The Rolex Oyster Perpetual, the watch that started it all

Long before Rolex became the world’s most recognisable luxury watchmaker, before the Submariner, the Daytona, the Explorer, the Datejust or the GMT-Master, there was one idea that changed everything: a watch that could survive real life. Not the boardroom, not the jewellery window,  but water, dust, shock, sweat, and the unpredictable chaos of the everyday. That idea became the Rolex Oyster.

Launched in 1926, the Oyster was the world’s first truly waterproof wristwatch. Rolex’s founder, Hans Wilsdorf, understood something no one else did at the time: wristwatches couldn’t just be pretty; they had to be tough. The Oyster’s hermetically sealed case, screw-down crown, and robust construction made it unlike anything the industry had seen. Rolex didn’t just claim it worked, they proved it. The company famously gave one to Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to swim the English Channel. She wore it through freezing water and pounding waves. When she emerged hours later, exhausted but victorious, the watch was still ticking. It was a turning point. The Oyster didn’t just survive; it changed what a wristwatch could be.

By the mid-20th century, Rolex had refined the concept into a line that captured the essence of the brand: simple, precise, durable, and effortlessly wearable. That line was the Oyster Perpetual,  “Perpetual” referring to Rolex’s pioneering self-winding rotor, allowing the watch to power itself through motion alone.

While other Rolex models built specialist identities, the Submariner for divers, the GMT-Master for pilots, the Explorer for mountaineers, the Oyster Perpetual remained the purest expression of the brand’s core philosophy: a beautifully made, mechanically perfect, no-nonsense watch built for everyday life.

Over the decades, the OP would quietly become the backbone of Rolex’s catalogue. It didn’t shout. It didn’t chase trends. It simply provided exceptional quality in its cleanest form: smooth bezel, Oyster bracelet, flawless proportions, and dials that evolved from understated black and silver to vibrant hues that became cult favourites. For many collectors, the OP is the gateway into the Rolex world,  the model that defines what a Rolex should feel like on the wrist.

One reference, however, stands apart.

In 2015, Rolex released the Oyster Perpetual 39. Perfectly balanced, slim, and superbly wearable, it became an instant modern classic. Collectors loved its proportions, its versatility, and most of all, its dials,  especially one in particular: the sunburst blue dial with subtle green accents. Rolex never advertised it heavily. They didn’t explain the colour combination. They simply produced it for a few years… and then quietly discontinued it.

That decision turned it from a great watch into a legendary one.

Today, the Rolex OP 39 Sunburst Blue sits in the sweet spot between modern engineering and discontinued rarity. Its radial blue dial shifts from navy to electric cobalt depending on the light. The neon-green minute markers are a detail only collectors truly appreciate, subtle at first glance, iconic once you notice them. The 39mm case is widely regarded as one of Rolex’s best-wearing sizes ever made.