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.

Rotary watches are widely available on the high street and also direct from the Rotary online store. Rotary also has an official Amazon store, which often has bargain watches.

By Mike Richmond

Mike spends what little spare time he has writing for WRUK; and what little money he makes building up his collection of timepieces.