The wisdom within watches, guiding you to appreciate the fascinating world of horology

　　Introduction:Rolexhas always been the most popular brand in the watchmaking world, even if you do not wear watchesRolexhave heard of it, but behind this glamour, what are the things we have never paid attention to?

　　The technique of making beautiful yet fading rose gold turn reddish 18K gold has been passed down for centuries. The principle is simple: adjusting the ratio of 18 parts of gold to 6 parts of other metals within 24 parts. With more copper added, the colour becomes redder; as the proportion of copper decreases and silver increases, the hue shifts from red to pink.

　　However, compared to gold, copper, which imparts the colour, is a more reactive metal. When the case comes into contact with electrolytes such as tap water, sea water, chlorinated pool water, salt water, or soapy water, an electrochemical reaction occurs with the copper and gold, causing the copper to act as an anode and corrode away. This reaction is actually very weak and occurs only on the surface, but once the coloured surface copper is eroded, the lovely red tone fades. This fading is quite pronounced in experiments, where immersion in saturated salt water at 40 degrees Celsius for ten days noticeably dulls the colour.

　　RolexIn order to make the rose gold colour more durable in the first-generation Everose gold technology, Rolex applied for a European patent EP1512765 as early as 2003 9 4, with as many as 8 inventors. The concept at the time was to add platinum, ensuring the composition consisted of 75% gold for 18K, 15% to 18% copper for the red appearance, and 0.5% to 4% platinum to protect the copper. The technical principle behind this was actually introducing more stable platinum; because the amount of platinum was relatively small, less copper was consumed upon contact with electrolytes like salt water, thereby slowing down the colour transformation.

　　Rolex's latest Everose gold technology: Rolex filed a patent for its latest Everose gold, WO2014122235, on 2 6, 2014, with inventors PASCAL DUBOS and JEAN-FRANÇOIS RICARD. This introduces a superior solution to thoroughly resolve previous issues. To protect the copper that provides the red hue, more reactive elements such as calcium, indium, and silicon have been added. If corrosion occurs, these more reactive elements are affected first, thereby protecting the copper and preserving the beautiful red and pink tones. This demonstrates continuous technological progress. In principle, the amount of copper lost to corrosion is minimal, and the colour remains virtually unfading.

　　This is the wisdom found in watches, utilising superb technology and chemical principles to drive continuous progress in horology. Perhaps this is whyRolexis so beloved by people.