Why Rolex releases compromised models sometimes...

[douglasf13]

Originally Posted by AK797

Taylor Swift's success is not a fluke, she is very talented and authentic in her field, and the same goes for Rolex. We are not being forced to buy their products, there are plenty of alternatives out there, and the vast majority of us are happy to do so because they make a great product and not merely because of the Rolex name as you cynically imply. Yes, a few tweaks have been made here and there but on the whole Rolex and most of us are happy with their product range and we don't need wholesale changes just to appease the few who are still living in the past.

Of course people buy Rolex watches because of the name. It's one of the most recognized luxury brand names in the world.

The Porsche 996, while still a good car, is widely derided as the least desirable 911 aesthetic design, and used prices reflect that. However, when the 996 was current, it outsold the outgoing 911 model by nearly 2.5x, and it was widely considered a success. Lots of people traded "up" to the 996 from their 993.

Now that Rolex has started fixing some of the strange proportions and other decisions from the past decade, I think we'll see a similar sentiment about something like the DayDate II later on down the line, and I'd bet the coup de grâce will be the eventual redesign of the Sub-C case. Thankfully, some of the more recent designs from Rolex, like the SD4K and DaytonaC, are a good sign. It seems they've gotten back on track since the new CEO came on board.