ROLEX CELEBRATES ITS HALF-CENTURY HISTORY IN YACHTING WITH A BEAUTY IN EVEROSE GOLD.
ROLEX CELEBRATES ITS HALF-CENTURY HISTORY IN YACHTING WITH A BEAUTY IN EVEROSE GOLD.
FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, Rolex has been a proud force behind a number of yachting’s major events, players and organisations ranging from supporting extreme challenges like the ultra-competitive Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Rolex Fastnet Race or even the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.
Though a watchmaker, yachting flows in Rolex’s blood – starting when Hans Wilsdorf set his mind to create a wristwatch that was robust, precise and reliable even for the most active connoisseurs back when the brand was founded: in 1926, the brand invented the Rolex Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch equipped with a patented system consisting of a screw-down bezel, case back and winding crown. It was also the timepiece that made the brand famous when it was put to the test when Mercedes Gleitze swam the English Channel with it wrapped around her wrist.
Aside from accumulating an impressive portfolio of sailing- friendly watches, Rolex is now a title sponsor of more than 15 major international events in distinct categories, with the Rolex Sydney Hobart and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race at the forefront of offshore races; the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship continues to attract the world’s best sailors; and the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup remains the highlight of the Mediterranean yachting season, as a sizeable fleet of top-quality, technologically advanced yachts gather each September in Porto Cervo, Italy, which also hosts the biennial Rolex Swan Cup in September.
The watchmaker shows its support even when off the water by backing the International Sailing Federation and the annual ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards, which recognise distinguished sailors who’ve outshone the rest. Rolex is also a close partner with prestigious yacht clubs around the world including the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Yacht Squadron, the Yacht Club Italiano and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, to name but a few.
Such close ties with the boating industry comes with jaw-dropping nautical inventions every year: 2016 has seen the Yacht-Master 40, a reimagined version of the Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master robed in – for the first time – Everose Rolesor, a marriage of 904L steel and 18K Everose gold.
Its signature bidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated bezel – designed to measure the sailing time between two buoys, for example – is now in 18K Everose gold. The polished raised numerals and gradations stand out against a matt, sand-blasted background – a ground-breaking contrast against the 18K Everose gold centre bracelet links as well as winding crown, middle case and outer bracelet links in 904L steel.
Like its predecessors, the Yacht-Master is waterproof to a depth of 100m with a case that’s crafted from a solid block of corrosion-resistant 904L steel paired with a winding crown fitted with the Triplock triple waterproofness system and protected by a crown guard. The Cyclops lens at 3 o’clock is also made of virtually scratchproof sapphire for optimal protection while guaranteeing readability.
Driving the masterpiece is the Perpetual Calibre 3135, a self-winding mechanical movement entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex. It’s spotlight, the blue Parachrom hairspring in the oscillator, is an exclusive alloy insensitive to magnetic fields; meaning it ensures great stability in the face of temperature variations and remains up to 10 times more precise than a traditional hairspring in case of shocks. Calibre 3135 is fitted with a self-winding module via a Perpetual rotor and offers a power reserve of approximately 48 hours.
