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Old 1 February 2018, 09:21 AM   #1
Marth
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Thin film processes

Dear All,

I am as many of you a Rolex enthusiast and I am completely stunned by Rolex's perfect finitions on all watches, more than timepieces they are work of art and I am really interested by the process they use to make those masterpieces.

I know for a fact that they use thin film processes in the dial making and the bezels gold/platinum deposition.

So I wanted to discuss with experts out there if you know other parts that are prepared using thin film processes? And what do they exactly mean by thin film processes.
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Old 12 February 2018, 10:19 AM   #2
rq3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marth View Post
Dear All,

I am as many of you a Rolex enthusiast and I am completely stunned by Rolex's perfect finitions on all watches, more than timepieces they are work of art and I am really interested by the process they use to make those masterpieces.

I know for a fact that they use thin film processes in the dial making and the bezels gold/platinum deposition.

So I wanted to discuss with experts out there if you know other parts that are prepared using thin film processes? And what do they exactly mean by thin film processes.
Well Marth, since no-one seems to want to tackle this, I'll chip in. Keep in mind I don't work for Rolex, am not a watchmaker (although I do repair old chronographs), and can only comment based on my experience as an engineer with a pretty heavy vacuum technology background.

The original rotating Rolex bezels were Bakelite, one of the first synthetic phenolic plastics. Other than that, I know nothing.

The later bezel inserts were aluminum. The chemically cleaned aluminum insert was masked with a resist, and then anodized and dyed. The resist was then removed, and the "clear" numerals were then anodized again but without the dying step, giving the entire insert a tough coating of anodize. This is why an old insert "fades". The dyes used, like many dyes, fade after exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun, and from chemicals like chlorine in pool water. Usually an original aluminum insert will show more fading on the exposed surface (due to ultraviolet exposure), than on the underside, non-exposed, surface, which may have only been exposed to chlorinated water.

The latest bezels, as far as I can tell, are HIP (hot isostatic pressed) ceramic. Think of Play-Do. The Play-Do is squeezed into a mold, and retains the shape of the mold. It is then fired at a very high temperature, fusing the Play-Do into a ceramic material, like a dinner plate. The trick is that the ceramic shrinks, very drastically, during the firing process. Rolex has figured out how to compensate for that shrinkage, probably through a combination of oversized molds, and post-firing machining.

The finished ceramic insert is the proper color all the way through. Now to your real question. The metallic numbers.

The ceramic bezel is placed in a vacuum chamber, and the appropriate metal ( gold or platinum), is either CVD (chemical vapor deposition) or PVD (physical vapor deposition) deposited on the bezel. Both methods basically evaporate the metal under very high temperature, and the metal vapor sticks to everything it touches. The bezel is then ground or polished to remove the excess metal, with the recessed numbers on the bezel retaining the gold or platinum deposited during the process.

Hope this helps. You can Google anodizing, HIP, CVD, and PVD for some further details. I could easily replicate an aluminum insert that would probably fool Rolex quality control. Not so at all for a ceramic insert, which may be one reason they make them.
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Old 12 February 2018, 02:28 PM   #3
Rocketman39
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One method they might use,although I have no knowledge for sure, is Vapor Disposition.I was in the semiconductor business for twenty years and we used this technology to deposit Gold on silicon substrates. They do this by putting Gold under High Vacuum in a Bell Jar and Vaporizing the Gold. The Gold becomes deposited on parts in a very,very thin layer. I would assume you could plate watch hands like this. The gold layer on the parts is .0001 of an inch thick. Gold is a Noble metal which is not supposed to Tarnish.The Gold is so thin on the hands it will tarnish or corrode and in about 20 years you hands will become Tarnished and look like Crap. My 5513 is over fifty years old and is on it's forth set of hands.
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Old 14 February 2018, 07:41 AM   #4
TG3N
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Two interesting, technical replies - thanks.

I find it equally amusing/frustrating that many people think Rolex make 'just' steel watches like everyone else, when in reality there's a lot of technology, R&D and effort to subtly make these things just that little bit better than most of the competition.

On the hands, I believe most (if not all) the Stainless Steel Professional models now use solid 18ct white gold (as well as for the dial markers), not just plated, to lessen the risk of tarnishing.
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Old 18 February 2018, 01:55 AM   #5
Marth
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Thank you Rq3. That's really cool of you. I am especially looking towards dials and bezels your reply helps a lot. Do you know by any chance how they do sunburst effect on dial? Is it just a results of the polishing of the brass plate prior electrochemical or CVD deposition?
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