Dr. N.
I Rolex movements they are characterized by a four-digit identification code. Many wonder if these numbers are random or if there is a ratio behind them.
Well, in this article we will find out how the movements of the Rolex most loved, like the Rolex Submariner, they are classified: you will see, there is method in all those numbers ...
A Rolex 3135, the very successful movement of the House of the Crown
How is the Rolex movement number written?
Rolex uses a four-digit code for its movements. Unlike the Rolex watches that are powered by them, Rolex movements often remain constant across the various editions of Rolex watches. For example, the 3135 movement continued to animate the Rolex Submariner Date in versions 16610 and 116610, from 1988 to 2020: despite the great diversity of cases and bracelets over the past thirty years, the movement of Rolex Submariner remained the same.
So let's see how the movement code is made Rolex, using the Rolex Submariner 116610 and its current successor, 126610.
The Rolex 3235, successor to the 3135, mounted in the Rolex Submariner Date
The movement number of the Rolex Submariner
The movement that equipped the Rolex Submariner from 1988 to 2020 is the Rolex 3135.
Obviously, the number consists of four digits, but what do they indicate? The first two digits of a Rolex movement indicate the family and generation of the caliber. From 1977 to 1988, the Rolex Submariner was equipped with a movement called 3035. In 1988, the caliber 3135 was introduced. In 2020, the caliber 3235, which already equips the Rolex Yacht-Master, is also introduced on the new Rolex Submariner 126610.
The last two digits of the movement number indicate the complications present. The current undated Rolex Submariner, 126040, has a movement called Rolex 3230, while the Rolex Submariner Date 2020, reference 126610, is equipped with the 3235 movement.
Other Rolex movements
House chronographs Rolex today they mount movements starting with the number 41. The Rolex Daytona, in its current version, mounts the caliber 4130, while the Rolex Daytona Zenith it was fitted with caliber 4030: in both cases we can see the absence of the date complication. The Rolex Yacht Master II instead it features a caliber called 4161.
The compact movement that equips the Rolex Datejust Lady and Rolex Yacht Master 37mm, automatic watches with date display, equipped with a Siloxy silicon spiral, is instead called 2236.
The 4030 of the Rolex Daytona Zenith
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