The New Rolexes You Have to Know About at Baselworld 2018

Baselworld dawned today, and with it a cornucopia of brand new horological wonders. But as watch lovers descended on the convention centre from around the world, there was only one real topic on the majority of lips: Rolex's GMT Master II with cerachrom Pepsi bezel... in steel. It's a huge development for many fans, and one that we have covered in detail here.

The only downside to the bombshell of the GMT news is that many of the company's other novelties have sunk somewhat below the radar. At the Rolex booth this morning, the CHRONEXT team could barely get close enough to the glass case housing the GMTs, but we enjoyed unimpeded views of everything else. We feel it's a shame that the other announcements have been neglected, so here we take a closer look at six news items that you shouldn't miss.

When collectors have briefly looked away from the GMT today, it's normally because their eye has been caught by the strange but glorious appearance of a new Rolex Daytona from somewhere out of left-field. It's not the 56 brilliant-cut diamonds set in the gold case, lugs and crown-guard, but rather the rainbow arrangement of coloured sapphires around the entire bezel, as well as the hour indexes. It's certainly something.

The Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea was always a remarkable watch, especially since the "D-Blue" version was launched in 2014 at a rare non-Baselworld event in conjunction with director James Cameron's voyage to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Boasting 3,900 meters of water resistance (you read that right) as well as Rolex's only colour-graded dial (blue to black, like the ocean, with green text), the Deepsea was today re-launched with a slimmer, modernised model. Now fitted with the brand's top 3235 calibre, the case and lugs have been thinned while the strap is a little broader, in line with popular tastes.

Everyone's talking about the steel Pepsi, and some have even noticed that the white gold version now comes with blue dial only. But these were not the only GMTs on display. There are at least nine Master II models in total: some are familiar faces, like the "Batman" (blue and black bezel, which many thought would be discontinued) or the various all-black bezels. But two models that caught our eye were the caramel-style "Root Beer" brown and blacks. To our mind, it's just as classic a look as the Pepsi bezel, and this is the first time they have been sold with the 3285 movement, which uses ultra-efficient "Chronergy" escapements.

A rare all-new collection in 2012, the Sky-Dwellers were the first Rolex watches to feature annual calendar complications, as well as an innovative display system for the GMT function. The family seems to remain healthy six years later, with Rolex making a host of models available in various case-dial-strap configurations. An interesting change this year - for the better, in our opinion - is that the Sky-Dwellers no longer feature Roman numerals anywhere, but have reverted to more understated stick dials across all watches - even the gold ones.

There was much speculation among collectors that 2018 would mark the demise of the Hulk, as they refer to the Submariner reference 116610LV due to its green dial and bezel. Despite the public's taste for Bruce Banner versions, we were pleased to see the loveable big green guy looking live and well at the Rolex stand today, with no changes.

The less dramatic models always get short shrift in coverage of Baselworld, but we were quite impressed by the Rolex Datejust and Oyster Perpetual models unveiled this year. There's a wide selection to suit every taste, including new black or white dials for the Oyster Perpetual that make for very fine entry-level timepieces indeed. Attention has also been lavished on women-oriented Datejusts in smaller sizes, now with redesigned case-sides and lugs.