datejust and the Day-Date, and at the upper part of the luxury sports watches' price scale. Not at the same level as the Patek Nautilus or the AP Royal Oak, but just below. Here are greats such as the Chopard Alpine Eagle, the Girard Perregaux Laureato and the Bulgari Octo Finissimo.  

Personally I would like to see a smooth bezel before I imaginarily take the plunge. But even though I myself prefer the rounder shapes of the Oyster Perpetual and the Datejust, otherwise it is a treat all the way. At last Rolex can offer a real player in the luxury sports watch segment, the most prestigious and cherished of them all – with a movement that beats most of them.