The Sky-Dweller has been one of the most popular and least understood contemporary Rolexes for many years. It’s one of the most sophisticated watches in their lineup, as a luxury traveler’s replica watch, and is the patrician elder brother of the tool-like GMT-Master II. This niche proposition, along with its solid gold offering, always made it something of an outsider Rolex fake watch.
In some ways the case of the Sky-Dweller remains identical to the version released in 2012, but viewed a different way, the changes to the big 42mm case represent the single biggest shift to the model, which has seen it rocket to the top of many a fan’s lists. It’s all about the material.
The other major change to the Sky-Dweller is the design of the dial aside from the case. And not just that stellar starburst blue option. Gone are the radial Arabic or Roman numerals, replaced with elongated applied batons, filled with Chromalight. This one change makes a big difference to the simplicity of the dial. Every time I see this month’s implementation, I’m beguiled by its simplicity, and it still confounds me that it’s not a more popular style of calendar.
No surprises here. Of course the Sky-Dweller ships on the Oyster bracelet. Now, if you opted for the white gold Rolesor version, the bracelet is solid 904L steel. If yellow gold is more your jam, you get polished yellow gold center links. Solid and supremely comfortable, thanks in part to the easily adjusted Oysterclasp, which gives you around 5mm of flex room to ensure maximum comfort.
The most impressive part of the Sky-Dweller is the movement. Not just because the Calibre 9001 is a highly complicated, modern movement with a mighty 72 hours of power reserve and protected by seven patents. No, it stands out because of how you interact with the various functions. Do you see that pretty fluted gold bezel? That’s not a regular bezel, and it’s actually quite an ingenious piece of user-friendly engineering called the Ring Command. Twist it to the left and you’ll notice it has three distinct positions. Change the position of this bezel, and the crown changes a different complication. The third position (hard left) permits you to change the home time, the second position changes local time, and the first position allows you to change the annual calendar.
The large case size and that light-flinging fluted bezel make the replica Sky-Dweller an attention-drawing watch, and the fact that it’s not solid gold only reduces the bling-factor so much, but honestly, you’ve just got to embrace it. Aside from that, it’s the typical flawless fake Rolex experience.