The Rolex Datejust 41 is covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification redefined by Rolex in 2015. This exclusive designation testifies that the watch has successfully undergone a series of tests conducted by Rolex in its own laboratories according to its own criteria, which exceed watchmaking norms and standards. The certification applies to the fully assembled watch, after casing the movement, guaranteeing superlative performance on the wrist in terms of precision, power reserve, waterproofness and self-winding. The precision of a Rolex Superlative Chronometer after casing is of the order of −2/+2 seconds per day, or more than twice that required of an official chronometer. The Superlative Chronometer status is symbolized by the green seal that comes with every Rolex watch and is coupled with an international five-year guarantee. Superlative Chronometer
A new-generation mechanical movement with 14 patents that embodies the brand’s new standards of performance with its precision, power reserve, reliability, resistance to shocks and magnetism, as well as the ease and convenience of its adjustment.
A compelling example of avant-garde watchmaking technology, this self-winding mechanical movement is entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex Datejust 41. It is backed by 14 patents and a number of innovative technological solutions relating not only to component design but also to processes involving new technologies that push back the limits of existing production methods. More than 90 per cent of the movement parts have been redesigned and optimized, from those that produce and store energy (self-winding module and mainspring) to the regulating organ responsible for precision (oscillator), the gear train and the escapement. The escapement, which transmits the impulses required to maintain the oscillator’s steady beat, is enhanced by a major innovation patented by Rolex under the name Chronergy.
Rolex engineers devised and patented a new escapement that optimizes the efficiency of the Swiss lever escapement, the standard technical solution in Swiss watchmaking, but which has seen only limited evolution over the last 50 years. While favoured by watchmakers for its great reliability, the Swiss lever escapement has always suffered from low efficiency, relaying to the oscillator barely more than a third of the energy it receives from the mainspring via the gear train.
The result of extensive research, the geometry of the new Rolex Chronergy escapement improves the efficiency of this key component by 15 per cent. Almost half of calibre 3235’s increased power reserve can be ascribed to the escapement itself. Made of nickel-phosphorus, the Chronergy escapement is, furthermore, insensitive to magnetic interference.
Like all Rolex Datejust 41 watches, the models equipped with calibre 3235 benefit from the Superlative Chronometer certification redefined by Rolex in 2015. This exclusive designation testifies that they have successfully undergone a series of tests conducted in the brand’s own laboratories according to its own criteria, which are more stringent than watch-making norms and standards. These tests are carried out on each fully assembled watch, after casing the movement, in order to guarantee superlative performance on the wrist.
The precision of every movement – officially certified as a chronometer by COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute) – is tested a second time by Rolex after being cased, to ensure that it meets criteria for precision that are far more exacting than those for an official chronometer. The tolerance for the average rate of a Rolex Superlative Chronometer after casing is of the order of −2/+2 seconds per day. Its precision is tested by Rolex using an exclusive methodology that simulates the conditions in which a watch is actually worn and is much more representative of real-life experience. The certification testing is carried out using state-of-the-art equipment specially developed by Rolex. The entirely automated series of tests also checks the waterproofness, the self-winding capacity and the power reserve of every Rolex watch. These tests systematically complement the qualification testing upstream during development and production that ensures the watches’ reliability, robustness, and resistance to magnetism and shocks.
The unique way in which Rolex watches are designed, manufactured and tested, together with the exclusive innovations from which they benefit, push back the limits of performance for mechanical watches and make Rolex the benchmark for watchmaking excellence. The Superlative Chronometer status is symbolized by the green seal that comes with every Rolex watch and is coupled with an international five-year guarantee.