Rolex Superlative Chronometer Certification
Discussion
Mine does, quite comfortably (late 2016 Submariner, 3130 calibre).
Rolex still does send every movement to COSC for independent certification of -4/+6 seconds daily that allows them to use the 'Chronometer' appellation, but that's the only reason they do it - for that title & the marketing. I doubt Rolex need COSC to measure their movement accuracy, given their own in-house resources.
After the movement comes back from COSC, Rolex do their own further accuracy checks, and - crucially - those take place after the movement has the dial & hands affixed & is cased-up, which is as it really should be, and if it then achieves +/- 2secs, it warrants the faintly ridiculous 'Superlative Chronometer' title (which is solely a Rolex construct).
But a watch's running can be affected by many things. Gravity & magnetism aren't hugely impactful on a modern Rolex movement, but what does play a big part is the state of power reserve & aging. Watches are designed to run most optimally & accurately in the upper range of their power reserve. Allow a watch to run-down too much, then lesser isochronism is achieved, and the daily rate can wander out of COSC, 'Superlative' +/- 2secs etc.
If you wind your watch fully before wearing (60-80 winds of the crown) and wear it for long-enough daily (8 hrs or so) and are quite active, and it's still outside of spec after a few days (and you are checking against a proper time reference, like time.is, not your iPhone or Computer clock), then you are entitled to take it back under warranty, if it bothers you. Better yet, if you know anyone with a Timegrapher machine, they can pop it on there and assess the rate in all 6 positions.
As you say, it's quite rare, but not at all unheard of, for some to not be quite right out of the factory.
Rolex still does send every movement to COSC for independent certification of -4/+6 seconds daily that allows them to use the 'Chronometer' appellation, but that's the only reason they do it - for that title & the marketing. I doubt Rolex need COSC to measure their movement accuracy, given their own in-house resources.
After the movement comes back from COSC, Rolex do their own further accuracy checks, and - crucially - those take place after the movement has the dial & hands affixed & is cased-up, which is as it really should be, and if it then achieves +/- 2secs, it warrants the faintly ridiculous 'Superlative Chronometer' title (which is solely a Rolex construct).
But a watch's running can be affected by many things. Gravity & magnetism aren't hugely impactful on a modern Rolex movement, but what does play a big part is the state of power reserve & aging. Watches are designed to run most optimally & accurately in the upper range of their power reserve. Allow a watch to run-down too much, then lesser isochronism is achieved, and the daily rate can wander out of COSC, 'Superlative' +/- 2secs etc.
If you wind your watch fully before wearing (60-80 winds of the crown) and wear it for long-enough daily (8 hrs or so) and are quite active, and it's still outside of spec after a few days (and you are checking against a proper time reference, like time.is, not your iPhone or Computer clock), then you are entitled to take it back under warranty, if it bothers you. Better yet, if you know anyone with a Timegrapher machine, they can pop it on there and assess the rate in all 6 positions.
As you say, it's quite rare, but not at all unheard of, for some to not be quite right out of the factory.
UnclePat said:
Mine does, quite comfortably (late 2016 Submariner, 3130 calibre).
Rolex still does send every movement to COSC for independent certification of -4/+6 seconds daily that allows them to use the 'Chronometer' appellation, but that's the only reason they do it - for that title & the marketing. I doubt Rolex need COSC to measure their movement accuracy, given their own in-house resources.
After the movement comes back from COSC, Rolex do their own further accuracy checks, and - crucially - those take place after the movement has the dial & hands affixed & is cased-up, which is as it really should be, and if it then achieves +/- 2secs, it warrants the faintly ridiculous 'Superlative Chronometer' title (which is solely a Rolex construct).
But a watch's running can be affected by many things. Gravity & magnetism aren't hugely impactful on a modern Rolex movement, but what does play a big part is the state of power reserve & aging. Watches are designed to run most optimally & accurately in the upper range of their power reserve. Allow a watch to run-down too much, then lesser isochronism is achieved, and the daily rate can wander out of COSC, 'Superlative' +/- 2secs etc.
If you wind your watch fully before wearing (60-80 winds of the crown) and wear it for long-enough daily (8 hrs or so) and are quite active, and it's still outside of spec after a few days (and you are checking against a proper time reference, like time.is, not your iPhone or Computer clock), then you are entitled to take it back under warranty, if it bothers you. Better yet, if you know anyone with a Timegrapher machine, they can pop it on there and assess the rate in all 6 positions.
As you say, it's quite rare, but not at all unheard of, for some to not be quite right out of the factory.
You mention magnetism. Rolex still does send every movement to COSC for independent certification of -4/+6 seconds daily that allows them to use the 'Chronometer' appellation, but that's the only reason they do it - for that title & the marketing. I doubt Rolex need COSC to measure their movement accuracy, given their own in-house resources.
After the movement comes back from COSC, Rolex do their own further accuracy checks, and - crucially - those take place after the movement has the dial & hands affixed & is cased-up, which is as it really should be, and if it then achieves +/- 2secs, it warrants the faintly ridiculous 'Superlative Chronometer' title (which is solely a Rolex construct).
But a watch's running can be affected by many things. Gravity & magnetism aren't hugely impactful on a modern Rolex movement, but what does play a big part is the state of power reserve & aging. Watches are designed to run most optimally & accurately in the upper range of their power reserve. Allow a watch to run-down too much, then lesser isochronism is achieved, and the daily rate can wander out of COSC, 'Superlative' +/- 2secs etc.
