Strong watches

[willy]

Inspired by a thread on our sister site , about Tool or beater watches . I just have to mention something that seems to have gone by many peoples noses without them seeing it . Any watch can be built with a strong case and a not so strong caliber , and the reverse is also true . Many brands have claimed the title for making the strongest watches . But only one brand has proved it over a period of about 70 years . And that brand is of course Rolex . You can take IWC - JLC- Seiko- Omega- Citizen - etc etc etc . All these brands and many others make reliable and strong mechanical watches . But none of them make a mechanical caliber that is as reliable as the ones sitting in a mechanical Rolex . Why is this you might ask ?
Rolex have always used their resources to manufacture easy to service and strong calibers . They are simply not interested in making high end or complicated calibers , like most of the watch industry . They concentrate their efforts on testing and developing simple bomb proof calibers . And in this respect they have no equal anywhere . Just ask any watchmaker , if you do not believe me . I have seen and heard of Rolex calibers that are still keeping good time without having a service for over 20 years . Do tell me if you know about other brand calibers that can do this
I would make the claim that a simple Rolex Datejust could take more punishment than any of these so called Tool watches that contain a mechanical caliber . These brands seem to think that size means strength , and many deluded buyers seem to share this view . They build these monster watches because they know that many buyers connect size and heft with strength . This is of course bullshit
The weakest part of any mechanical watch is the caliber . I think we all can agree on this point . Some brands take a run of the mill caliber and encase it with all sorts of shock absorbing devices . Like rubber shock absorbers and special suspension caliber holders etc etc . But if the shock is to great , guess what breaks first ? Answer is the caliber .

Quartz is without a doubt the strongest type of caliber you can put inside any watch . The Casio G- shock beats any mechanical watch ever made when it comes down to the punishment a watch can take . Indeed quartz watches are generally much more reliable than mechanicals . There are quite simply less things that can go wrong with a quartz caliber .

Any half way sane person who knows how to operate a CT machine can today can turn a huge lump of metal into a huge watch case . But there is a little more than that involved in making a strong one . One watch i have to mention that claimed to be indistructible and could reach untold depths of the ocean was made a few years ago . It looks like a hamburger on your wrist and is the ultimate in useless invention . Any half way decent back street chinese CT machinest could buld this a watch of this size or even bigger just to get some silly record . But to make a mechanical watch like the Rolex Deep Sea , this takes invention and a lot of skill .

A watch case does not have to be big to be strong . This idea about size meaning strength is deeprooted in many people . And watch buyers do tend to put these things in the wrong perspective . A tool watch is big compaired to a normal watch . This is of course rubbish . The case of any Rolex sports watch is not just strong , it is virtually bomb proof . The oyster case with its screw down back and crown is unique , and nobody in the watch industry has built a stronger type of case of the same dimensions . Just Google the Rolex oyster case and you will find out just how complicated it is to build a case like this . So please no more fairy storys about this and that micro brand and their hockey puck size cases that can do this and that . When they have been really tested by time will i believe them . You cannot fool the public or watchmakers who repair their watches for ever .

I do know that many other brands besides Rolex have made great and reliable calibers , especially when we talk about vintage . But i do not think there are many who would dispute that Rolex calibers are a byword in the watch industry , and the benchmark for other simple watch calibers . Rolex is by no way my favorite brand although i do like some of their watches . Some people like big watches some like small . This is not a criticism of all big watches , just a criticism of those who think they know what a beater or tool watch is .

When does a watch fit into a category ? Answer = That is entirely up to you