Rolex Daytona Reference 116500LN

The Golden Age Of Rolex Movements Part IV: Patents And Predictions For The Future of Rolex Watchmaking

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Rolex has been described as a blue-chip brand built on blue-collar movements. That’s true no longer: recent developments at the patent office suggest that the future of Rolex watchmaking may yield dramatic breaks with its conservative past. Atomic oscillators, advanced mechanical escapements, and new complications could remodel Rolex in the image of avant-garde independent and boutique brands as Tim Mosso reports.

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Ruby slippers: movement detail showing ruby bearings on constant torque chain of the Romain Gauthier Logical One

In Focus: Romain Gauthier’s Breathtaking Patented Ruby Link Chain From Logical One – Reprise

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Here at Quill & Pad we are quite smitten by Romain Gauthier’s award-winning Logical One. But one thing that often gets glossed over somewhat is the subject of one of this watch’s four patents: the incredible high-precision chain made of synthetic ruby links. Combined with the snail cam, it is this element that provides the ingenious movement with constant force.

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Zenith Defy Inventor

Zenith Defy Inventor: Experimental Compliant Tech Goes Into Serial Watch Production

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Zenith’s Defy Inventor includes successful implementation of Zenith’s futuristic compliant component which offers insensitivity to temperature, gravity, and magnetic fields as well as no need for lubrication. It may even help change how mechanical watches are viewed and made. This is some futuristic stuff!

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TAG Heuer Autavia Isograph

TAG Heuer Autavia Isograph: Carbon-Composite High-Tech Hairspring For All

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Joshua Munchow thinks that TAG Heuer’s move to separate the Autavia into its own collction and have it be fully supported by Caliber 5 with its Isograph carbon-composite hairspring is a definitive step to creating a new, solid base for the brand to build on.

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No longer a prototype, the production version of Naissance d’Une Montre, Le Garde Temps on display at SIHH 2016

The Schmidt List: Signature Movement Screws – Reprise

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The components of a mechanical watch movement are little more than a series of springs and wheels held together by plates and/or bridges. No matter the configuration, complication or finish, the ensemble is secured by the humble movement screw. So it’s a pleasant surprise that several watchmakers have boldly ventured beyond the thread and the slot to reimagine the movement screw.

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“crossbar/cutthroat razor” click on the Philippe Dufour Simplicity

The Schmidt List: Top 5 Funky Clicks – Reprise

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The click spring is one of the smaller components of a mechanical watch, but it is of enormous importance. Ever wondered why the crown doesn’t retaliate furiously and unwind every time you crank it? Without the click spring, a wound mainspring would immediately – and explosively – uncoil like a raging viper in a hat box.

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IWC Ingenieur with black ceramic bezel

Focus On Technology: Plastics In Watches And Why We Are Likely To See More Of Them – Reprise

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Exotic materials: love them or hate them? And where are you in regard to plastics, which are ever-increasingly appearing in wristwatch cases and movements? Here’s a recap of that story so far.

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Rolex Twinlock winding crown

Here’s Why The Crown Is The Unsung Hero Of Watchmaking (And Why Rolex Wears The Crown)

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This is one of the most important yet under appreciated parts of a watch: the crown. The humble crown has played an extensive role in helping Rolex – and the rest of the watch industry – get to where it is today. Here’s why.

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Armin Strom Masterpiece 1: Dual Time Resonance

Understanding Resonance, Featuring The F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance, And Haldimann H2 Flying Resonance – Reprise

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Resonance. No, it is not a Tesla-themed Evanescence cover band. Resonance is a physics principle that, to be honest, most people will never need to know to go about their daily lives. So what is all the hubbub about resonance these days? It’s a word that is, even in the watch world, so mysterious and rare that it is heard only once or twice a decade. In this article Joshua Munchow explains how resonance works and why it matters.

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Tag Heuer Mikrograph

Timekeeping In A 5G World: Coordinated Universal Time Blown Away By Ultra-Precision Time On Tap

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New 5G cellular wireless technology will soon transfer data – including the correct time – 50 times faster than existing 4G services. 5G also enables constant internet connection. Here is what that means to the timekeeping world.

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