Why Did Rolex Release A Silicon Hairspring? Replica Watches Rolex

Today, I want to talk about a technical question. The hairspring is one of the most essential parts of a mechanical watch and has a significant influence on the time of the watch. From ancient times to the present, major watch manufacturers and brands have constantly researched and improved the performance of hairsprings. Among them, Rolex has always been in the leading position.

Rolex Parachrom, blue niobium hairspring, is one of the best-performing hairsprings in luxury watches.

Rolex Parachrom Hairspring

A hairspring is a fragile spring. The elastic hairspring is retracted and released to drive the balance wheel to swing back and forth. Therefore, the performance of the hairspring directly affects whether the watch keeps time accurately or not. If you have a see-through watch in your hand, you can see that the hairspring is very, very thin, about the same diameter as a human hair. Because the hairspring is too thin, the most significant technical problem is that it is very susceptible to external influences. Several important factors affect the regular operation of the hairspring, including temperature, magnetic field, shock, vibration, etc.

From the Oyster Perpetual to the DAY DATE, all Rolex men’s watches use Parachrom hairsprings.

Rolex launched the Parachrom hairspring for the first time in 2000, which basically solved all the technical problems of the hairspring and can effectively “defend” all external “interference.” The reason is that the Rolex Parachrom hairspring is made of niobium-zirconium alloy. Because the niobium-zirconium alloy hairspring appears blue, it is also commonly known as the blue niobium hairspring. Replica watches rolex.

The technical content of hairsprings is very high, and there are very few brands that can independently produce hairsprings. Most watches on the market use Nivarox hairsprings provided by Nivarox FAR, a subsidiary of the Swatch Group. Nivarox hairspring is an iron-nickel alloy hairspring with both chromium and cobalt added. Nivarox hairspring also has excellent performance.

Rolex Parachrom Hairspring

Here, we can see that Rolex’s Parachrom hairspring is a niobium-zirconium alloy hairspring, and Nivarox’s hairspring is an iron-nickel alloy hairspring. The compositions of the two are different. The reason why Rolex uses niobium-zirconium alloy is to avoid the iron contained in Nivarox hairspring. Rolex’s Parachrom hairspring does not contain iron. Although the Nivarox hairspring has specific anti-magnetic capabilities, the trace amount of iron in the Nivarox hairspring makes the hairspring potentially susceptible to magnetism. As long as the hairspring contains iron, there is a possibility of magnetization. Rolex Parachrom hairspring is completely iron-free and eliminates the influence of magnetic fields.

Rolex’s 31 series movements (top) and 32 (bottom) use Parachrom hairsprings.

Rolex officials stated that the Parachrom blue niobium hairspring is not affected by magnetic fields, is not sensitive to temperature changes, and its shock resistance is ten times that of conventional hairsprings. Now, the Rolex Super Observatory has an error standard of -2 to +2 per day, which proves the robust performance of the Rolex Parachrom blue niobium hairspring. Among such a large number of mass-produced watches, except for Rolex, no one has such a high standard of travel time (referring to the entire line of mass-produced watches). Parachrom blue niobium hairspring can be considered a “perfect” hairspring. Swiss replica watches store.

Rolex Parachrom Hairspring

The blue niobium hairspring is so “perfect” that Rolex still launches the Syloxi silicon hairspring.

From the above, the Parachrom blue niobium hairspring is already very “perfect,” but Rolex still has some dissatisfaction. Rolex’s pursuit of technology is simply astonishing. From the perspective of pursuing absolute perfection, there is a shortcoming in general hairsprings; that is, the traditional hairspring fixation method destroys the shape of the hairspring. Generally, the hairspring is fixed like this: one end is set on the inner post of the hairspring, and the other is specified on the outer post of the hairspring. Some watches use clips to improve the hairspring, and some use glue to stick the hairspring. One end of the hairspring is fixed on the outside, and the other end is fixed on the inside, which is not conducive to the ideal symmetrical and horizontal shape of the hairspring (many brands use silicon hairsprings, but they are also fixed in this way). Although this impact is negligible, Rolex “cannot rub sand in its eyes.”

Rolex Syloxi Silicon Hairspring

In 2014, Rolex launched the Syloxi silicon hairspring for the first time. Everyone is familiar with silicon hairsprings. Now, many brands have entirely popularized silicon hairsprings. The anti-magnetic ability of silicon hairsprings is very outstanding. But Rolex’s Syloxi silicon hairspring is different from ordinary silicon hairsprings. The Syloxi silicon hairspring has completely changed the way the hairspring is fixed. The Syloxi silicon hairspring no longer uses any clips, nor is one end fixed on the inner post of the hairspring and the other end on the outer post.

Rolex Parachrom hairspring vs. Syloxi silicon hairspring.

Rolex’s official description of the Syloxi silicon hairspring is, “The Syloxi hairspring is not disturbed by magnetic fields and remains extremely stable even in the face of temperature changes. Its patented geometric structure allows the movement to operate at any time. The position can maintain regular operation.” Among them, the last sentence, “The patented geometric structure allows the movement to maintain regular operation at any position,” describes the Rolex Parachrom blue niobium hairspring. What it does not have is that the Syloxi silicon hairspring surpasses Parachrom blue—the place for the niobium hairspring.

Rolex Syloxi Silicon Hairspring

Rolex Syloxi silicon hairspring is only used in the 2236 movement.

Rolex currently only uses Syloxi silicon hairspring in the 2236 movement. The 2236 movement is a dedicated movement for Rolex women’s watches. It is used in women’s watches, mainly women’s journals (31mm and 28mm). At the same time, the 37mm yacht is also a 2236 movement. In small-sized women’s watch movements, using Syloxi silicon hairsprings will help improve the timekeeping performance of women’s watches.

Rolex Syloxi silicon hairspring is used on women’s watches, especially women’s wear journals.

In Rolex men’s watches, Parachrom blue niobium hairsprings are used. Many brands now use silicon hairsprings for all their watches, but why does Rolex only use it on a small scale in women’s watches? Some people believe that silicon hairspring has advantages in terms of performance. However, in the next ten years or decades, the silicon hairspring cannot be repaired because it is formed in one piece. When the current watch becomes an “antique watch,” once there is a problem with the silicon hairspring, it may not be possible to repair or re-produce a matching one. Gossamer. As a brand that attaches great importance to the long-term value of watches (including antique watches), Rolex may use Parachrom blue niobium hairspring as its main force and only use a small amount of silicon hairspring out of long-term considerations.

Rolex uses the Syloxi silicon hairspring in the 2236 movement. We can see that the shape of the middle position of the balance splint is different from the 31/32 movement. It can be seen that the Syloxi silicon hairspring is fixed in a different way than the blue niobium hairspring.

It can be seen that the performance of Syloxi silicon hairspring is perfect, but from a practical point of view, Parachrom blue niobium hairspring is good enough and is the best choice.

In addition to Rolex, many brands have recently begun to re-develop new alloy hairsprings (Swatch Group and Audemars Piguet have developed the new Nivachron alloy hairspring). The new alloy hairspring will likely replace the silicon hairspring in the future.