3-Watch Thursday #63
The Return of the Coke
Good morning team
I hope you’re all well.
Some pretty shocking news broke this week thanks to @niccoloy on Instagram.
EP 4 311 820 A1 published!
That’s not a WIFI password, nor is it an Omega reference number.
It’s a Rolex patent application, publication number.
Just over a month out from Watches and Wonders 2024, this is pretty big news. Let’s find out more below.
EP 4 311 820 A1 - The Return of the Coke
I’ve previously written about patents in watchmaking, both here and on other platforms - hardly surprising given it is now my profession.
I’ve also written about Rolex patents, predicting what we’d see at an upcoming Watches & Wonders for
.1 The predictions were pretty far from the mark and mostly relating to Tudor.But this is different.
Filed in 2022, it’s another one of those bi-colour ceramic bezel applications. You’re likely aware of how challenging Rolex said it was to make a Red/Blue ceramic Pepsi bezel and how they iterated their processes, such that the earlier bezels are a slightly different colour to the present.
The present application teaches of applying a red base, generating a blue half, then post processing on exposure to air, the blue turns black.
This is very clearly a ceramic Coke bezel.
“More specifically, a first object of the present invention is to propose a solution for manufacturing a ceramic component […] notably two-tone, notably red and black result.”
What does this mean is next?
Rolex will release a ceramic Red/Black GMT at W&W24.
Or will they?
Whilst Rolex has a history of patenting their innovations and new products, we tend to see the following timeline of events:
Application filed → Product released → Publication of patent application2
But with this we’ve seen:
Application filed → Publication of patent application → ???
It’s difficult to say either way whether we will see a Coke release. The application appears to indicate a large amount of R&D has gone into developing a process for making Red/Black ceramic bezels.
It would be a waste to not see this materialise.
I guess we all continue to wait with baited breath.
Why does Rolex patent these kinds of innovations?
The question above it one that I’ve been pondering for a while.
A patent gives you the right to a monopoly over an invention, for a duration3, in return for disclosing the invention.
In the instance of case materials, such as gold alloys, I can understand why Rolex might want this monopoly.
Yet in this specific instance, it’s a bit trickier.
We know Rolex has been working on this for years. It’s evidently been a struggle given it’s now over a decade since the bicolour Blue/Black ceramic GMT released.
So why disclose how they’ve done it?
I’m really not sure.
Trade secrets are an option when it comes to intellectual property. Famously, the recipe for Coca Cola is a trade secret.
This is clearly a difficult and specialised problem, but my main thought is:
Who are Rolex trying to stop making a ceramic Red/Black bezel to the same standard as they are?
I struggle to fathom, as a competitor, how challenging it must be to reverse engineer a ceramic bezel, but then again which competitors would Rolex be trying to stop with this patent?
In my humble and non-internal to Rolex opinion4, I feel this is better left to just being a trade secret.
A theory is that Rolex rewards inventors by patent applications filed.
It’s typical in engineering companies for inventors to be rewarded/incentivised for disclosing inventions and getting patent applications filed.
Rolex is no small company, therefore this could be a reason.
Whatever the case, it’s interesting to think about the inner workings of The Coronet.
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A Master Gunsmith Makes a Watch by Hand, From Scratch
This article over on SJX caught my attention this week.
The headline didn’t exactly blow me away, nor did the idea that the movement started out as a Omega cal. 2665
As SJX says himself, he:
would be sceptical of an unknown watchmaker seeking publicity for a new project with a five-figure price tag. But a few things changed my mind. One was seeing Mr Vicknair’s unusually thorough documentation of his production process, which is almost entirely manual – even the machines are the old-school sort operated by hand.
More importantly, I discovered he is one of the most respected gunsmiths in the United States. Searching online for his name turns up dozens of mentions on rifle and shotgun forums praising the quality of his work and knowledge. Even though his watch venture is new, Mr Vicknair’s reputation for delivering quality work is reassuring.
It’s impressive for a first attempt.
To read the full article and see the full process, click here.
That’s all from me this week!
I hope you enjoyed the thought process re: Rolex and their recent patent publication.
Have a great weekend when we get there.
Owen
Publication of patent applications usually happens at 18 months from filing.
Usually up to 20 years from filing.
And presently unqualified opinion
Does this take Franken-watch to a new level?