Style Edit: The 8 gold standards all Rolex watches must meet, explained – the Swiss luxury timepiece brand tests every model according to these strict measures

Oct 24 , 2023

With a name synonymous with luxury, iconic watch brand Rolex ensures that each of its timepieces reaches the highest standards of excellence in 8 distinct categories. Photos: Handout

Style Edit

Ask anybody to name a luxury timepiece brand, and Rolex is likely to be first on their lips – but how did the Swiss watchmaker achieve such universal renown?

The Superlative Control unit tests every watch to leave the manufacture, with 8 critical characteristics established to ensure Rolex pieces meet the highest standards in each area

Ask people to think of a luxury watch, and the first brand that comes to mind will probably be Rolex. This didn’t happen by accident. The Swiss manufacture, founded nearly 120 years ago by the visionary Hans Wilsdorf, quickly climbed to the top of the horological tree and has maintained its elevated position thanks to the meticulous care and attention shown at every stage of the watchmaking process.

This “superlative” approach, to use the brand’s word, is a mindset that permeates every aspect of Rolex’s operations, ensuring the watches it creates continue to scale the heights of technical excellence, accuracy, reliability and aesthetic distinction.

In-house casting of 18-karat gold alloys used for watch manufacture

The full realisation of a Rolex creation is guaranteed by the rigorous process of checks that accompanies each watch at every stage of its manufacture. This is followed by the remarkably exacting tests performed by the maison’s Superlative Control unit, which measure and evaluate the watches to well beyond industry standards before they’re allowed to leave the factory.

The guarantee of quality ensured by these processes takes physical form in the green seal that accompanies the watches, and is further backed by a five-year international warranty. Measured against eight critical characteristics, Rolex watches are designed to meet the highest standards in each area – precision, waterproofing, autonomy, robustness, simplicity, craftsmanship, comfort and durability.

Setting diamonds into the bracelet of the Rolex Lady-Datejust

A commitment to precision lies at the heart of every Rolex watch. All movements are certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) and the company’s even more stringent Superlative Chronometer tests, guaranteeing accuracy of minus or plus two seconds per day.

Waterproofing – together with its sibling, dust protection – has been an abiding obsession at Rolex ever since it developed the Oyster, the world’s first waterproof and dustproof wristwatch, in 1926. To this day, every watch is tested in a hyperbaric tank, an environment that simulates deep-ocean pressures.