A LANDMARK MOMENT

With the introduction of its new Land-Dweller, Rolex made sure that both collectors and enthusiasts of mechanical watches would be able to tick all the boxes. We take a closer look at what undoubtedly can be described as the most important release from the leading Swiss watchmaker in years, and the new escapement that was introduced along with it.

- by Roger Ruegger

— In high-end watchmaking, creating an innovative new movement or an ultra-complicated watch for a client is definitely a challenge. But when you have an almost unlimited budget and plenty of time at hand, virtually everything becomes possible to make even the most demanding collector happy. And if something doesn't work as expected, you can still fly a watchmaker out, if needed.

Try doing the same on an industrial scale, with thousands of potentially unhappy clients involved, and that's where things get really complicated. For example, it took decades to produce George Daniels's original coaxial escapement on an industrial scale. In comparison, the new Dynapulse escapement from Rolex required around 10 years, which is still two or three times longer than that required for a 'regular' new mechanical movement. And what might be even more impressive, given the Geneva-based watchmaker's size and market relevance, Rolex managed to keep its development and production under wraps the entire time.