Rolex’s Sky-Dweller was designed specially for travelers who frequently change time zones.
Rolex's Sky-Dweller was designed specially for travelers who frequently change time zones.
Photo Credit: Rolex
The reason the Sky-Dweller is so conducive to a jet-setting lifestyle is that it displays two time zones. The watch’s wearer can see local time via conventional center hands and reference time in 24-hour format via an off-center disc.
The Sky-Dweller is equipped with a mechanism of interaction between the rotatable bezel, the winding crown and the movement: the Ring Command system, which allows the user to select the watch’s functions one-by-one and to set them easily, quickly and securely. Global travelers can read the reference time by means of a red triangle pointing to an off-center disc. The disc’s 24-hour graduation allows travelers to distinguish daytime hours from night-time hours in the reference time zone (for example, 10 am versus 10 pm).
Photo Credit: Rolex
The Sky-Dweller is equipped with Saros, a revolutionary annual calendar whose design was inspired by the astronomical phenomenon of the same name. The Greek term Saros has been used since antiquity to designate an approximately 18-year cycle of alignment patterns between the Sun, the Earth and the Moon, at the end of which they are at the same position in relation to one another and in the same area of the sky.
The Saros annual calendar, whose qualities are attributable to an ingenious patented mechanism, automatically differentiates between 30-day and 31-day months. It displays the correct date throughout the year and requires only one adjustment a year – on 1st March, February having only 28 or 29 days.
The Saros mechanism consists of only four gear wheels and two gear ratios added to the traditional Rolex instantaneous date calendar. This construction of extreme simplicity ensures the great reliability of the system.
The months of the year are marked by 12 discreet apertures around the circumference of the dial, outside the hour markers: January at 1 o’clock, February at 2 o’clock, and so on. The current month is indicated in red.
Photo Credit: Rolex
The Sky-Dweller’s Oyster case, 42 mm in diameter and guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 100 meters (330 feet), is a paragon of robustness and elegance. The middle case is crafted from a solid block of Oystersteel, a particularly corrosion-resistant alloy, or from 18 ct gold. The case back, edged with fine fluting, is hermetically screwed down with a special tool that grants only certified Rolex watchmakers access to the movement. The Twinlock winding crown, fitted with a double waterproofness system, screws down securely against the case. The crystal is made of a virtually scratchproof sapphire with a Cyclops lens at 3 o’clock for easy reading of the date, and benefits from an anti-reflective coating. The waterproof Oyster case provides optimum protection for the Sky-Dweller’s movement.
