patekkie
1552
Theoretically, gravity acts on at least two things; the balance spring and the bearings.
Gravity normally deflects the balance spring differently depending on which position it's in. The fact that Rolex uses overcoil balance springs gives them more symmetrical expansion and contraction, likely improving positional performance in that respect.
Placing a watch in various positions also exposes different areas of the bearings to friction. There is a different amount of friction on a bearing with weight on its side from that with weight on its tip, simply because there is a different amount of metal exposed to the ruby bearing. George Daniels has said that proper design on the bearings and pinions could compensate for this effect, and even implemented this into his own designs of handmade watches. I don't know whether Rolex has worked on the design of their bearings to equalize friction between vertical and horizontal positioning; they certainly haven't advertised that. But for a watch to display essentially NO difference in timing among the two flat positions and various vertical positions seems to me to be more than 'luck'. I once tried to get a couple of Rolex technical employees in Canada to discuss this subject, but they either didn't know or weren't saying what Roles does differently.
Another thing I find about Rolex is their positional consistency. I have tried placing
Absoutely....
Perhaps it's luck?
Theoretically, gravity acts on at least two things; the balance spring and the bearings.
May be it's just a case of....