Rolex history question -- why the emblem on the hour hand?

[dchernikoff]

Here's a question that's been bugging me. Does anyone know the history behind why Rolex puts that "three pointed star in a circle" aka "Mercedes Benz logo" on the hour hand? I'm guessing it's not a nod to Mercedes nor to 'peace out, man'. Anyone know what it stands for? It's nice that it makes the hour hand more visible in the dark, but there must be more to it than that... I've never seen it referenced in any articles.

Enquiring minds want to know!

-Dan

[Old Expat Beast]

It's to give the luminous material something to hang on to. It would be less stable in an open circle.

[Tools]

That's right..

It's not a Mercedes symbol or a peace sign, it's just a trisected circle..

[hdms]

Land
Water
Sky


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[sickened1]

Google took me to this..

https://www.keepthetime.com/blog/wha...x-sea-dweller/

[Laszlo]

Originally Posted by sickened1

Google took me to this..

https://www.keepthetime.com/blog/wha...x-sea-dweller/

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by sickened1

Google took me to this..

https://www.keepthetime.com/blog/wha...x-sea-dweller/

A bit of a dubious resource. It doesn't say that Rolex had the Air, Sea, Land reference in mind when designing the "Mercedes" hand, anyway. It also says that Mercedes Gleitze swam across the English Channel wearing a Rolex Oyster, which is incorrect. She wore it (around her neck) on the later "Vindication Swim", which she failed to complete.

[Tools]

Mercedes does call their emblem a star and the white spaces in-between do mean land, sea, and air, as it was envisioned in ~1910..

But it has no relationship to Rolex. Rolex hand is just a circle broken into three spaces for lume. It is not the tapered and elegant star emblem that Mercedes Benz uses, and which was Trademarked in 1923..

The hour hand only resembles that emblem with it's flat-bar spacers; it is not the Mercedes Star.

[toneafficianado]

Fantastic informative thread! Ive always wondered about that hr hand. I have two watches with it. Thanks for posting

[Rogdogg]

Great to know. I can tick that off as the thing I learned today

[mike]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

It's to give the luminous material something to hang on to. It would be less stable in an open circle.

[Sarko]

Originally Posted by hdms

Land
Water
Sky


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Seadweller
Skydweller

Comming up:

Earthdweller

[Lol-x]

Thanks, I'll file this in my 'things that matter' file

Interesting nevertheless

[AK797]

Not related to the car or swimmer... unless you are sharking in a club.

[dchernikoff]

Thanks for the enlightenment! :)

-Dan

[dchernikoff]

Originally Posted by Sarko

Seadweller
Skydweller

Comming up:

Earthdweller

Earthdweller? Is that the Rolex you buy to be buried in? Think I'll pass on that one!

-Dan

[SemperFi]

That was an interesting little tidbit...mystery solved.

[brandrea]

Thanks for the informative info gentlemen

[Nikko]

My TAG has the same thing, which I always thought was very odd.

[KeepTheTime]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

A bit of a dubious resource. It doesn't say that Rolex had the Air, Sea, Land reference in mind when designing the "Mercedes" hand, anyway. It also says that Mercedes Gleitze swam across the English Channel wearing a Rolex Oyster, which is incorrect. She wore it (around her neck) on the later "Vindication Swim", which she failed to complete.

The article is correct. Even Rolex themselves say that Mercedes Gleritze swam across the English Channel. Whether on her wrist or around her neck makes no difference (although a cool fact nonetheless).

"It is one thing to claim a watch is waterproof. It is quite another to prove it. In 1927 a Rolex Oyster crossed the English Channel, worn by a young English swimmer named Mercedes Gleitze. The swim lasted over 10 hours and the watch remained in perfect working order at the end of it."

Source: Rolex themselves at http://www.rolex.com/about-rolex/rol...1926-1947.html

[KeepTheTime]

Originally Posted by sickened1

Google took me to this..

https://www.keepthetime.com/blog/wha...x-sea-dweller/

Thank you for sharing! We've updated the post to include lumeshots of the minute hand over the hour hand.

[CharlieMae]

I'm gonna have to disagree. If you have ever seen the surface area on an Explorer II arrow, you would see it could fit the entire GMT hand inside it. I dont think it has anything to do with holding lume, but I dont know for sure.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by KeepTheTime

The article is correct. Even Rolex themselves say that Mercedes Gleritze swam across the English Channel. Whether on her wrist or around her neck makes no difference (although a cool fact nonetheless).

"It is one thing to claim a watch is waterproof. It is quite another to prove it. In 1927 a Rolex Oyster crossed the English Channel, worn by a young English swimmer named Mercedes Gleitze. The swim lasted over 10 hours and the watch remained in perfect working order at the end of it."

Source: Rolex themselves at http://www.rolex.com/about-rolex/rol...1926-1947.html

Well "even Rolex" has been known to bend the truth to suit its needs. Here's the full story behind the channel swim. http://www.qualitytyme.net/pages/rol...m_gleitze.html. Read the Rolex claim carefully, it doesn't day she completed the swim, just that the watch 'crossed the channel' with her, and that she swam for ten hours. The last part of her crossing was by boat.

Quote from the above link: "It may sound a bit more romantic to say that Mercedes wore a Rolex on her wrist as she swam across the English Channel, but this, unfortunately, was not the case. While she did “carry” a Rolex for more than ten hours during her vindication swim, it was not on her wrist, nor was it during the “successful” fifteen-hour swim she is remembered for. This is simply a story that has had some “specifics” misquoted over the years."

And I think "even Rolex" has given up on claming that Edmund Hillary wore an Explorer up Everest.

[Rogue884]

Just like the infamous Steve McQueen Explorer Ii

[MovieGuy]

Originally Posted by CharlieMae

I'm gonna have to disagree. If you have ever seen the surface area on an Explorer II arrow, you would see it could fit the entire GMT hand inside it. I dont think it has anything to do with holding lume, but I dont know for sure.

The lume that was used years ago benefited from the three individual sections in the hour hand. It helped it stay in the hand being in three small sections instead of one large one.
Nowadays it is only there as a design feature, continuing the original hour hand design.

[joe100]

Originally Posted by KeepTheTime

The article is correct. Even Rolex themselves say that Mercedes Gleritze swam across the English Channel. Whether on her wrist or around her neck makes no difference (although a cool fact nonetheless).

"It is one thing to claim a watch is waterproof. It is quite another to prove it. In 1927 a Rolex Oyster crossed the English Channel, worn by a young English swimmer named Mercedes Gleitze. The swim lasted over 10 hours and the watch remained in perfect working order at the end of it."

Source: Rolex themselves at http://www.rolex.com/about-rolex/rol...1926-1947.html

Has nothing to do with the Mercedes-Benz logo, not one bit.

[997.2]

Soooooooooo it's all a lie.

[NorthernPike]

Originally Posted by joe100

Has nothing to do with the Mercedes-Benz logo, not one bit.

Absolutely. Just look at them. They are very different.
Thank you Larry "Tools" for saving me a lot of typing.

Stupid internet.

[Jocke]

Before Tritium they call it Skoda hand but when Mercedes invented Tritium so did Rolex do the change to the Mercedes hand.

[CharlieMae]

Movie guy wrote "The lume that was used years ago benefited from the three individual sections in the hour hand. It helped it stay in the hand being in three small sections instead of one large one."

The Lume on the Explorer II is the same lume used on the old GMT's. The watch was produced in 1971-1980's with nothing holding the lume together on the large surface area of the arrow.

I dont disagree that the mercedes sections help to hold the lume, I am stating that it wasnt necessary or needed, so I doubt it was put there for that reason.