Is there a connection between Rolex's Mercedes hands and Mercedes-Benz cars?

　　We all know that,Rolex watchesenjoys a worldwide reputation and extremely high product recognition, with the Mercedes hands being one of them. Many friends often ask: why are Rolex's hands called Mercedes hands? Is it because they look similar, or is there a connection with the car brand Mercedes-Benz?

　　Below is a quote from an explanation found online:

　　When the Rolex brothers first started their business, in order to secure more funding to expand the factory and upgrade equipment, they signed an agreement with the German company Mercedes-Benz to advertise Mercedes cars on the watches they produced. However, watches are small items with limited space for advertising. Under the agreement, Rolex promised to shape the watch hands into the Mercedes logo. This form of advertising was self-explanatory, and the customer base purchasing Rolex watches also happened to be potential customers for Mercedes. This marketing approach can be described as a win-win. The two brands, Mercedes and Rolex, have cooperated ever since.

　　Subsequently, Rolex grew and developed in the 20 mid-century to become one of the world's premier watchmakers. At that time, the Japanese automotive industry far away in East Asia was developing rapidly, and a large batch of car manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan were making their mark in the European and American markets. Toyota followed Rolex's past practice and signed an agreement with the Rolex Group, specifically producing a saloon model called the Crown, with its logo designed in the shape of a crown according to Rolex's wishes. Today, this Toyota Crown remains one of the best-selling saloons in the Chinese car market, and in the hearts of the Chinese people, like Rolex, it is a guarantee of quality!

　　Actually, this passage is a joke, and there is another reason why Rolex's hands were designed to look like the Mercedes trademark.

　　In 1898, Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium. People at the time discovered that if radium was mixed with zinc sulphide, the zinc sulphide would glow on its own without needing excitation from sunlight or artificial light. Thus, this very groundbreaking luminous material began to spread rapidly. From the 1930s onwards, the luminescence used on timepieces was basically this material.

　　At the time, the watchmaker Rolex, like other brands, used a mixture of radium and zinc sulphide to coat the hands. In actual use, they found that in dark or adverse environments, it was difficult to quickly read the current time because the hour and minute hands were similar in length and width, making them hard to distinguish.

　　Consequently, watchmakers began to make improvements, designing the hour hand to be very broad. The larger the area, the easier it was to distinguish from the slender minute hand.

　　Although this improvement resolved the issue of legibility, it created a new problem in practical use.

　　Because the luminous powder filled into the tip of the hour hand covered too large an area, after long-term use or severe shocks, the luminous powder would crack and fall off.

　　Thus, watchmakers developed serpentine hands, creating small partitioned grids at the tip of the hand. This compartmentalised the area to be much smaller, ensuring ease of reading while preventing the luminous powder from falling off easily, and allowing the luminous powder to be applied more evenly.

　　Rolex then made improvements based on the serpentine hand, shaping it into a circle divided internally into three sectors. Resembling the trademark of the car brand Mercedes-Benz, the colloquial term Mercedes hands was given to it.

　　Mercedes hands are simple, attractive, and highly functional, and they were later gradually accepted and recognised by the public, becoming a representative element of Rolex.

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