If you wind your watch fully before wearing (60-80 winds of the crown) and wear it for long-enough daily (8 hrs or so) and are quite active, and it's still outside of spec after a few days (and you are checking against a proper time reference, like time.is, not your iPhone or Computer clock), then you are entitled to take it back under warranty, if it bothers you. Better yet, if you know anyone with a Timegrapher machine, they can pop it on there and assess the rate in all 6 positions.
As you say, it's quite rare, but not at all unheard of, for some to not be quite right out of the factory.
All my watches seem to get magnetised. I am not entirely sure why, but it may be proximity to my iPhone. Contrary to popular belief, they don't run super fast - perhaps 10-20s/day.
Amusingly, I have a Sub that loses 1 second a day but it will gain about 2 seconds when magnetised. Which is actually preferable!
It's the work of moments to demag them but it is irritating. I also suspect a great many people have the same problem but they just don't realise, because they aren't as anal as me about timekeeping.
My 1996 GMT II was slow by exactly 5 seconds a day when I first bought it, the dealer didn't quibble and sent it back.
22 years later and it's accurate to a couple of seconds a day in a 30 day month as it doesn't like being wound forward the extra day, between the beginning of July and the end of September it's good to about a second a day!
It ran a bit slow when I had a couple of cars with automatic 'boxes but was spot on when I went back to a manual.
22 years later and it's accurate to a couple of seconds a day in a 30 day month as it doesn't like being wound forward the extra day, between the beginning of July and the end of September it's good to about a second a day!
It ran a bit slow when I had a couple of cars with automatic 'boxes but was spot on when I went back to a manual.
bobbybee said:
The superlative chronometer isn’t just on Rolex watches with +/- 2s accuracy. That’s a relative new standard from circa 2015 onwards.
It’s on all their oyster watches that have COSC movements, not sure since when, but certainly since the mid 90’s as per my Submariner-Date from’96
The Superlative Chronometer rating is new. It's Rolex only and it was rolled out to the entire collection about 2 years ago, Formerly, all the watches bore the Superlative Chronometer label but were in fact (theoretically) only accurate to COSC. It’s on all their oyster watches that have COSC movements, not sure since when, but certainly since the mid 90’s as per my Submariner-Date from’96
I once had Rolex refuse to regulate a watch gaining 6 seconds per day because it was within COSC and therefore there was no fault.
So said:
bobbybee said:
The superlative chronometer isn’t just on Rolex watches with +/- 2s accuracy. That’s a relative new standard from circa 2015 onwards.
It’s on all their oyster watches that have COSC movements, not sure since when, but certainly since the mid 90’s as per my Submariner-Date from’96
The Superlative Chronometer rating is new. It's Rolex only and it was rolled out to the entire collection about 2 years ago, Formerly, all the watches bore the Superlative Chronometer label but were in fact (theoretically) only accurate to COSC. It’s on all their oyster watches that have COSC movements, not sure since when, but certainly since the mid 90’s as per my Submariner-Date from’96
I once had Rolex refuse to regulate a watch gaining 6 seconds per day because it was within COSC and therefore there was no fault.
The Superlative Chonometer Officially Certified has been on the dial of Rolex watches for decades.
The new -/+2 accuracy rating is A Rolex thing, it has nothing to do with COSC rating or the use of the word Superlative, which is plain old marketing
I know this because I bought a Submariner-Date new from an AD in 1996, and it has “Superlative Chonometer Officially Certified” printed on the dial, so 20 years before their improved accuracy testing. Oh and Rolex have been doing in case testing of their watches for years too, to higher than COSC standards, it just that now they have stated what the higher standards are
Edited by bobbybee on Sunday 12th August 19:32
Edited by bobbybee on Sunday 12th August 19:36
bobbybee said:
So said:
bobbybee said:
The superlative chronometer isn’t just on Rolex watches with +/- 2s accuracy. That’s a relative new standard from circa 2015 onwards.
It’s on all their oyster watches that have COSC movements, not sure since when, but certainly since the mid 90’s as per my Submariner-Date from’96
The Superlative Chronometer rating is new. It's Rolex only and it was rolled out to the entire collection about 2 years ago, Formerly, all the watches bore the Superlative Chronometer label but were in fact (theoretically) only accurate to COSC. It’s on all their oyster watches that have COSC movements, not sure since when, but certainly since the mid 90’s as per my Submariner-Date from’96
I once had Rolex refuse to regulate a watch gaining 6 seconds per day because it was within COSC and therefore there was no fault.
The Superlative Chonometer Officially Certified has been on the dial of Rolex watches for decades.
The new -/+2 accuracy rating is A Rolex thing, it has nothing to do with COSC rating or the use of the word Superlative, which is plain old marketing
I know this because I bought a Submariner-Date new from an AD in 1996, and it has “Superlative Chonometer Officaly Certified” printed on the dial, so 20 years before their improved accuracy testing.
Edited by bobbybee on Sunday 12th August 19:32
Yes, Superlative Chronometer was been written on Rolexes for donkeys years. It meant nothing more than it complied with COSC standards. As of two years or so ago it has taken on a new meaning, in as much as it now means that the watch should be accurate to +/-2 on the wrist.
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