Complicated watches can be quite the pain in the ass. Oh sure, they’re beautiful, fascinating, and fun to play with. But the Devil always has his due, and that due here is a greater likelihood of complex mechanisms going out of whack through inadvertent physical activity, or the unscrupulous fiddling by an eager new owner not familiar with the ins and outs of when and how to set or operate various functions safely. Minute repeaters and sonneries are surely at the top of the list, with complex calendar mechanisms close behind—and for those that combine both, God help the owner, for they had best be of delicate touch and meticulous service with their masterpiece(s)! When legendary manufacturer of complicated watches Patek Philippe introduced the annual calendar to the world in their Ref. 5035 back in 1996, we saw a glimpse into a new sort of complication—the practical one that would require less adjustment (and hence room for user error) yet still offer the aficionado something special, as well as useful. Requiring only a single adjustment each year at the end of February, the now-popular annual calendar has seen implementation by a wide variety of luxury watch brands, but it was Rolex—that decidedly practical, not-into-complications manufacturer–who ended up perfecting the annual calendar complication, evolving it into a truly exceptional companion for everyday wear.
Hans Wilsdorf and the titanic luxury brand he created in the early 20th century has always been about creating timeless designs, whose watertight cases house precisely built and tough movements that are supremely well protected against moisture and the elements. A fanatical adherence to this consistent formula, along with exceptional mass manufacturing quality, (as well as absolutely stellar and cogent marketing through the decades) has created a luxury brand without peer in public admiration, even if other companies offer far greater diversity, hand workmanship, and particularly so, mechanical complication–at Rolex, the chronograph and GMT/dual time was as far as it went. So it was with considerable surprise to many of us when Rolex introduced the Sky-Dweller in 2012: here was a watch that gave us everything Rolex was known for, but with an ingenious annual calendar complication in tandem with a GMT mechanism! It was quite the shock, but even more striking was just how intelligently and practically the mechanism was designed to operate. Again, pure Rolex—and love ’em or hate ’em, the result was solid. So solid in fact, that years later, I can’t think of a watch that does what this one does better.
Why is the Sky-Dweller, even now, such an impressive piece of kit? Well, first off, its hermetically sealed Oyster case keeps it as water ready and impervious to life’s vicissitudes as any other modern Rolex Oyster model, all the way down to an official 100 meters (although we know they test all their Oyster Perpetual models to well beyond the stated pressure rating). So yes, you can swim to your hearts content with your Sky-Dweller on. But beyond that, there’s the annual calendar mechanism itself, powered by Rolex’s 9001 Caliber, of course made in-house, like every other caliber in the brand’s lineup. At basic level, the 9001 features all the Rolexian horological goodies, including Paraflex shock absorbers and a Parachrom Blue hairspring for enhanced resistance to magnetism, and is naturally held to the brand’s demanding “Superlative Chronometer” standard of -2/+2 daily deviation. Beyond that, is where thing’s get a lot more interesting: Holding no less than 7 patents, Cal 9001 brings together a fascinating calendar system, dubbed Saros as a reference to a Greek astronomical system, which as Rolex describes it, “has been used since antiquity to designate an approximately 18-year cycle of alignment patterns between the Sun, the Earth and the Moon”. Controlling it is a fluted gold “Ring Command” bezel whose underlying mechanism allows the user to discreetly toggle between the fundamental functions of date and month, local time, or home time–the last being shown on a 24 hour rotating ring. The mechanism is, in essence, no simpler than it should to be sophisticated, yet more complex than it needs to be reliable: the Saros system, for example, has just four gear wheels and two gear ratios beyond that of the proven Rolex calendar system. The most intricate aspect is the ring command mechanism for the rotating bezel, which comprises over 50 parts, and determines the functions you choose to operate–these include a cam and lever system which interacts with the various gear trains driving each function. Most impressively–and what makes this arrangement so ingenious–is that the calendar, home time ring, and independently adjustable 12 hour/local time hand can all be moved forward and backwards at will across the international date line, precluding any chance of a user damaging the mechanism. This is Rolex’s brilliant best, and what’s more, it’s clean and amazingly legible, given all it does: rather than bombarding the viewer with another subdial and pointer hand that would clutter things up, the month is elegantly shown in stealth fashion via a disc which moves discreetly at window cutouts behind the hours to indicate the various months from January (12 o’clock, logically) through December. Very, very cool.
Gone, at least for the time being, are the days in which a person could walk into a Rolex authorized dealer, browse a nice selection of their wares, and walk out with a Rolex watch on their wrist the same day, or, for that matter, buy a gently pre-loved Rolex sports watch from the secondary market at a nice savings from MSRP. So here’s my thought: if only a Rolex will scratch the itch in your collection, and your wallet will see no mercy regardless, might as well get the single watch that represents Rolex’s practical yet elegant watchmaking philosophy best. And that watch, in my opinion, is the versatile and opulent Sky-Dweller, which has only gotten more desirable through the addition of attractive dial, metal combinations, and bracelet/strap choices. In these jaded times, it’s probably the modern Rolex reference that gets my pulse going the most, and it might just make yours do the same. The SkyD is really a watch that can do it all—so long as the aesthetic of a sort of supersized (42mm), notably chunkier Datejust is something you fancy seeing on your wrist.
