Why Mercedes hands..... Answered

[DenisSpa]

I've seen some inquires as to why rolex uses "Mercedes" hands, here is a great explanation :

"This question seems to be prevalent among Rolex watch enthusiasts and collectors. The use of the iconic Mercedes symbol has no connection to Mercedes Benz, or the story of Mercedes Gleitze who admirably swam across the English Channel in 1927 wearing a Rolex Oyster. The Mercedes symbol is a three pointed star (Rising Star) with each point representing the three modes of transport: land, air, and sea. It has been incorporated into the design of the Rolex sports line (Submariner, GMT-Master, Explorer, etc). The consensus out there amongst the aficionados of the watch world is that the Rising Star symbol is not only a great design but also functional. Its purpose is to hold the lume component of the watch and provide visibility of the hour hand when it is overlapped by the minute hand"



Credit to : keepthetime.com


Could not have explained it better myself.

Hope a noob learned something :cheers:

 

[egroegart]

Thanks Denis. I never knew that. That's a good explanation.

 

[smokiedabong]

 

[Tonyy]

^ :lol1:

 

[Luthier]

Nice find, Denis, thanks!!! I never knew, why.

 

[DenisSpa]

It's always nice to learn something new.

I always thought it was to tell the hour marker apart from the minute marker but that article quoted tells a different story I haven't heard of.

Always glad to share stuff with you guys.

:cheers:

 

[DenisSpa]

It's always nice to learn something new.

I always thought it was to tell the hour marker apart from the minute marker but that article quoted tells a different story I haven't heard of.

Always glad to share stuff with you guys.

:cheers:

Think I could have said "always" one more time in that post? :rofl:

I gotta quit smokin this Cali shit..............





...........NOT





:rofl:

 

[davylloyd]

And there was me thinking it was because they're pretty:hehehe:

Rolex using the Mercedes three pointed motif. Hmmm......I bet if Mercedes fitted a five-pronged crown on the radiator grille of their next model, Rolex would sue their ass off.:spank:

 

[Alex_P1]

Good explanation, I'd not heard of the 3-pointed star before.

I've read that they decided to change the hour hand as the previous design, of a pair of pencil hands, over lapped once and hour and obscured each other when it was dark.

Saying that, if I only saw 'one' hand on my watch I'd work out it was midnight pretty easily!

I suspect they came up with the now iconic design and worried about justifying it afterwards...