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Old 8 July 2018, 01:06 AM   #1
jstan9
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Interesting Rolex article on the cerachrom ceramic bezels

Including the science behind the bi-colored innovations in the BLNR, BLRO, and CHNR.

https://pressroom.rolex.com/en/basel...ownload.pdf/en

Last edited by jstan9; 8 July 2018 at 01:26 AM.. Reason: New URL
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Old 8 July 2018, 01:07 AM   #2
Cru Jones
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“to view this content open within the flipboard app”

???
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Old 8 July 2018, 01:09 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by jstan9 View Post
Including the science behind the bi-colored innovations in the BLNR, BLRO, and CHNR.

http://flip.it/UH6ZnB
Particularly interesting is the discussion in the article about how difficult it is to produce ‘true red’ ceramic bezels. A ton of innovation and experimentation was involved. They were clearly determined to figure it out and the runaway success of the newest BLRO seems to have vindicated their hard work.
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Old 8 July 2018, 01:26 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jstan9 View Post
Including the science behind the bi-colored innovations in the BLNR, BLRO, and CHNR.

http://flip.it/UH6ZnB
Sorry, TRFers, I didn't realize the flipboard url would demand that you used flipboard.

This is an article on the official flipboard Rolex Magazine. It seems to have been taken mainly from this article in rolex's press room. This is the URL to the PDF:

https://pressroom.rolex.com/en/basel...ownload.pdf/en

I hadn't seen it before...very cool info and pictures!
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Old 8 July 2018, 01:32 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Cru Jones View Post
“to view this content open within the flipboard app”

???
Thanks! I didn’t realize Flipboard would demand the app. I changed the url. I’d heard red was a challenge for them but didn’t realize how big a challenge it was. They were clearly determined to succeed and I think the results speak for themselves. A ceramic Coke must be on the horizon : )
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Old 8 July 2018, 01:55 AM   #6
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Great informative article, thanks for sharing it.
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Old 8 July 2018, 02:24 AM   #7
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Good read. Thanks!


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Old 8 July 2018, 02:33 AM   #8
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Interesting article, but I'm still wondering why Rolex engineers are struggling so much to create a red color - which still looks purple/cold - when the fake watch industry managed to create a much more saturated vivid red ceramic bezel with the exact same color as the original aluminum pepsi bezel..

Not blaming Rolex here as they try hard, but that is a reality. Ceramic color creation is complex but they don't have the exclusivity of the machine to create it and it's not rocket science either. It's just chemistry and some other people have found the right way to create those pigments (and making money out of it unfortunately).
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Old 8 July 2018, 02:35 AM   #9
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Interesting. I never realized they formed a solid circular blank.
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Old 8 July 2018, 04:12 AM   #10
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Interesting Rolex article on the cerachrom ceramic bezels

Thanks for sharing the link. I find it interesting that they use an image for PR where the engraved Crown at 1200 on the rehaut appears so poorly aligned with the markers on the dial - from reading some of the other forums I understood this was the preserve of Seiko



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Old 8 July 2018, 04:27 AM   #11
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Great article, thank you for sharing!


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Old 8 July 2018, 05:18 AM   #12
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Appreciate the link.
Some nice revelations may help us predict new model combinations like a single color Blueberry bezel or a Raspberry bezel.


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Old 8 July 2018, 07:29 AM   #13
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Good read. Thanks for sharing!!
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Old 8 July 2018, 07:54 AM   #14
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Thank you for posting this op. Great info.
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Old 8 July 2018, 10:43 AM   #15
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Thanks for sharing - very interesting read
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Old 8 July 2018, 10:47 AM   #16
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Thanks for sharing. Fabulous
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Old 8 July 2018, 07:23 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adg31 View Post
Thanks for sharing the link. I find it interesting that they use an image for PR where the engraved Crown at 1200 on the rehaut appears so poorly aligned with the markers on the dial - from reading some of the other forums I understood this was the preserve of Seiko
I'm not sure I understand.. What did you find?
(indeed I don't understand either why it's so poorly aligned in some models. It looks like they don't take it into account during quality check)
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Old 8 July 2018, 08:01 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adg31 View Post
Thanks for sharing the link. I find it interesting that they use an image for PR where the engraved Crown at 1200 on the rehaut appears so poorly aligned with the markers on the dial - from reading some of the other forums I understood this was the preserve of Seiko



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Exactly how my 116613 looks.. misaligned. Perfectly normal I believe.
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Old 8 July 2018, 08:14 PM   #19
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Hublot was able to make a bright red ceramic. Maybe the challenge is on dual color.

https://www.ablogtowatch.com/hublot-...ly-watch-2013/

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Old 8 July 2018, 08:24 PM   #20
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Great read thanks for sharing.
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Old 8 July 2018, 09:35 PM   #21
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Great read. Loved the technical specs of creating the bezels.
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Old 8 July 2018, 09:46 PM   #22
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I love stuff like this. Thanks for posting!
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Old 8 July 2018, 09:50 PM   #23
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Very nice, thanks!
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Old 9 July 2018, 12:09 AM   #24
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Good stuff, thanks for sharing! Explains a bit about how difficult it’s to make bicolor bezels.
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Old 9 July 2018, 12:38 AM   #25
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So how long until they will manage to offer a true ceramic red?
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Old 9 July 2018, 12:44 AM   #26
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Great read. Thanks for sharing
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Old 9 July 2018, 12:50 AM   #27
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Cool! thanks for sharing
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Old 9 July 2018, 08:18 AM   #28
jstan9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by horseShu View Post
Hublot was able to make a bright red ceramic. Maybe the challenge is on dual color.

https://www.ablogtowatch.com/hublot-...ly-watch-2013/

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From what I’ve read, that is exactly the challenge. The bi-color process. Getting a single color is straightforward; but the bi-colored bezels must start as one color and half of it is ‘over written’ by the second color in an extremely complex and expensive process.
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Old 9 July 2018, 08:59 AM   #29
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Interesting presentation and a few points I’ve noted...

I thought the original ceramic bezel process they advertised had the numerals being engraved into the ceramic bezel with a diamond tip router? In this presentation they are shown as being moulded into the ceramic when it is first formed.

Also, the red colour blanks shown in one picture suggest they have deeper reds and almost burgundy colours to chose from? If so, why not use them?
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Old 9 July 2018, 11:12 AM   #30
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Yeah Hublot made a song and dance about being the first to make a REAL red ceramic this year
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