Is a larger Submariner in the offing?

[learpilot]

I have a friend who is well-connected in the watch industry and lives in Basel. She has been telling me for some time that Rolex is developing a larger case Submariner, somewhere in the 42-44mm range.

My understanding is that Rolex hotly denies any plans to add a larger Sub. But they also have pooh-poohed the industry's movement toward larger case sizes, while in the last two years introducing the 41mm Datejust II and now the new Explorer II GMT in 42mm.

My friend tells me that no one knows what the final size and configuration will be, but the expectation is that it will be unveiled at Baselworld 2012. There are two logical speculations about the final size: 1) Now that a stainless case has been developed for the two-tone Yachtmaster II, the new Sub can use a variation of that 44mm case; or, 2) Rolex might still believe that really large sizes are a fad, while there is solid, long-term demand for 41-42mm cases (hence the new ExpII), so the new Sub might be 42mm in a variation of the ExpII case.

Frankly, the second scenario makes more sense to me. Rolex then would have three divers - Subs at 40 and 42mm, and the DSSD at 44mm. A 44mm Submariner would cannibalize DSSD sales too much, while a 42mm Sub would likely win new customers who eschew the smaller Sub and can't handle the huge DSSD.

Of course, if the rumors are true, we'll know in another year. What do you think about a larger Submariner and do you prefer a 42mm or 44mm size?

Rob


This is not my Post !!!! This is from another website.

Gary