Took Rolex test at AD today! Some Rolex fun...

[Mike_Templar]

Today, I stopped by my AD looking at the 216570 and still trying to decide
on polar vs black. The polar dial is calling my name, especially if I want to
pair it with my 214270 or a new SubC, flipping the 214270. Anyway, I get
to talking with my favorite lady in the store, and she says, hey, you want to
take our Rolex training test and see how you do? I said, YES!
Without further ado, here are the questions, see how you do:

Who founded Rolex watch company?

Why is the case called "Oyster?"

Why is the official color for Rolex green?

What type of steel is used for Rolex watches?

What five metals does Rolex use for watches?

What crown is good for 100m and has 3 gaskets?

What crown is good to 300m and has 5 gaskets?

Do the two crowns look different on the outside?

Is the new Sky Dweller a professional or Oyster perpetual series?

What does Gauss (as in Milgauss) measure?

What is the largest Rolex model made?

How long does it take to make a Rolex?

How many letters in the word Rolex? (A gimmie question)

Why does Rolex use a Parachrom Hairspring, and what is it made of?

Which is the first watch to use the Parachrom Hairspring?

Why is the Ring Command Bezel on the Yachtmaster marked 0-10?






ANSWERS:

Who founded Rolex watch company?
Hans Wilsdorf, 1881, in Germany.

Why is the case called "Oyster?"
To show reference to the "Oyster", "the oyster case protects the movement
like the oyster protects the pearl." Hans 1st job in industry was as an
apprentice at a cultured pearl company.

Why is the official color for Rolex green?
Hans Wilsdorf's wife was Irish, and the green was a tribute to her and
her heritage.

What type of steel is used for Rolex watches?
904L Steel

What five metals does Rolex use for watches?
904L Steel
Yellow gold
White gold
Everose gold
Platinum

What crown is good for 100m and has 3 gaskets?
Twinlock crown

What crown is good to 300m and has 5 gaskets?
Triplock crown

Do the two crowns look different on the outside?
Yes, the trip lock crown has 3 dots below the crown emblem on the actual crown.

Is the new Sky Dweller a professional or Oyster perpetual series?
Oyster Perpetual

What does Gauss (as in Milgauss) measure?
Magnetism

What is the largest Rolex model made?
Yachtmaster at 44m, deep sea is actually 43.7m

How long does it take to make a Rolex?
1 year.

How many letters in the word Rolex? (A gimmie question)
5!

Why does Rolex use a Parachrom Hairspring, and what is it made of?
Rolex uses the Parachrom hairspring because it is 10x more resistant to
shocks, and it is insensitive to magnetic fields.

Which is the first watch to use the Parachrom Hairspring?
Daytona

Why is the Ring Command Bezel on the Yachtmaster marked 0-10?
It was developed to help the skipper get the boat off to the best start
at the crossing line, usually 10 minutes.


How did you do??

[1proscoe]

Very interesting, thanks!

<-- didn't do that great.

[tkerrmd]

great post thanks!

takes a year to make a Rolex??

[Cc1966]

Lots of fun ... blew it on a few! The "Irish green" really got me...

[Chris B]

Great stuff, thanks for sharing

[Wesley Crusher]

I got 9 right. Not too bad.

[Mike_Templar]

I did not know 1881, I said 1924, and I did not know the green answer and I thought
maybe the sky dweller was a professional model AND I said the DSSD was the largest!
So, I didn't do too good myself - but I thought it was interesting what they want their sales associates to know. Nothing about model numbers, etc. I'm not sure if this was just a fun test for them, or some kind of pass/fail, etc. They didn't say.

[Rashid.bk]

Cool, thanks for sharing. I got about a 70. That's good enough for government work.

Love the Irish heritage detail. My favorite piece of history out of those questions, very romantic. Obviously got that one wrong.

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[mjclark32]

Definitely didn't know about the green,

[Vivalas]

I got 8 right, though the 1881 year isn't correct. I've read up on Wilsdorf before and he founded it in the early 1900's in London. He was from Germany and I'm guessing 1881 was his year of birth, though not sure. I've read 1905, 1911, 1915 and 1919, so I guess it's when he did/ set up different companies etc.
He didn't use the name Rolex originally, but bought the rights to the name as the word 'Rolex' can easily be said and understood in any language.
Apparently during the First World War, the British government (needing money I guess) started taxing luxury items very highly. As Wilsdorf imported luxury watch components from Switzerland, these were then taxed very highly. He subsequently moved over there.

