Rolex’s OP Turquoise - from Critic to Believer
How getting hands on with one of the hottest watches in the industry changed my opinion. By: K. Wells
To say Rolex broke the internet last year with the release of their newest Oyster Perpetual would be an understatement. The watch world went absolutely insane! From Instagram, to Facebook groups, and watch forums, it seemed like the entire collector community was talking about these fun and colorful watches. And who could blame them? For the first time in a long time, Rolex was embracing the watch community and showing a less serious side to a typically “stuffy” brand and industry. Coral Red, Turquoise Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink...five unique colors for collectors of every type...but one seemed to stand out among all the others.
Image from Rolex
Turquoise Blue created a hype unlike anything I’ve seen in recent years, even from Rolex. And almost immediately after came the nickname “Tiffany Blue” which only added to the frenzy. (click here to read our in depth guide to the 41mm Turquoise by one of our writers who has one). But if we’re being honest, I personally just didn’t get it. It’s not that I thought there was anything wrong with it. I’ve always been a big fan of the Oyster Perpetual collection, and I love the concept of having such fun colors, but something about this one just wasn’t speaking to me. Admittedly, I really struggle with blue dials and trying to find that “perfect” shade of blue. And originally I loved the idea of the Turquoise, but as I saw more photos of the watch posted online, my heart sank as I slowly came to terms with the idea that maybe this isn’t quite the shade of turquoise I was hoping for but actually more of a baby blue.
Apparently, I was one of the only people who wasn’t in love with it. This particular OP quickly became one of the most sought after Rolex models, eclipsing the waitlist for a Submariner and having secondary market prices more than double their retail price. And for the life of me I just couldn’t understand why! Was it just hype? The next “new thing” that needed to be collected? Or was there something more to it? I genuinely just couldn’t figure it out. And I definitely couldn’t figure out why it was called turquoise when most photos I saw made it baby blue. I couldn't even fathom why this watch was selling for over 20k on the gray market when the MSRP was $5,900. Was I just being a “hater”? Or was this watch all hype with no substance.
Almost a year later and I had seen every one of the new colors except this one. I was content with hating it without justification (after all, we watch nerds really do form some of the strongest opinions). A few days ago, all of that changed. *Insert dramatic storytelling here...There I was, just minding my business at work when I spotted a certain unmistakable watch design on a client’s wrist. The cherry on top, it was the turquoise that I had never yet seen in real life. I just HAD to go over and see it. A quick conversation later, and that OP was on my wrist and, just like that, I fell in love. They even let me take it outside to see the color in natural light and I can firmly say that it is not baby blue but a soft shade of turquoise as advertised. It truly is gorgeous, ethereal, transcendent, mesmerizing, lovely, and perfect.
And now for the most relatable struggle in the watch community - I want it, and there’s just no way that I’m going to get it anytime soon. Until the day that I can have one of these stunning pieces on the wrist, I’ll just have to keep daydreaming about those five glorious minutes we had together. I am curious to hear from you and what watch you just didn’t “get” until you saw it in person? Let us know in the comments!
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