The Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller in 18 ct yellow gold with a bright black dial and an Oysterflex bracelet.
This distinctive watch is characterized by its second time zone display on an off-centre disc on the dial. Furthermore, its innovative system for setting the functions, using the rotatable Ring Command bezel, is unique to Rolex.
BRIGHT BLACK DIAL
A STRIKING CHARACTERISTIC
A fixed inverted red triangle on the dial points to the chosen reference time – the time at home or at the traveller’s usual workplace – on the off-centre 24-hour disc. At a glance, this 24-hour display clearly distinguishes daytime hours from night-time hours in the other time zone. The dials now feature rectangular index hour markers and longer hands, as well as a Chromalight display with long-lasting luminescence, which enhances legibility.
A deep red rectangle in one of the 12 windows around the dial indicated the current month, a striking characteristic of the Saros annual calendar. This ingenious mechanism simplifies life for the wearer of the watch, who no longer needs to think about adjusting the date at the end of a 30-day month. The annual calendar displays the correct date through the year. Only one adjustment is needed – on 1 March (February having only 28 or 29 days). The date is connected to local time and automatically changes according to the traveller’s local time zone.
THE FLUTED BEZEL
A ROLEX SIGNATURE
The Rolex fluted bezel is a mark of distinction. Originally, the fluting of the Oyster bezel had a functional purpose: it served to screw the bezel onto the case helping to ensure the waterproofness of the watch. It was therefore identical to the fluting on the case back, which was also screwed onto the case for waterproofness, using specific Rolex tools. Over time, the fluting became an aesthetic element, a genuine Rolex signature feature. Today the fluted bezel is a mark of distinction, always in gold.
18 CT YELLOW GOLD
COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE
By operating its own exclusive foundry, Rolex has the unrivalled ability to cast the highest quality 18 ct gold alloys. According to the proportion of silver, copper, platinum or palladium added, different types of 18 ct gold are obtained: yellow, pink or white. They are made with only the purest metals and meticulously inspected in an in-house laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment, before the gold is formed and shaped with the same painstaking attention to quality. Rolex's commitment to excellence begins at the source.
THE OYSTERFLEX BRACELET
HIGHLY RESISTANT AND DURABLE
The Sky-Dweller’s new Oysterflex bracelet, developed and patented by Rolex, offers a sporty alternative to metal bracelets. The bracelet attaches to the watch case and the Oysterclasp by a flexible titanium and nickel alloy metal blade. The blade is overmoulded with high-performance black elastomer which is particularly resistant to environmental effects, very durable and perfectly inert for the wearer of the watch. For enhanced comfort, the inside of the Oysterflex bracelet is equipped with a patented longitudinal cushion system that stabilizes the watch on the wrist and fitted with an 18 ct yellow gold Oysterclasp. It also features the Rolex Glidelock extension system, designed and patented by the brand. This inventive toothed mechanism, integrated beneath the clasp, allows fine adjustment of the bracelet length by some 15 mm in increments of approximately 2.5 mm, without the use of tools.
DUAL TIME ZONE
SIMULTANEOUS DISPLAY
The two time zones are displayed simultaneously. Local time is indicated by the conventional centre hour, minute and seconds hands. It can be set quickly and easily by means of a mechanism that allows the hour hand to be adjusted independently in one-hour increments both forwards and backwards. Neither the minute and seconds nor the reference time in the second time zone are affected. And, since the watch is not stopped, accuracy is preserved. Reference time in the traveller’s usual place of residence or work is read on a rotating off-centre disc.
THE CYCLOPS LENS
A MAGNIFYING LENS
The Cyclops lens is one of the most distinctive Rolex features, and one of the most recognizable. Named after the one-eyed giant of Greek mythology, the Cyclops lens magnifies the watch’s emblematic date display two and a half times for easy reading. Behind the Cyclops, as with every feature of a Rolex timepiece, lies a history of invention, research and development, and the endless search for perfection.
A fixed inverted red triangle points to the wearer’s chosen reference time. The disc’s 24-hour display allows travellers to clearly distinguish daytime hours from night-time hours in the distant time zone (for example, 10 p.m. versus 10 a.m.). The date change is linked to local time and occurs within a few milliseconds at midnight. So the date displayed in the aperture is always the current date in the wearer’s local time zone.
9001 MOVEMENT
SUPERLATIVE PERFORMANCE
The Sky-Dweller is equipped with calibre 9001, a self-winding mechanical movement entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex. Introduced in 2012, it is one of the most complex calibres ever created by Rolex watchmakers. Nonetheless, it is engineered to ensure simplicity of use: a selector wheel on the outside edge of the 9001 ensures the interaction of the movement and the bezel of the watch to set the Sky-Dweller’s functions. Like all Rolex Perpetual movements, the 9001 is a certified Swiss Chronometer, a designation reserved for high-precision watches that have successfully passed the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) tests. Its architecture, in common with all Oyster watch movements, makes it singularly reliable.
