Rolex Steel Watches

Why does a mechanical watch go “tick-tock”?

The ticking is produced by the escapement, which plays a key role in the movement’s measurement of time. “Tick”: a tooth of the escape wheel locks against one of the pallets of the lever. Then, released by the sweep of the oscillator, the pallet fork lets the wheel “escape”, until it locks against the second pallet: “tock”.

The pallet fork continues its infinite pendular beat against the oblique teeth of the escape wheel precisely 28,800 times every hour – 14,400 “ticks” and 14,400 “tocks”. That's 250 million times a year.

In 1931, Rolex invented and patented a self-winding mechanism with a free rotor, called the Perpetual rotor, based on a principle that would later be adopted by the whole watchmaking industry.

The self-winding mechanism consists of a half-moon-shaped oscillating weight, which pivots freely on its central axle, in one direction, then the other with the natural movements of the wrist. It transmits uninterrupted natural energy to the watch. The oscillations of the weight create energy which is stored in the mainspring, and provides the watch with a constant and stable source of energy.

The barrel supplies energy to the movement.

Inside is the mainspring whose powerful coils store the energy produced when the movement is wound, either manually or through a self-winding system. As the mainspring uncoils, it releases a continuous flow of energy which is controlled by the alternating movement of the escapement. Energy from the mainspring is transmitted to the escapement and the oscillator through the gear train. The movement’s autonomy or power reserve between windings depends therefore on how much energy the mainspring can store, and on energy efficiency.

Rolex developed and synthesizes in-house exclusive high-performance lubricants with a considerably longer useful life and greater stability over time.

Rolex is the only independent manufacturer that has developed and synthesized its own lubricants.

Each type of oil has a specific application and requires about a decade of R&D. Low viscosity, or thinner, lubricants are used for high-speed contacts, such as in the oscillator. High viscosity, or thicker, ones are employed in high-pressure, impacting contacts such as the gear trains.