In your search for the best watches for men, you'll no doubt encounter and consider heavy hitters like Bulova watches, Citizen watches, and Movado watches. If you're an adventure buff, you can add G-SHOCK watches and sport watches to that list. But there's no brand with greater clout or recognition than Rolex and the best Rolex watches of 2024 are absolutely worth the investment.
Last year, Rolex surprised the horological community with a colorful Day-Date 36 boasting a puzzle-motif dial, 31 exclusive emojis in place of the date, and 10 baguette-shaped sapphires to mark the hours.
This year, Rolex returned to a more classic palette, as evidenced by its showing at Watches and Wonders Geneva. That’s not to say there weren’t some surprises (hello, solid gold dive watch), beautiful executions (this writer’s discovery of black mother-of-pearl), and awaited teasers (Oscars watch, anyone?).
Although the brand released more than a handful of novelties in Switzerland, the timepieces below merge the brand’s robust history with a series of intricate design decisions proving why words like classy, timeless, and iconic are often used in lockstep when describing the Coronet.
Below, the best Rolex watches of 2024. Note: Be wary of counterfeits and online scams, and learn how to spot a fake Rolex. You won't find any authentic Rolex for cheap; but if you're on a budget, check out the best watches under $1,000, best watches under $500, and best watches under $200.
Rolex/Ulysse Frechelin
Rolex’s slimmest watch (as a dress watch should be!), Perpetual 1908 debuted last year. The update for 2024: platinum case. The new ice blue dial features two different styles of guilloché, a decorative technique in metalwork that utilizes mechanical engraving to create intricate, geometric patterns. The rice-grain guilloché pattern is the primary one that begins in the center, followed by a different pattern around the minute tracker and hour makers. The fun bit: Rolex took a very traditional process and applied it to a modern watch, complete with a sapphire case back and visible movement. Rolex named the collection 1908 in reference to the year in which Hans Wilsdorf trademarked “Rolex.”
Rolex/Ulysse Frechelin
Rolex/JVA Studios
A solid 18k yellow gold dive watch...not a lot of people saw this one coming. Add in the Cerachom bezel (a ceramic compression ring within the Ringlock system that aids in the 3,900 meter depth possibility), the separation of the Deepsea into its own family from the Sea-Dweller lineup, and the titanium case back (technical reasons didn’t allow for a gold case back), and Rolex has made quite the splash.
Functionally, Rolex claims this iteration holds up as superbly as the steel version. In most every aspect, this watch was designed with legibility in mind. The Chromalight display, 5.5mm thick crystal and a simplified dial that uses easy-to-identify forms—rectangles, triangles, and circles—as well as different sized and shaped hands—all serve to increase ease underwater.
Rolex/JVA Studios
Rolex/Ulysse Frechelin
This duo of Daytonas—one with a white mother-of-pearl dial, dark chronograph counters, and an Oysterflex bracelet and the other the inverse with an Oyster bracelet—reinterprets the classic. On the dial, eight diamonds and three Chromalight hour markers add sumptuous sparkle to a watch already steeped in history.
First introduced in 1963 to satisfy the demands of professional racing drivers, thanks to the tachymetric bezel and mechanical movement, these editions include 18k white gold cases and a bezel set with 36 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Rolex/Ulysse Frechelin
Rolex/Ulysse Frechelin
Although Rolex released a total of four Perpetual Day-Dates in Geneva, one in particular caught our eye. For those who tuned in to this year’s Oscars, the slate ombré Everose gold Day-Date made a brief cameo in a video clip that Rolex broadcasted just before the awards ceremony in early March.
For its full debut, the introduction of a completely new hue paired with faceted and deconstructed Roman numerals, as well as faceted index hour markers in 18k pink gold is a textbook example of small details combined, edited, and executed precisely. The result is a thoughtfully designed timepiece that oozes elegance. Until now, ombré dials were always set with diamond hour markers and reserved for the Day-Date 36, according to Rolex.
Rolex/Ulysse Frechelin
Rolex watches hold, if not appreciate in value. It’s well-known that in 1910, a Rolex watch was the first wristwatch to receive the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision. Since then the brand has submitted more than 400 patents and continues to pioneer advancements within the horological space. All Rolex components are made in-house, from the movements to the alloys, and every watch is assembled by hand.
Between private manufacture visits and trade shows, I’ve been fortunate to place thousands of watches on my wrist. I’ve spent the last decade interviewing brand CEOs and collectors, watchmakers and enthusiasts. I’ve forecasted and tracked trends and have no problem "double wristing" when the situation calls for it.
