Does ROLEX need permission from MERCEDES?

[steel4me]

for making the hands that have the mercedes sign, does rolex need copyright permission from mercedes? If mercedes is involved, then our rollies aren't as pure as I thought they were .....

[frostie]

Well that's a good question but if you check thoroughly the images below you will see that they are not similar so i guess that mercedes does not have a problem with what rolex is doing. The sign that is used at rolex watches does not look similar to the mercedes logo. Take a close look at the angles and the structure of the mercedes logo

[Ikelos]

is it not just a three pointed star, can Karl Benz put a copyright on that?




and here is the girl who it is all named after

[f16570]

Why would they need permission? They are not exactly the same.

[steel4me]

Originally Posted by f16570

Why would they need permission? They are not exactly the same.

yeah, they are not exactly the same as as long as ROLEX does not use the word MERCEDES in their literature and website, I guess there is no copy right violation....

[frostie]

Mercedes though is king. I am a hardcore mercedes fan

[f16570]

Also do you view as the MB sign when the hour hand is pointing at the 12?, if so it is upside down. Now at the 6 it is similar to the MB logo.

[Topic]

anybody know why they started the MB logo on the watches?

[Ikelos]

frostie................so am I, just got my 6th, a B class...........

[Goodwatch]

Look:



Rolex logo in upright position.



Merceds-Benz logo.

Completely different. And the two manufacturers are not in the same business. IWC makes a watch for Mercedes though.

[frostie]

Originally Posted by Ikelos

frostie................so am I, just got my 6th, a B class...........

I don't own one but i 've driven and been a co driver in some amazing MB cars.

[frostie]

Originally Posted by Goodwatch

Look:



Rolex logo in upright position.



Merceds-Benz logo.

Completely different. And the two manufacturers are not in the same business. IWC makes a watch for Mercedes though.

I am interested about the Mercedes watch from IWC and info on that one?

[mrchubbyrabbit]

I kinda like BMW myself. Maybe Rolex could make a special Sub with the BMW symbol on the hand instead.

[Goodwatch]

Originally Posted by frostie

I am interested about the Mercedes watch from IWC and info on that one?

They made a Mercedes Ingenieur a couple of years ago, now they make an AMG (the Mercedes tuning brand) Ingenieur. It's on their website.

[Jocke]

No it´s Skoda that sue them today.





Mercedes have trouble with Gucci instead.



Jocke

[frostie]

you are amazing Jocke

[frostie]

Originally Posted by Goodwatch

They made a Mercedes Ingenieur a couple of years ago, now they make an AMG (the Mercedes tuning brand) Ingenieur. It's on their website.

Thanks a lot for the info

[applebook]

BMW fan myself.

[ttannert]

The same logo is on the hand of my Tag Kirium.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Here is a bit about the significance of the Mercedes hand.

[BuffaloRolex]

Rolex doesn't officially call them "Mercedes" hands, but "skeleton" hands...

[mullman]

It was a historical (post industrial revolution) symbol for Sea, Air, & Land.
Mercedes-Benz adopted it for the exact same reason Rolex did.







(from my personal ad collection of WW2)

I do not have the facts handy, but I am positive on the symbol in question Rolex (and MB) is using.
Someone in this august group with have the information.

To add to the discussion, I have been a Mercedes owner, and my father was since the early 1970s.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Stuttgart factory in the 1970s & 1980s.
FWIW since 1995 or so I have been a BMW man!

[Travis]

Originally Posted by steel4me

yeah, they are not exactly the same as as long as ROLEX does not use the word MERCEDES in their literature and website, I guess there is no copy right violation....

Copyright does not apply to trademarks.

[bwalkerVintage]

Originally Posted by mullman

It was a historical (post industrial revolution) symbol for Sea, Air, & Land.
Mercedes-Benz adopted it for the exact same reason Rolex did.

According to my sources, mercedes benz (or Daimler himself) created it and it was my hypothesis (and apparently yours as well) that Hans W. liked that and believed it represented his tool watches (land, sea and air) as well - so Rolex adopted it.

See below:

First version:

"A three-pointed star had been designed by Gottlieb Daimler, to show the ability of his motors for land, air, and sea use."

My hypothesis:

Maybe Hans Wildsdorf likened the quality of his watches to that of Mercedes-Benz and also felt as though they were to be of varied uses (i.e., tool watches) for land (Explorers), sea (SUB and SD - then later YM) and air (GMT). Therefore, he chose the 3-pointed star for one of the hands on the Rolex tool watches.

And the revised version:

ok, maybe the car relation is a stretch, but I do think that it is a little too coincidental that the three-pointed star has been said to represent (albeit for another company) land, sea and air use and that the only watches that have such a hand are the land, sea and air tool watches...think about it

[mcubed]

I think it is a form following function thing and that Mercedes hands are just a cleaned up more modern version of cathedral hands....
http://www.mkiiwatches.com/WSWrapper...page=208e.html

There is no connection B/T the car and the hand

[bwalkerVintage]

Originally Posted by mcubed

I think it is a form following function thing and that Mercedes hands are just a cleaned up more modern version of cathedral hands....
http://www.mkiiwatches.com/WSWrapper...page=208e.html

There is no connection B/T the car and the hand

Its not a connection between the car and the hands - its the connection based on the meaning behind the symbol - well at least thats one hypothesis.

[rpryan55]

Originally Posted by frostie

Mercedes though is king. I am a hardcore mercedes fan

Frostie, no disrespect, but Porsche is king. There is no substitute.

[applebook]

Entry level Porsches are fun and handle nicely, but they seriously lack power compared to M and AMG models.

[rpryan55]

Originally Posted by applebook

Entry level Porsches are fun and handle nicely, but they seriously lack power compared to M and AMG models.

A Cayman S outperforms those, and the Turbo kicks serious, serious #ss. M or AMG be damned.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by rpryan55

Frostie, no disrespect, but Porsche is king. There is no substitute.

rpryan, no disrespect to you, but Ferrari is king.