Watch Naming Nonsense: Rolex Oyster
Ah yes the Rolex Oyster…one of the most iconic names in luxury goods, with staying power that has persisted for over 100 years, it shows no signs of slowing. The name oyster balances images of affluent society with a rugged lifestyle in a beautifull and concise way.
Oyster was chosen by Rolex to describe their first dust proof and waterproof watch- It makes sense as oysters are organisms that spend most of their life in water with brief periods of air exposure.
But…how do oysters actually work?
It turns out, EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF HOW YOU WANT A WATCH CASE TO WORK.
Oysters open in water and closed when exposed to air, the exact opposite of how you want your watch case to behave.
(The circular muscle that looks a bit like a scallop is the adductor muscle that controls when the oyster opens and closes. It will only close its self when exposed to air or when aggressively aggitated to protect its self. They remain open most of their life in order to filter water to feed.)
In fact, there is an astonishing amount of water passing through a single oyster: up to 50 gallons of water per day per oyster, depending on species and environmental conditions. Doubly so, they filter to most water of any mollusks(filter feeders).
It would be like making a fire resistant watch and calling it jet fuel…
It’s actually astonishing how the word oyster matches on a superficial level but upon a deeper, more tangible inspection, it makes absolutely no fucking sense at all.
This fact has went unquestioned for OVER 100 years blows my mind and is a great example of how a properly marketed good will deactivate critical thinking.
Anyways do with this information what you will, thanks for reading. 👍☺️
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Interesting, thank you.
Baltany Oyster homage
Definitely food for thought! I totally understand where you’re coming from but I think names are sometimes meant to be more suggestive versus what it actually represents. For example, if someone was to describe something as an oyster, I‘d imagine it would be air-tight and difficult to open. This is the imagery that I think Rolex was originally attempting to evoke/advertise about their watches, regardless to the fact oysters remain open most the time as you noted. I believe the name is also being used for a high-end cooler brand now too for the same reason.
A good comparison might if I were describing someone or something as a weasel. I think it’s safe to say we’d imagine that person or thing as being devious/mischievous, but not necessarily meaning it was stealing eggs from chicken coops.