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⌚Rolex Insider News!
Rolex's new factory, AP's wacky new release, and more!


Welcome watch nerds…
This is Watch Bites, where we run through weekly watch insights quicker than you can say “John Mayer is more than just a musician”. This week we’re looking at Audemars Piguet’s second (RE)Master and praying that nobody drops Rambo’s Patek on the way to auction.
🍿 5 min read
Here's what we got today:
Three colorful new Hamilton divers 🎨
Maen’s nuclear collaboration with Seconde/Seconde ☢️
A very important vintage dive watch
The Cartier collection for every occasion 🇫🇷

The numbers above represent market trends in secondhand watch prices. The “Price“ column represents the average secondhand price for the top 30 watches of each brand. This data is sourced from Watch Charts.
Watch News
Audemars Piguet’s Retro-Futurist (RE)Master02 Makes Its Mark

Any fans of Dune might be forgiven for assuming that AP’s most talked-about recent release is a tribute to Frank Herbert’s other-worldly epic. Ultra-bold in its angularity (over-confident, some might say), the (RE)Master02 is otherwise defined by its asymmetry and drenched in tones of sand and the deep sea. This drop comes no less than four years after the first release in the collection and is worlds apart from that initial, vintage-inspired chronograph model in every way.
Built around AP’s automatic Calibre 7129, the heavily faceted case is, according to the company and well, our eyes, “a tribute to Brutalism” that’s hard to ignore in both size and shape, as it forces an angled downturn in the sapphire itself and spans 41mm in its near-rectangular form. The beauty here though is how the brushed Sand Gold case and ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ colored dial seem to soften the hard lines of the case, which is just one of many outstanding design details preset on this piece. The dial is divided into 12 triangles by raised lines of sand gold that act as hour markers. These match gently rounded hour and minute hands, as well as an Audemars Piguet logo which hovers above the 3 o’clock line. An alligator leather strap matches the dial’s tone and provides some contrast to the material of the case in a way that an integrated metal bracelet never could.
All said it looks like Audemars Piguet has a hit on its hands with the 250-piece release of the (RE)Master02, playing on the rising popularity of shaped timepieces and guiding the luxury world into AI’s fast-developing sci-fi future. Here’s to hoping that we don’t have to wait another 4 years for the next iteration of the (RE)Master collection.
Will a New Factory Shorten Rolex Wait Times?

Rolex’s wait list is almost as famous as their watches at this point. Most Rolex images on social media are underlined by the phrase “Finally got the call” and it’s more than telling that grey market Rollies are almost always far pricier than their brand-new counterparts. Well, this could all change soon (only slightly), as Rolex has announced the construction of a new production facility in Bulle, Switzerland. Although the watch giant put over a million timepieces on the market last year, they know (and we know) that’s not good enough.
This new factory is set to span over 100,000 square meters (just over 1 million square feet) and will command a build cost of roughly $1 billion. If this sounds like a lot, that’s because it is and for good reason - the facility will eventually account for up to one-fifth of Rolex's watch output. While it’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily equate to a 20% increase in overall production, it certainly suggests a more fruitful future for both Rolex and its customers, particularly when considered in the same context as Rolex’s relatively recent Bucherer buyout. Ultimately, the 2000 employees at the new Bulle site will contribute to putting more Rolexes into distribution and (hopefully) reduce the waiting game that Rolex buyers are expected forced to play when buying a new watch. Don’t get your hopes up just yet, though - the factory is slated for completion in 2030, at best.
Watch Fact

Stats show the most popular color in the watch world is black, which is unsurprising given how easy it is to match with anything. WOAH, crazy… right? I wonder how much Casio is to blame…
3-Watch Collection
3 Watch Collection: Cartier Edition
Some of you will see the name Cartier and scroll right past this section and that’s fine. For those of us who actually have good taste, here’s a three-piece selection of Cartier watches to suit any room and all occasions.

Calibre De Cartier Diver (Sport watch) - Although it’s certainly not the most popular Cartier, the Calibre Diver stands out as a uniquely stylish sports watch. 300 meters of water resistance and a solid automatic movement bolster its appeal and while Cartier isn’t known for its utilitarian designs, every piece of this ticker is worth the $3,775 you’d pay for a used model in good condition.
Tank Louis Cartier (Dress watch) - There’s little contention that the Tank is Cartier’s most famous timepiece due to its minimal and timeless square design. On this pared-back iteration, core elements of color and geometry are balanced effortlessly as numerals and indices are shunned in favor of a plain black dial. Opt for the manual-winding movement in place of quartz and you’ve got yourself a wear-anywhere, solid gold dress watch for $13,000.
Santos De Cartier (Everyday watch) - Defined by its curvaceous case and an integrated, screw-head-laden design, the Santos De Cartier boasts the inimitable quality of being both casual and classy, making it endlessly wearable. Blue sword hands contrast the classic black and white dial, just as slanted Roman numerals act in quirky opposition to the modern, tool-esque bezel and strap. For $7,050, there’s nothing to argue with here.
Total Collection Cost (USD): $23,825
Watch News Bites
Quick Bites
It’s no secret that Sly Stallone is selling his Patek Grand Master Chime (and more) at Sotheby’s in New York this week but did you know that the ultra-rare timepiece is Patek’s most complicated watch ever?
TAG Heuer has breathed new life into their Aquaracer Professional 300, with date and GMT iterations. Smaller, lighter, and more colorful, this is a much-needed update to one of TAG’s most famous collections.
The multi-colored trend continues this month with a trio of vibrant Khaki Navy Scuba tickers from Hamilton. These might take some getting used to for fans of the brand but all told, they’re pretty impressive.
Omega recently released a rather busy, tri-tone Speedmaster Chronoscope in tribute to the Paris 2024 Olympics. With dials and meters coming out the wazoo, this is certainly an acquired taste, as lovely as it may be.
French collective Seconde/Seconde/ have done it again, this time in collaboration with Maen on the apocalyptic ‘Manhattan Project’. This second-less ode to “nuclear nothingness”, with an engraved Oppenheimer quote and all.
Vintage Watches
Breguet Type XX Aéronautique Navale 1960

Why It’s Worth It: A rare and delightful follow-on from the legendary first run of Type 20 and Type XX pilot’s watches, Breguet’s Aéronautique Navale was born in 1958, intended for the French Navy after the undeniable success that previous models had found in the Air Force. With two subdials instead of 3 and an unnumbered bezel, this museum-worthy, Valjoux-powered timepiece is visibly more refined than its predecessors and thus, worth every cent of the $50,000+ you’ll pay to own it.
Pre-Owned Watch Deals
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*Watch Bites does not provide financial advice. None of this is financial advice. This is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research!
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