Guaranteeing that every watch leaves its workshops with a certified precision of between –2 and +2 seconds of variation per day is a rare achievement in the mechanical wristwatch market.
Achieving such excellence involves pushing research beyond chronometry itself to incorporate the entire art of chronometer production.
That is why Rolex has always endeavoured to broaden the scope of the discipline by considering each component of its movements in the tiniest detail, from their design and materials to their interactions, resistance, and even their manufacturing process. Ultimately, it is the creation of the watch as a whole, from the first blank to the final product, that strives towards this goal of precision.
To the nearest fraction of a second
Twenty years ago, the measurement scale used in Rolex laboratories to assess a watch’s precision was calibrated to a deviation of one second per day. Today, Rolex chronometry experts conduct their research to within a tenth of a second of deviation per day.
The precision of each watch is checked using a test protocol that determines the difference between the time elapsed and the time indicated by the watch between two set moments, referenced to absolute time. To ensure the result’s accuracy, the phases during which the hands move and remain still are taken into account, given that the seconds hand remains stationary for 115 milliseconds between each step. Ignoring this pause time would reduce the accuracy of the result.