Most of this is from memory so maybe a little inaccurate :-)

[Old Expat Beast]

Tributes left and right to the British royals AND the Irish...Rolex/Tudor has a complex heritage.

[threemonkeys]

That was fun. I only got six correct.

[mruhland31]

Great post. Appreciate you taking the time to do that

[kilyung]

16/16… I need to take a break from this place.

[Cru Jones]

Thanks for the post!

[bparone]

I didn't see the answer to what the spring was made of. Does anyone know?

[unclesallie]

Originally Posted by bparone

I didn't see the answer to what the spring was made of. Does anyone know?

From Timezone, "The Heart of the Matter, Rolex & The Parachrom
Hairspring", quoted in part:

Rolex wanted to be able to produce a hairspring which shrugged off the effects of both magnetism and shock; something no-one had previously been able to accomplish. So, the experimentation began and after much endeavour they hit upon the unusual combination of Niobium and Zirconium, two metals which (coincidentally) sit right next to each other in the periodic tables, with Niobium having an atomic number of 41, one higher than Zirconium. Whilst we know of Zirconium through its use as a substitute for diamond, most of us have never even heard of Niobium (I surely hadn’t); it is mainly used a constituent in many specialist alloys and steels where it adds both strength and tensile strength. These steels are increasingly used nowadays in the areas of automobile body structure where impact can be expected and the predictable deformation of these alloys is vital. There are almost no uses for the metal Niobium itself and in most steel alloys it is present in almost minute quantities, perhaps one fiftieth of one percent, whilst Rolex use it in the ratio of 85% Niobium to 15% Zirconium; meaning that Rolex are now one of the world’s major users of the metal.



The two metals are fused together in a high vacuum at a temperature of 2400°C, the metals pass through the furnace slowly at 20cm an hour under the intense voltage of 5,000 volts. It passes through the furnace three times before the two metals can be considered to be completely bonded. When the rod is removed from the furnace it reacts with the oxygen in the air and bonds with trace amounts of this atmospheric oxygen and turns blue. Ironically, it turns the same shade of blue as the classic blued steel hairsprings used in Marine Chronometers and other high grade watches of the last century (See the Zenith chronometer balance shown below, almost a hundred years old).

[versatile1]

I got most of them.....................wrong

[Keith1]

Originally Posted by versatile1

I got most of them.....................wrong

Good news is your hired!!

[waQstar]

Why does Rolex use a Parachrom Hairspring, and what is it made of?
Rolex uses the Parachrom hairspring because it is 10x more resistant to
shocks, and it is insensitive to magnetic fields.
????????????????????????
what is it made of ? didnt answer that one

[Hairdude1]

Cool! Thanks for sharing

[T. Ferguson]

One thing that I was totally unaware of is that apparently Rolex has about one million employees, each of whom make one watch a year.

[E70x5]

Got to go study some more . . .

[joe100]

It doesn't take a year to make a Rolex. That has to be the goofiest but of marketing Rolex has ever used.

[Rashid.bk]

Originally Posted by joe100

It doesn't take a year to make a Rolex. That has to be the goofiest but of marketing Rolex has ever used.

Cool, an actual employee who knows and can tell us everything because he has first hand knowledge from his years as a Rolex employee. Not just some random person with just another opinion.
So please tell us more.


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[adamlea]

Very cool - thanks for sharing. I learned a couple of things I didn't know.

[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by Rashid.bk

Cool, an actual employee who knows and can tell us everything

It doesn't take a Rolex employee to discredit that marketing. In Rolex's own videos, they've talked about several parts each taking "weeks" to make. They get the "year" by adding up all the weeks, as if the whole factory is only making 1 type of part at a time.

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by powerfunk

It doesn't take a Rolex employee to discredit that marketing. In Rolex's own videos, they've talked about several parts each taking "weeks" to make. They get the "year" by adding up all the weeks, as if the whole factory is only making 1 type of part at a time.

This, obviously. They add the total time it takes to make each and every part, as though the parts are all made one at a time. For example, it may take a month for the steel to arrive by boat at the factory from wherever it is produced, but it doesn't take into account that in that shipment there is enough steel to produce tens of thousands of watches. Then it may take the CNC 20 minutes to machine the case back of an Oyster, but ignores that they might have 20 machines running at the same time.

In other words, it may take a year to make a Rolex but you can also make a million of them in a year.

[Kobayashi]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting for their employees to take. Most of us still know more when walking into a store :).

[Dispensed]

Great facts. Thanks for sharing


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