Rolex Accessories: the Submariner Desk Clock and Gold Cufflinks

Intro

Here is what most die-hard Rolex fans were possibly waiting for. The Swiss brand officially launched a line of accessories to turn what clients usually receive — just one purchase after another — into a business.

If you regularly attended Baselworld first and Watches and Wonders, you’ll have noticed that the brand’s booth often includes a section or display filled with plenty of Rolex-branded fine accessories, including perfumes, watch boxes, ties, and more.

To its top-tier clients, Rolex gifts premium accessories, such as watch cases, to store their Rolex collection. Some accessories, like cufflinks, were already available for purchase through official Rolex dealers, but everything is now official on the brand’s website.

It makes sense, considering the formidable brand awareness and watchgeeks’ unrivalled enthusiasm for every item bearing the Rolex badge.

Also, the launch collection includes something the most seasoned Rolex expert could never have predicted.

Rolex’s debut into the realm of watch-themed accessories has gone under the radar; there have been no official announcements on social media or a global press release. However, rumours spread so quickly that the industry’s journalists knew something was happening.

The Rolex Submariner Desk Clock

While the cufflinks are not breaking news, the first-ever officially available Rolex desk clock was a shocking development.

Everyone interested can now purchase a Rolex Submariner desk clock mimicking its wristwatch counterpart (as long as product availability is concerned, of course).

Despite their incomparable sizes — the new Rolex Submariner desk clock measures 80 mm in diameter — Rolex equipped the watch with materials and features to mimic its sibling as faithfully as possible.

As a consequence, the bezel’s inlay is Chromalight-filled Cerachrom, the protective crystal is sapphire, and the lacquered dial features a date display and a magnifying glass, as seen on any ordinary Submariner Date.

The hemispherical case comes in steel (with Rolex Côtes de Genève decoration on the back), and you can easily tilt it, but forget the 904L; Rolex would have otherwise listed it in the official specs sheet.

Hours, minutes, and seconds are powered by a quartz movement outperforming a Submariner Date, thanks to a secular calendar complication.

You can adjust via a crown on the caseback, where an LCDs the time, date, and year.

To adjust it, unscrew the mid body from its base and access the caseback. Don’t expect it to be a Superlative Chronometer or a water-resistant watch.

Rolex Cufflinks

The Rolex cufflink collection’s reveal is as relevant as it is an exclusive accessory to fully complement your Rolex watch, as long as it comes in gold.

Three styles are available, and take their inspiration from the brand’s core collections.

You can access cufflinks in the shape of the Rolex crown, the signature Mercedes hands, or a fluted bezel paired with a matte black, green, or blue ceramic disc.

Each style comes in three gold variants: Everose gold, yellow gold, and white gold. If you opt for the “Hand” cufflinks, designed to match your Rolex Professional watch, they’ll glow in the dark thanks to a complete Chromalight application, as found on any Explorer, for example.

Personally, I find the “Crown” cufflinks by far the most attractive.

Final thoughts

A Rolex Submariner desk clock retails for €10,420. Anyone hoping to save money compared to a Submariner will be disappointed, and I can’t deny that I thought it could cost much less.

In brief, here is your home or office Rolex Submariner. Period. That said, the execution is flawless; yet the watch marketplace offers plenty of high-end mechanical watches, such as an Atmos or a L’Epée model, at much lower prices.

The Submariner desk clock serves as a statement piece and a potential collector’s item; availability will determine much.

Instead, Rolex-branded gold cufflinks make more sense since they’re the perfect accessories. My favourite are the “Crown” cufflinks, but again, their price might be a deal-breaker since all the models retail for €5,900.

(Photo credit: Rolex)

Gaetano C @Horbiter®