My impressions with some Basel 2017 pieces from Baron & Leeds preview

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So first thanks to KrismanX for sharing that Baron & Leeds were having this event @ South Coast Plaza here in socal....I rsvp'ed right away since like most of you, I was very excited to see what these watches looked like first hand.



The event itself was fun, great hors d'oeuvres and champagne to keep the party rolling. Pretty decent turnout and I got to say hi to some of the sales I've talked to in the past @ the AD. A lot of very friendly WIS/Rolex owners there all having a great time. I got asked by a lot of people (how long was the wait) and complemented on my white 116500 so I thank you guys for the kind words...just hang in there! It'll happen eventually.

So onto the watches.....I really only was interested in looking at 3 things....the new SD43, the new Sky Dwellers, and the new gold Daytonas on Oysterflex. So that's really what I focused on, sorry I didn't look @ the new Datejusts in detail because it's never been my cup of tea.....To preface these shots and give perspective, my wrist size is 6.375 to 6.5".

First off, let's start with the Sky Dwellers.....IMO fantastic offerings from Rolex and winners to offer @ stainless. Very popular amongst casual watch people (non watch nerds) there:











Looking at them it's hard to name a favorite....they are not at all like what they seem in real life versus pictures from Basel etc like others said. The black dial first of all is for sure matte, there is no sunburst and it's a very toned down matte color. The blue is very different from the YM Blue for sure like others mentioned, much much lighter in effect. The white is a great look and has a nice satin finish. If I had to pick, I think it'd be the blue for me in person (only because I have enough white watches)....but the white is very nice. The black is just too dull with that matte dial IMO. Watch wears as expected big on my wrist (small) but I can barely pull it off lug to lug wise, very close to my Exp 2. It sits comfortable though the way the case is done so it's definitely still a watch on my radar....just not completely sold because it wears rather large with the fluted bezel and larger dial:





Next let's talk about the new Daytonas.....these watches are stunners. The yellow, rose, and white gold all pop in different ways and it was so hard for me take my eyes off them when I saw them first in the case. Rolex IMO hit a home run with this one:





The winner for me was definitely the WG Daytona. The stainless dial is just sublime and looks very similar to a 6263 Big Red except without the big red Daytona! Loved the way the watch was sized for my small wrist and the Oysterflex was extremely comfortable on the skin. I will pick one up after the immediate target:





Alright, let's finally talk about the new Sea Dweller. Pros first....it really does look very very good in real life IMO. Ignore the arguments for the cyclops and the nitty gritties about proportions/size etc and just look @ the watch....it really does look great. The dial is definitely different from the SD4k (I wore mine and scrutinized it yesterday to have perspective on this piece) and I can see why it's difficult to answer if it's really matte or glossy. It's almost in between...it's not as matte as the SD4k but it's certainly not glossy, and the red font really pops. Now the cons (prob just for me, you have to decide yourself), the watch is big in every way compared to the SD4k. The bezel truly is dominant and makes the watch wear large in addition to the 43mm case size. I will say it's true it doesn't wear like what you'd think a 43mm wear because of the tapered lugs/reasonable lug to lug size....but it certainly still is blatantly big IMO on my wrist. It also clearly sits with more protrusion on my wrist versus a SD4k too giving more overhang. I'm fairly sure this is a watch not for me, shame I don't have a bigger wrist...this beast wore even bigger than the Sky Dweller for me:







Some shots of my SD4k yesterday for reference:





Overall, a very fun night for me and my family. Baron and Leeds took good care of us and I met a bunch of kind/cool fellow Rolex enthusiasts. Had a late dinner and got back to San Diego in one piece......preparing for tomorrow's event in LA AGAIN except this time for Omega hah. Hope this has been somewhat helpful for people considering these pieces.