Rolex Tudor Basel 2017 Armchair Post Mortem...

[Chewbacca]

w/o a cyclops, a rolex sport/tool/pro model is a tougher sell

only a matter of time for the AK date to rises from the dead...

<$15k is the sweet spot.

rolex is listening more to AD feedback under JFD as CEO.

tudor has runway to sell at higher msrp's starting with 2t dive models

tudor is all-in on the BB range

Cellini MP is just gorgeous.

[LuminousMaximus]

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[hambone1983]

I think the most interesting thing about their Basel releases is their read of the current state of the market.

It's no secret that it's been a rough couple of years for producers of fine Swiss timepieces. It seems like Rolex has steered away from tweaking/adding to their strongest performing lines, not wanting to cannibalize sales or mess with a working formula. To me this seems like a defensive move in expectation of continued weakness in the market. Almost all of what's new is in their lesser-selling lines whose competition tends to be other manufacturers rather than other Rolexes.

With Tudor, it looks like they've pretty much just given us down market versions of Rolex designs. The new BB Chrono sports the old Daytona bezel and the TT BB is meant to be mistaken for the TT Submariner. Like the price points, but born to dare? I felt like Tudor had been doing some great design work of late, but this is pure copy-catting. Again, it just seems like a very defensive mindset to capitalize on proven (and for Tudor, unoriginal) designs.

[johneh]

Originally Posted by hambone1983

I think the most interesting thing about their Basel releases is their read of the current state of the market.

It's no secret that it's been a rough couple of years for producers of fine Swiss timepieces. It seems like Rolex has steered away from tweaking/adding to their strongest performing lines, not wanting to cannibalize sales or mess with a working formula. To me this seems like a defensive move in expectation of continued weakness in the market. Almost all of what's new is in their lesser-selling lines whose competition tends to be other manufacturers rather than other Rolexes.

With Tudor, it looks like they've pretty much just given us down market versions of Rolex designs. The new BB Chrono sports the old Daytona bezel and the TT BB is meant to be mistaken for the TT Submariner. Like the price points, but born to dare? I felt like Tudor had been doing some great design work of late, but this is pure copy-catting. Again, it just seems like a very defensive mindset to capitalize on proven (and for Tudor, unoriginal) designs.

Comparisons between the BB Chrono and the Daytona should end at the bezel, and even that is a stretch. After that, nothing is similar. BB Chrono has chamfered lugs, 2 registers, date, snowflake hands (dumb), and a brushed bracelet. Daytona? For better or for worse, none of the above.

[GradyPhilpott]

The Air King will never have a date in my opinion.