Rolex Forums - Rolex Watch Forum - View Single Post - Anyone noticed the rotor noise with new 3235 movement

Nelson6 · 28 May 2018, 08:56 AM

IMHO the reason the new movements have the ball bearing rotors instead of the old style is not durability but efficiency. In most cases, the old bearing overall seemed to last fine for 7-10 years until servicing and was in fact really quiet. But with the 32-- movements they were looking to eliminate friction and gain efficiency in every aspect of the movement, hence the ball bearings. They probably do make more noise. My Tudor Black Bay Bronze also has a ball bearing based rotor, and it is in fact noisier than my Rolex watches. I thought this might have something to do with the bronze case, but now I think it may just be the bearing design. And like the new Rolex movements, it has a 70-hour power reserve with a single barrel so maximum efficiency was a design goal.

28 May 2018, 08:56 AM	#38
Nelson6 "TRF" Member Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Arkadelphia Posts: 32	IMHO the reason the new movements have the ball bearing rotors instead of the old style is not durability but efficiency. In most cases, the old bearing overall seemed to last fine for 7-10 years until servicing and was in fact really quiet. But with the 32-- movements they were looking to eliminate friction and gain efficiency in every aspect of the movement, hence the ball bearings. They probably do make more noise. My Tudor Black Bay Bronze also has a ball bearing based rotor, and it is in fact noisier than my Rolex watches. I thought this might have something to do with the bronze case, but now I think it may just be the bearing design. And like the new Rolex movements, it has a 70-hour power reserve with a single barrel so maximum efficiency was a design goal.