How the hell do they achieve this?

You lucky ******* you.... Anti-negativity bots have catched dugong and is administrating beat down. Have a nice day.

Lucky you. You got a really good movement off the line. Just count your blessings and move on, man.

Thanks 😄

When folks say they are overrated, uninspired, over priced, etc, this is why those folks who know and maybe own them roll their eyes. They are still built as tool watches and remain accurate no matter how you treat them. Sadly, too many people treat them as fragile safe queens. Yes there are exceptions of course, but similar to Porsche cranking out cars that can go from factory to an endurance race, that is the premium many value. Can other watches that cost much less achieve this? Absolutely, but likely not to the same consistency.

And after over 200 years of watchmaking, with the possibilities and machines of today, this should absolutely be the status quo in my opinion. This should not be a >7.000€ watch, but rather one that goes on every wrist as a no-brainer.

There are few companies that can match Rolex in their automation efforts. Which means they will not be able to reach a level of cleanliness and consistency in their movements and the overall watch the way that Rolex can. 

Does an Explorer need to sell around $7000 based on the production effort alone? Probably not. But there is a reason why the watch is in that category.

Then again why don‘t ETA or Sellita achieve this level of accuracy throughout their movement lineup? They certainly produce a quantity of movements that would justify investing in automating production to the level of Rolex. I mean we see that it is possible, and being the supplier of almost every watch brand, it would absolutely be worth it…

Amen.

I already mentioned that I’m not a huge fan of Rolex as a whole brand/company, (for obvious reasons..), but I am certainly a fan of their movements and overall quality. It’s a bit like Apple. I don’t necessarily support most of their decisions and strategies, and I won’t ever line up to get the latest and greatest iPhone, but I do use an iPhone for years, because it just works, looks good and is of satisfying quality. Just like Rolex.

Cost. It goes down to cost. You can get an ETA or Sellita relatively at a good price and spice 'em up or you can get something like Rolex that came good out of the factory.

You're paying for something.

I'm hardly a Rolex hater, but if you were just paying for the dial and case, the cost would be 1/5 of the retail cost (if not 1/10).  The movement and QC is where the bulk of value is and where the most can go wrong.

At the price, you should demand that.

Sure the costs will be higher, but at the quantities ETA and Sellita are producing movements, these costs would spread. I think it would be worth it, but who am I to judge? 😄

I am a retired Rolex Fan Boy. I use Hans as my WC pic because the guy knew marketing for sure. I've sold, or given away, all of my Rolex except an Explorer II; it's 20 plus years old and I love it. That said,  I purchased a new 36mm Explorer I and my daughter loved it so much I gave it to her. I think about adding a 39mm to the collection. I believe it's simple perfection. Rolex may be creating their own hate right now BUT they make a super solid product. Take away the hype and you have a damned great watch. People who are fortunate enough to experience owning a Rolex know they are built to last. It's the purchasing game that turned me away. Your watch is awesome.  Glad it's not a safe queen 

I am the kind of guy that would never pay $7k for a watch and then wear it everyday for my lifestyle.  Eleven years, no service and those timegrapher results?  I would definitely say that watch is worth every penny and continues to be a great buy as time goes on!

When I entered the watch game, I was very very cautious with my watches, nearly anxious to wear them the whole day. But I found that like my watches too much to either leave them at home or wear them with too much caution. Hence I decided „screw it“ and now I wear every single one day and night. Some scratches here and there, but that’s okay for me as I’m not planning to sell them anyway. 

But it's not worth it.  Rolex has a lot of room to play given the prices they charge.  Other movement manufacturers need to compete on price and I'm guessing the added cache of saying your watch is a little more accurate isn't worth the price to most companies that buy the movements.  Basically, you'd have to offer a more accurate movement at essentially the same price or nobody would buy it.

Solid Rolex hater here - But  am happy you’ve got a watch you love and that you care enough to have a timegrapher!  

The Rolex owners I at work don’t know anything about their watches beyond them being a signal that “I’m rich”

My $1k STP equipped Zodiac COSC Sea Wolf is averaging 0 sec a day.  Not magic, I was just lucky on that one.  Being COSC or regulated increases your chances.

My Dads Rolex Explorer always ran at about +3 to 4 seconds a day.  

IMHO nothing magic about Rolex’s  when comparing to other highly accurate and similarly priced automatics.   They are all within spec and there are a few perfect ones.  

I’m glad one can be a Rolex owner and also be interested in the watches one‘s wearing. The thing with Sellita movements is that you have to be lucky to get one that runs within COSC specification. With the Rolex on the other hand you have a guaranteed precision. Me putting a lot of emphasis on the accuracy of a watch welcomes that. I’ve regulated Sellita and ETA movements myself and I you know what you’re doing, you usually can achieve something between 0 to +5 seconds per day. But again, I’m not here to play the lottery, I want a watch that runs that precisely for many years or decades. And within this price territory they all do this, but what amazes me about Rolex Is the quantity. One million movements and every single one runs within COSC range.