I realised watch reviews, unboxings, hands-on and other talking watches are about the owner more than the watch itself. It’s simple, we are the ones giving watches a meaning and some of them can be quite deep. I guess that’s one of the reasons why I fell in love with watches, and particularly this Rolex Datejust 36 Palm Dial!

When Alex asked me to write a review about the Rolex Datejust 36, I stressed out a bit ’cause I couldn’t find a negative side of this watch. Maybe it’s easy to be a critic sometimes, but when it comes to luxury watches it’s hard for me, with “palm baby”, impossible. I thought this is going to be a shitty review, just a watch adulation by a first-time Rolex owner, completely in love and unable to compare and identify any cons.

I was encouraged to be honest, genuine and describe my relationship with this Rolex Datejust 36 regardless of the common idea of a product review. The facts you can find everywhere. Does it make sense to describe the parameters? In my opinion, a 36mm dial is perfect for an elegant, casual watch, but I understand that it’s a controversial size when coming to a man’s wrist.

To be honest I consider the size of the Rolex Datejust 36 universal and hot on both sexes. A palm dial doesn’t go well with only beachwear, those subtle green shades make it great for any season and can actually be really heartwarming on cold dark days in the office (tested!). In the end, everything is about your own style. Divers also look great on ski slopes, office desks, or in theaters, right? I also prefer diversity in watch collecting so I am happy Rolex just didn’t go with the flow in a quite conservative watch industry, but they fearlessly came out with a new dial design that is not following any actual watch trend (yes they tend to do it with DJ), although following the green colour trend – I think the olive/khaki shade was a right call and together with etched motif using perfectly precise lasers secured the look of a real piece of art.

I remember like it was yesterday, the evening of the 2021 watch releases. My fav pattern – palm leaves, just made for me! But something else was telling me this shouldn’t be my first Rolex. I wanted something versatile, subtle, classic. Palm frooonds just seemed too crazy. That was a period when my health was going really downhill and my journey to deal with it started. Watches were a nice distraction.

Textured dials are something I adore and I was sure to get one from the experts in this field, Grand Seiko, but I opened my mind to explore the look of the palm dial more. Online pics and videos are amazing quality nowadays, but a watch has to be experienced live, on the wrist. Often without that first touch, we cannot really judge. I tried the Rolex Datejust 36 palm dial right when the first one arrived together with the new blue fluted. Both looked much better in reality and I changed my opinion a lot. The way light plays with the texture of the dial and changes the colors with just a slight movement is mesmerising. The Rolex Datejust 36 feels just like a warm worry free beach day, reminding me to live life fully and forget from time to time all troubles it brings.

Both watches I tried on had a fluted bezel and Jubilee bracelet. Blue fluted motif is just perfect like that, but the Rolex Datejust 36 palm seems overdecorated. I let the watch pass and ordered the Oyster bracelet and smooth bezel combo. The gold version as some of you saw on my IG was not only hard to read but looked somehow too much. The palm dial makes sense only in green for me, it’s pure, classy, yet still fun.

My health improved significantly after a lot of hard work and soon I got THE call. It was clear sign for me – I deserve it. Now this Rolex Datejust 36 Palm Dial takes me back to the moment I saw it for the first time, the struggle I was facing and what was happening in the following days and months. I feel humble, grateful and it’s the best reminder of my strength. I am happy Rolex debuted such a warm and playful design and I am so glad about getting the opportunity of owning this piece. And finally I am happy for being able to share this story with you.