The watch mirror is an essential part of the watch’s appearance. It isolates water vapor and dust and protects the hands, dial, and movement. But in the 16th century, when clocks were invented, there was no watch mirror. Instead, it was covered with a cover or exposed. Later, watchmakers used transparent silicate glass as watch mirrors on watches. Of course, natural crystals were also used to grind watch mirrors at that period, which was more heroic.
Not only is silicate glass fragile, but it’s also prone to scratches. In the first half of the 20th century, the original silicate glass was upgraded to quartz, improving scratch and wear resistance. In the 1940s, a revolutionary watch mirror material, “acrylic,” came onto the stage. Acrylic, also called PMMA or plexiglass, comes from the English acrylic (acrylic plastic), and its chemical name is polymethyl methacrylate. Although this material is still prone to scratches, it is less likely to break than quartz and silicate glass. Because of this advantage, acrylic watch mirrors quickly replaced glass watch mirrors. Most of the mirrors of antique watches are arched because the acrylic mirror adopts a pressing process. After heating the raw material, it can be stamped at will, and it is easy to create a curvature. It was later called a “bubble mirror” by watch friends. Another advantage of the acrylic watch mirror is that it can be easily post-processed and modified using sandpaper or a file.
In 1970, Rolex launched the brand’s first quartz watch, the Ref. 5100, sold in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces. Each watch had a hand-engraved code on the back. This was a rare public limited edition for Rolex. Among them, the gold case costs 850 yuan, and the platinum case costs 150 yuan. This is the second and last time this has been done after Ref. 4467. Ref.5100 is Rolex’s first watch with a sapphire crystal, which shows its positioning. Replica rolex watch.
A big tree attracts the wind. Rolex is naturally immune to the infringement of imitation watches as the best-selling high-end watch brand. Rolex has gradually etched a micro-crown on the sapphire mirror at the 6 o’clock position of most of its models to prevent counterfeiting since 2002.
Many watch friends reported they could not see the crown mark and suspected their watches were fake. But in most cases, the method is just wrong because the crown mark is laser-engraved on the inside of the sapphire and can only be seen under certain lights. It’s also small in size, so it’s easy to overlook. Swiss replica watches.
If you need to check this secret mark, using a mobile phone flashlight from the horizontal side in a dark environment is the easiest way.
Suppose the original watch mirror with the small secret crown is accidentally damaged and is replaced by the official Rolex service center. In that case, it will be replaced with a small hidden crown with the letter “s,” where the “s” stands for “Service” maintenance.
Many people find it difficult to accept this kind of Rolex that has changed its watch mirror, even if it is an official replacement and has passed the test. This undoubtedly affected the circulation of second-hand Rolex, affecting the brand’s value retention rate and long-term reputation. Therefore, around 2009, this small crown watch mirror with an S mark was canceled. No one can tell whether the watch mirror has been officially replaced except for Rolex, who consults its official maintenance database.
When light changes its direction of propagation at the interface between two substances and returns to the original substance, it is called reflection of light. To reduce this reflection and improve the watch’s readability, we began to add a coating to the sapphire crystal. The sapphire mirror is colorless and transparent, and the layer is usually blue, so some sapphire mirrors also look blue.
Many watch friends said they bought a sapphire watch mirror, but why was it scratched? The coating on the surface was scratched. A special reminder for watch friends who like to wear leather jackets. Leather jacket cuffs often have metal zippers and buttons. These metal parts can easily scratch the coating on the sapphire watch mirror.
Therefore, not all brands will coat sapphire mirrors. For example, Rolex represents non-coating (only some styles of calendar windows are covered). The hardness of the coating itself is low, and scratches are relatively easy to occur. As a brand that produces sports watches, Rolex would be better off with no coating and less coating.
For Rolexes that are uncoated or only have a calendar window with a coating, the Rolex crown mark on the watch mirror is the standard style, and there is an oval window at the bottom.
But in fact, Rolex also has large-area coated watches. For example, when the inside of the watch mirror is covered, the lower part of the Rolex crown mark on the watch mirror is two oval-shaped windows.
A Rolex watch with an inner and outer double-sided coating is the most common. This style is limited to the Cellini series because it is not a sports model, and the raised watch mirror is more likely to reflect light, so it is a particular case. At this time, the lower part of the Rolex crown has two oval windows and a horizontal line.
The Rolex Milgauss series, the most “sultry” one, uses a green sapphire mirror developed by Rolex in 2007. It only has a light green when viewed from the front. Anti-scratch, colorfast, only for Milgauss. Its light green color penetrates the entire crystal mirror, making it extremely difficult to develop. Rolex did not register a patent. Because it uses an extraordinary green sapphire mirror, it is also called “green glass.”
The price to replace a sapphire crystal for a Rolex Submariner is around RMB 900, while the green glass specifically for “Milgauss” costs around RMB 3,300!
When I learned about this quote, I felt it was costly. At first, I thought it was because Rolex had added some high-tech anti-magnetic technology to the green sapphire crystal, so it was valuable. Then I thought, “Milgauss” also has a regular non-green sapphire mirror version of the watch. So, this green sapphire watch mirror is so expensive because of its “green” color. It reminds me of the saying, “A Rolex must be expensive when green!”
Strictly speaking, it is possible to distinguish the authenticity of the watch mirror through this crown secret mark. But not all Rolex watch mirrors have a small anti-counterfeiting crown, such as Milgauss green glass, which does not have one.
At the same time, counterfeiters can now forge small crowns on the watch mirror. Although there is a difference between a fake crown and a genuine crown, because the size of the secret mark is too small, only professional equipment and means can effectively distinguish them.
Model: m116400gv-0001
Series: Milgauss
Case Size: 40mm
Gender: Men’s
Dial Color: Black Dial
Brand: Rolex
Case Thickness: 12mm