"Swiss Made"

[Fiwi]

Just curious, do all Rolex's have "swiss made" printed on the face at the 6 o'clock position -- including vintage ones?

[SLRdude]

Not all of them.

The older ones that use tritium instead of Superluminova are required by law to be marked T Swiss T or T Swiss Made T (T for Tritium), unless they are a specialized whatch that requires a higher level of radiation to be more visible. (divers are a perfect example) If the radiation of the Tritium exceeds 7.5 mCi, then it must be clearly marked on the dial. Below is a shot of my Explorer II, which uses Tritium and it is about 10 years old or so. Notice how it is marked Swiss-T<25, which means that the level of radiation is no more than the maximum allowed of 25 mCi at full life.

[mike]

Originally Posted by Fiwi

Just curious, do all Rolex's have "swiss made" printed on the face at the 6 o'clock position -- including vintage ones?

Great question! And, as with most things Rolex, a bit confusing.
The early luminous dials were marked "swiss" an indication the luminous compound contained radium.



As radium is a radioactive compound, Rolex actually had a recall on certain early dials because of concern they emitted to much ratition.



Latter Rolex moved to a compound known as tritium and indicated the compound on the dial with use of the letter "T"



Rolex also has used the legend swiss T<25--indicating a tritium dial emitting less than 25 milicuries of radition. (Tritium is a mildly radioactive compound emitting beta radition-won't penetrate the crystal)



Circa 1998 regulations outlawed the use of tritium and Rolex (and others) switched to a non-radioactive compound know as luminova (latter superluminova) These dials normally bear the legend "swiss made"



Now... If a watch is issued a replacement dial by Rolex that dial will state "swiss" even though the luminous material is superluminova,



Interestingly on the dials marked as tritium, tritium actually accounts for very little of the paint matrix the comprises the markers.

They consist of,
1. Tritium--the catalyst--half life of about 12.5 years
2. posphors--the part that glows
3. the bonding agent--about 90% of what you see.

Leave it to Rolex to make things as confusing as possible! LOL!

[Blue Bull]

The knowledge here is just inspiring ....

[JJ Irani]

I've said this before and I say it again: I love Swiss Maid!!

[padi56]

Only when it is totally Swiss made, may a watch carry the indications "Swiss made" or "Swiss",its movement is Swiss,and movement is cased up in Switzerland, the manufacturer carries out the final inspection in Switzerland.Like others have stated just Swiss and Swiss made have appeared on Rolex dials over the years.Now the definition of a Swiss movement on dial.A watch that has been assembled in Switzerland,and it has been inspected by the manufacturer in Switzerland.And the components of Swiss manufacture account for at least 50 percent of the total value, without taking into account the cost of assembly.

[Fiwi]

Wow! So much to learn. So. . . if a watch doesn't have anything written at the 6 O'clock is it a fake?

[Flyjet601]

Great explaination gentlemen.......

[astcell]

According to the recall ad, only 605 were imported and only a "fraction" will need to have their dials changed out. I take "fraction" in this case to be less than 30. And maybe 20 were changed out. That leaves ten VERY RARE watches out there.

[sheldonsmith]

But here's the shot...

-Sheldon

[mike]

Originally Posted by astcell

According to the recall ad, only 605 were imported and only a "fraction" will need to have their dials changed out. I take "fraction" in this case to be less than 30. And maybe 20 were changed out. That leaves ten VERY RARE watches out there.

Yeah, I think that shows just how few examples of the 6542 there were/are.
Especially those that have survived in good shape.

This is the best example I've seen. Two bad things with it--1. NOT MY PHOTOS and 2. NOT MY WATCH!

[tonelar]

So, now I'm confused by the recall... I thought the watches were recalled because of a question of them being too radioactive, not because they didn't have the word "swiss" on them, right?

Originally Posted by Fiwi

Wow! So much to learn. So. . . if a watch doesn't have anything written at the 6 O'clock is it a fake?

Fiwi,
As far as wether or not your watch is genuine. What's preventing you from walking it into an AD?

[Fiwi]

Originally Posted by tonelar

Fiwi,
As far as wether or not your watch is genuine. What's preventing you from walking it into an AD?

Nothing actually. I don't have an AD nearby me. We did take it to the next closest thing -- a former AD. He appraised it and gave it his seal of approval. At the time we didn't question it, then the thought of why no "Swiss Made" imprinted on the face came up.

[mike]

Originally Posted by tonelar

So, now I'm confused by the recall... I thought the watches were recalled because of a question of them being too radioactive, not because they didn't have the word "swiss" on them,

Correct!

[tonelar]

Sounds to me that not having the Swiss marking doesn't mean your watch isn't genuine. I'd avoid sellign it online though... some buyers might not be so well informed.