Talk to me about the OP41

[khalifam]

I really don't get the rationale behind Rolex discontinuing the OP41 in certain colour ways, surely Rolex knew the impact it would have on the grey market and Rolex are allowing this.

Anywho, how long was this in production for? 2 years? I'm just pleased the candy pink in 36 wasn't discontinued as I really want to get my hands on that.



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[rambo99]

you will never know why the 3 colours OP were discontinued.

[PartyRoss]

Rolex is planning years in advance. What many people fail to consider, is that Rolex's production, R&D, etc. all require significant timeframes. Just like a Porsche takes longer to engineer and build than a Toyota, these new releases are likely more than a year in the making. I would go as far as imagine that any decision to discontinue a watch happens at inception - meaning when the new OP41 was launched, the decision had already been made that it would be a two year run etc.

There is likely a 0% chance that Rolex is revolving their decision making processes at a corporate level around what the grey market is doing. Are they watching? Of course. But when a watch takes over a year to develop and build, there is no way they are discontinuing things on a whim based on what the secondary market is doing.

[rolexwhistleblower]

Turquoise was discontinued because it was "so cannibalising". Most of the demands in the latest months that ADs and Boutiques got were for this watch. As it was the cheapest male watch it attracted flippers like crazy. So they decided to discontinue it not to waste ADs time anymore and get the focus away from it. It was not difficult to make and wasn't produced in less units than the rest colour variations. Quite the opposite. That's why they discontinued this only in 41mm.
All the above don't apply for the Red and Yellow, especially the Yellow. Red was difficult to produce and Yellow was extremely difficult. Many Reds and many many Yellows were rejected in quality control making Yellows produced in far less numbers than the rest. That's why they discontinued these 2 colours in all dimensions.
So, for the serious collectors here that don't care about the hype but the true rarity of the pieces:
Yellow is the rarest, Red the second rarest and Turquoise, though not rare, was discontinued in just 41mm because of the silly hype.

[LVx2]

Originally Posted by rolexwhistleblower

Turquoise was discontinued because it was "so cannibalising". Most of the demands in the latest months that ADs and Boutiques got were for this watch. As it was the cheapest male watch it attracted flippers like crazy. So they decided to discontinue it not to waste ADs time anymore and get the focus away from it. It was not difficult to make and wasn't produced in less units than the rest colour variations. Quite the opposite. That's why they discontinued this only in 41mm.
All the above don't apply for the Red and Yellow, especially the Yellow. Red was difficult to produce and Yellow was extremely difficult. Many Reds and many many Yellows were rejected in quality control making Yellows produced in far less numbers than the rest. That's why they discontinued these 2 colours in all dimensions.
So, for the serious collectors here that don't care about the hype but the true rarity of the pieces:
Yellow is the rarest, Red the second rarest and Turquoise, though not rare, was discontinued in just 41mm because of the silly hype.

Willing to bet there are fewer 36mm 116000 OP white dials than 126000 yellow or red. Only two year production with factory closed during part of that time. Those trade a good 50% over their final list price, much cooler dial imho and far more versatile. However, hype train wasn’t running full steam for OP when they were out. In twenty years, maybe much less, there will be little if any premium for yellow or red 36mm OPs over white.

The only people targeting these colourful OPs, from day one, are the antithesis of serious collectors. These have been nouveau flipper pieces from day one. Day one.

[ArtNouveau]

Originally Posted by LVx2

The only people targeting these colourful OPs, from day one, are the antithesis of serious collectors. These have been nouveau flipper pieces from day one. Day one.

Nonsense, what an over generalization. I’ve had 12 Rolex since 1984, the latest a Coral Red OP41 received just last month. I knew when a first saw them at my Boutique’s trunk show in September 2020 that I wanted one, asked for it when the time was right and thankfully beat the closing door no one saw coming. I love the color red and this watch is fun. Rolex isn’t whimsical like this very often but it’s not without precedent, i.e. Stella dial Daydates and Beach Daytonas. I would bet half or more of them sold are to old schoolers like me with multiple Rolex and other watches. It is getting lots of wrist time.

[MasonDixon]

I think they wanted to temper the hype for the OP41 overall. The insanity over the brightly colored dials made it impossible to get any OP41 at retail. Even the black and silver dials are double MSRP on the grey market. This was supposed to be an accessible watch.

[majidessa]

I have thought about it and I came to the conclusion that the OP was a threat to the Rolex line up!

Historically, OPs were entry models that did not attract much attention, nowadays they have overshadowed other Rolex offerings like gmt, sub, etc.. And they are being traded in the secondary market at a much higher prices that are second to the Daytona (Tiffany).

So as as a luxury manufacturer of watches you don't want your cheapest model to become the most sought after model as it might damage the brand in the long run.

Another thought, Rolex might reintroduce these colors with more expensive models in the future...

[Vesper Lynd]

Rolex is playing a somewhat undignified game, favouring the grey market.