No one knows about Rolex watchmaking, but everyone wants to know. The company isn't particularly secretive, but it doesn't like information to be misinterpreted. As a result, the information it discloses has been limited to information that is not misleading. However, with its participation in Watches & Wonders in 2022, the company may have changed its stance a little. One glimpse of this was found in a secret small room set up next to the Rolex booth.
The exhibits in the small room show the deep depths of Rolex watchmaking
Rolex participated in Watches & Wonders 2022. The booth was set up exactly the same as the one they had at Baselworld. The only difference was that a secret room had been set up between the Rolex and Tudor booths. On display were a disassembled Oyster Perpetual and several exhibits showing the watchmaking process. While the average person would likely miss it, this was a treasure trove for otaku.
A unique crown shaping method
Rolex watches, both now and in the past, still use forging for their exteriors. The exterior is shaped by forging, then polished and finished into a case. The crown is no exception, and even the Rolex engraving on the crown is forged. At this exhibition, the mold used to shape the crown was on display. It may look normal at first glance, but this is amazing.
Although the details are unclear, a cut metal rod is pressed into this mold to apply the Rolex mark to the crown head. Other companies also use molds to engrave marks, but what stands out about Rolex is the solidity of the mold. The base is well-made, and the processing precision is high to begin with. When using a mold like this, the finish is naturally good. I'm impressed that they go to the trouble of making this many molds just to press the crown. When you make a case at this standard, it's only natural that the quality is good.
The GMT-Master II's ceramic bezel is also unusual.
Recently, Rolex has begun using ceramics for the display portion of the bezel. Naturally, bezel samples were also lined up in the "secret room." What's interesting is the pigment, which is the raw material for ceramics. You can see that the material itself has a light green color (left). The material is zirconium dioxide or aluminum oxide. This is crushed to less than 1 micron, mixed with a binder that acts as a binder, and cast in a mold. The middle photo shows the ceramic powder mixed with the binder and shaped into the bezel. There is no explanation, but it is probably a "kneading" process that uses less binder. Using less binder makes it less likely for the color to change over time.
The thing in the center is not a shaft, but the remains of the tube that extruded the ceramic. Rolex uses high-pressure casting to ensure that the hard ceramic spreads evenly. On the right is a photo of the watch after sintering. Because it is fired at a high temperature of 1600 degrees, it shrinks by 25 to 30% compared to the original model. The black and red colors were not applied later, but were applied by infiltrating the ceramic with a compound aqueous solution. After that, a thin layer of yellow or pink gold or platinum is applied to the numerals using PVD.
