![]() ![]() While it’s tempting to think of concepts like “in-house” and “not in-house” as a dichotomy, in reality it tends to be more of a spectrum, with value added by different specialists at different stages of the production process. This arrangement enabled each supplier, even very small outfits, to achieve economies of scale in the production of specific components. Historically, most Swiss watch brands relied on a network of cooperative and interdependent suppliers for movement kits (known as ébauches) and components. ![]() While this might seem like the most obvious way to make movements, it was actually pretty unusual in the Swiss watch industry until relatively recently, when the industry was revived after the Quartz Crisis.ĭetail of the Habring2 Felix chronograph movement that is based on the Valjoux 7750, yet thoroughly revised and improved Strictly speaking, an in-house or manufacture movement is a movement produced in a watch brand’s own factory. ![]() But the theory of conspicuous consumption fails to adequately explain a major trend that has emerged in the watch industry over the last 25 years, which is the importance of so-called “in-house” movements. After all, luxury watches offer little in the way of practical value, and serve primarily as an expression of the owner’s buying power, interests, and values. American sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term “conspicuous consumption” in 1899 to describe the tendency of consumers to exhibit their wealth through the purchase of recognizable luxury goods.Īt first glance, this theory seems to explain the continued existence of the luxury watch industry. Luxury watches have long been marketed as status symbols that identify their wearers as successful and powerful. The 2030 first appeared in 1970.Share Facebook Linkedin Twitter Weibo Instagram The smaller calibre 2030 and its derivatives have been used in the Lady Oyster Perpetual, Lady Datejust, Lady Midsize, and Lady Yacht-Master. 1675, which used calibres 15, was the first with a GMT hand able to be set independently. The wearer set the second time zone by rotating the bezel. In that calibre, the GMT hand was directly connected to the hour hand. The GMT is the watch originally developed jointly with Pan American World Airways. A Submariner with a date came on the scene in 1967 with a calibre 1570 beating away inside. This calibre was also used in several Submariner and Explorer references, 65xx and 66xx.Ĭalibre 1530 appeared in 1957, succeeding calibre A.260 in the Submariner and was used in Sub references 5512, 5513, 5516, and 5518. ![]() The Oyster Perpetual began life with the calibre 1030, in 1950. You can learn more about the functions by reading our Rolex Day-Date Ultimate Buying Guide here.īesides the flagship President and its history-making calibres, other notable calibres included the 1030, 1530, 1036, 1565, 1575, and 2030. The 3155 allowed rapid setting of both the day and the date by turning the crown clock-wise or counter-clockwise while in position 2. The “double quick set” calibre 3155 was introduced in 1988. The “quick set” feature on the Day-Date, allowing rapid setting of the date, debuted with calibre 3055 in ref. Instead, he wore a Datejust, Rolex’s 150,000th certified chronometer, which the company awarded him in 1951 for his distinguished service and leadership in WW II. There are also reports of Dwight Eisenhower wearing one. The President is the watch made famous by Lyndon Johnson (ref. 6511 (or “President” as the model came to be popularly known) debuted in 1956 with calibre 1055 beneath the dial. The year was 1945, and the calibre was the 740.Ī day-date display – actually a day-date-moon phase – first appeared with Rolex’s calibre 780 in 1952. Rolex actually first presented a date display well before 1950. (For the record, calibre means movement, and reference is the model number of the watch.) The 2235, for instance, was introduced in 1999 and has seen service in no less than 108 different Rolex references, all of them versions of the Oyster Perpetual, Datejust, and Lady Yacht-Master midsize. In fact some have been installed in dozens of references. And they’ve been installed in many times that many references. Over the long history of Rolex watches, there’ve been at least 62 Rolex calibres manufactured since 1950. ![]()
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