Fresh off the back of winning our “Watch of the Year 2020” award with the Super 7 Scuba, Rotary is back with a new watch: the Rotary Regent.
Introducing the Rotary Regent
Rotary looks to have been inspired by the Genta school of design with the new Regent, which marries a Patek Philippe Nautilus-style bezel to an Audemars Piguet-style 40mm case with an integrated bracelet. It’s a change both from the “divers and chronographs”-dominated watch scene and also from anything Rotary has in its current range.
The new watch comes in two colours, and with a choice of two dials: skeleton or solid. Each dial is married to a Miyota movement: the 8N24 for the skeleton, and the 821A for the solid dial – which has a date function. Pricing starts at £249 for the plain dial on leather, through to £329 for the skeleton on a bracelet. All models have sapphire glass and solid-link bracelets.
First Impressions
The Super 7 set new standards for a “high street” watch, and the Regent looks to continue in the same vein. The specifications – for the money – look good, albeit I would prefer a Seiko NH35 movement at this price point (the Seiko being less prone to second-hand stuttering when fitted with central seconds). The design will perhaps divide opinion: I personally do not care much for skeleton dials but the solid colour dials look great to me, the blue one especially.
The only close competitors with a similar design that I can think of are the Victorinox I.N.O.X (which is a lot more expensive) and the Swan & Edgar Perplexion or Sovereign (which do not have as strong a brand name behind them). That makes this new range a very tempting proposition indeed, Will the Rotary Regent be the brand’s next big hit? We’ll have a full review in a few weeks to help you decide.
You can buy a Rotary watch at WatchShop.
