Rolex Baselworld 2017 Novelties at Hotel Bel Air

cazalea · 2017-06-01T14:06:28Z

Cazalea's road trip to Hotel Bel Air for Rolex Baselworld 2017 novelties. Hands-on with Yacht-Master, Cellini Moonphase, and Sky-Dweller, plus luxury lifestyle details.

cazalea

WPS member · Rolex forum

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Cazalea offers a unique perspective on Rolex's 2017 Baselworld novelties, complementing existing overviews with a personal road trip experience to the Hotel Bel Air. This post blends automotive appreciation, luxury travel, and hands-on impressions of new Rolex models, providing a rich, multi-faceted look at the brand's offerings. Readers gain insight into the presentation experience and the watches themselves, from the Yacht-Master to the Cellini Moonphase.

I am offering this brief summary as a complement to Rogi's excellent overview of the new pieces offered by Rolex this year. My wife and I made a drive up to Los Angeles, to the Hotel Bel Air.

As is always the case in Southern California, we saw a few interesting vehicles along the way, such as this 1960 Impala.

In addition to the usual BMWs, Mercedes, and a Rolls-Royce, this Bentley and Mustang convertible waited side-by-side for their owners to return.

The hotel is literally a maze of pink buildings with red tile roofs meandering up and down the long canyon property. Dozens of species of trees provide shade and interest to the hotel grounds.

As we managed to arrive a bit earlier than scheduled (a miracle, given the traffic!) we wandered around a bit, enjoying the foliage and the enormous oval pool. Rooms start at $500 a night, if you are interested.

Sorry, with the new P15 on my wrist I couldn't resist engaging with a water feature in the hotel.

After the Zenith water test, I dried it off near the lobby fireplace

The wine and cigar menu was very impressive, but we stuck to popcorn with truffle oil, as we knew there would be goodies at the presentation.

And there were goodies, indeed. This is not your Grandad's Rolex! Fully-waterproof and functional, this Yacht-Master could be used while sailing, the nice lady said, with a triangular diamond conveniently pointing at 12. I couldn't help but wonder what this would look like with a blue dial and green glass, like the Milgauss of a few years ago!

Next to it in the case was the lovely Cellini Moonphase. There are a lot of fine details in this watch - the dial is lacquer, the moon disc is blue enamel, and the moon itself is a slice of meteorite. I was told this is only the second moonphase model that Rolex has ever produced.

There were several Sky-Dwellers to dwell upon ...

and a whole case of sport watches too. I was struck by the number of watches presented on rubber straps - from the bejeweled Yacht-Master to the three Daytonas.

Keeping the conversation about the Sea Dweller in mind, I noticed the lack of curvature in the lugs/case area which stood out from the other watches.

Might this help explain some of its intimidating presence to the wrist ??

I like the look of the Yacht-Master II, and can understand how it works.

What I have a hard time imagining is operating it successfully while flailing around in the harbor with a couple dozen other sailboats!

The rest of the watches - such as these three Daytonas - seemed to be filling small niches in the product lines.

Thanks for taking another look at the new Rolexes, and thanks to the Rolex team for their information and refreshments. We also had a lovely chat with some of account managers who handle Rolex motorsports PR, who invited us to visit some of their exhibits this summer in Southern California.

Cazalea

For the rest of our LA trip report, you may want to CLICK over to the Zenith Forum. Cheers!

Key Points from the Discussion

The author provides a link to the Hotel Bel Air's impressive wine and cigar menu, including a rare Partagas 150 cigar priced at $275, adding a touch of luxury lifestyle detail.
The author clarifies that the watches displayed were likely dummy pieces, as all hands were in the same position, indicating they were for display only.
A contributor shares a personal anecdote about a vintage Montecristo cigar from the 70s, relating to the discussion of luxury items.

The Discussion

vitalsigns

Jun 1, 2017

The rainbow Yachtmaster is...ahem...rather stomach-churning. Cheers, John

cazalea

Jun 1, 2017

As you can see on most of the watches if you inspect them closely, all the hands (including seconds) were in the same position. So I think these are dummy pieces for display only. As for your comment on the Yacht-Master, I find that Bonine or Dramamine are essential on any Yachting excursion. Regardless of whether you have rough water/watches...

Harry2

Jun 1, 2017

Did you take advantage of the cigar menu later?

cazalea

Jun 1, 2017

In our haste to get to the Zenith event I neglected to grab "one for the road" not that my wife would have allowed it in the car. Mike

cazalea

Jun 2, 2017

For your smoking & drinking pleasure ... CLICK HERE Bring some money - PARTAGAS 150: LONSDALE SERIES A $275 3.5 x 7 1⁄2 x 44 Vintage 1978 Cameroon To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Partagas family of cigars, founded by Jaime Partagas in 1845 in Havana, Cuba, this amazing and historic cigar is highly sought after and rarely found. Ramon Cifuentes, patriarch of the Partagas family in 1995, decided to use the only veriable bail of Cameroon West African wrapper from the first crop grow

Harry2

Jun 2, 2017

I recently had a Montecristo dating from some time in the 70's. That's as close as I can come to that!

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