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Designing movements; branding by design

The first reason is attributable solely to Rolex’s own choice: brand’s reign.

While the company’s PR office rarely fails to note the mechanical pedigree of its new movements and technologies, this emphasis never persists long after the launch phase of a new product.

In order to maintain the timeless appeal of watches like the Submariner, Daytona, and Datejust, Rolex logically stresses appearance, name, and heritage. Positioning a watch as a technological milestone invites obsolescence as soon as a competitor or Rolex itself surpasses the once-heralded product.

Omega might build a movement to shame the Rolex 3135, but Omega cannot build a “Submariner.” Keeping the emphasis on watch models – and the Rolex brand above all – keeps Rolex above the fray.

Rolex Submariner Reference 116610 (photo courtesy WatchBox)

Rolex encourages all discussions of its brand to emphasize continuity, not change. The firm revels in the fact that a 1963 Daytona and a 2019 Daytona are recognizably from the same lineage. The movements have little in common, but overt design language captures the public imagination and bridges the half-century gap.

Whether by design or default, Rolex has not revisited display case backs since the Cellini Prince experiment of 2005, so even the most redoubtable Rolex movements remain faceless black boxes for the time being.

Rolex Cellini Prince Caliber 7040 (photo courtesy WatchBox)

Furthermore, Rolex has kept its “experiments” and its core models safely separate.

The Submariner and GMT remain conservative offerings. While the current Daytona was revolutionary in 2000, it remains fundamentally the same watch nearly two decades later.

The Cellini Moonphase, Sky-Dweller, and Yacht-Master II limit Rolex’s exposure to failure by keeping legendary model lines segregated from technological leaps of faith. In other words, the wait for an annual calendar Rolex dive watch may be a long one.

Second, the modern era of watchmaking has been one of mechanical miracles. And miracles cease to be when they become routine.

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