Update on the Parachrom bleu hairspring in the Daytona>>>>

[jholbrook]

Greetings,

Just a quick note to let everyone know I've reached out to my contacts at Rolex USA to try and get some clarity on the Parachrom Bleu hair spring on the Daytona. Here's what I've been able to determine:

-The Parachrom hairspring was actually developed by Rolex in the late 1990's. So from that perspective, it is entirely possible that it could have been incorporated on all 4130 equiped Daytonas (debuted in 2000).

-The head watchmaker at Rolex UK is reportedly saying that the the Parachrom hairspring has always been on the 4130 (this report makes sense because it matches up to information James Dowling has been given and reported...James is UK based).

-When it has been pointed out to him that there are many documented photographs of a non-blue hairspring on various serials of 4130 equipped Daytonas, the indication is that the Parachrom hairspring has not always been blue. This doesn't make sense to me - the blue color is a physical property of the two elemental metals which are combined into the Paracrhom alloy which, when it hits oxygen, turns blue.

In any event, I've sent some photos and they're running the issue up the flag pole...I'll report back when I get an answer. My theory remains that the Parachrom bleu hairspring didn't debut on the Daytona until sometime after the F serial production.

[Edmundo]

Original von jholbrook
the indication is that the Parachrom hairspring has not always been blue.

No, it was Parachrom Black

[jholbrook]

Originally posted by elmar2001

Original von jholbrook
the indication is that the Parachrom hairspring has not always been blue.

No, it was Parachrom Black

They were going to go with Parachrom Plaid, but the idea never made it off the drawing board.

[NicoH]

Another thing to mess things up a bit:

The current hairspring in the Deepsea, Day-Date II, new Submariner is only called "Parachrome" and not "Parachrome bleu" anymore. I asked James D. about it who asked Rolex at Baselworld and they told him it was the same thing but it wasn´t called "bleu" anymore.

Maybe they have the same material in two different batches, one is blue and the other one isn´t? Would it be possible that Rolex made it blue (like blued screws or hands) in order to be able to have something "new" - not just an antimagnetic hairspring but a blue hairspring?

Looking forward to your clarifications John!
Nico

[jholbrook]

Originally posted by NicoH
Another thing to mess things up a bit:

The current hairspring in the Deepsea, Day-Date II, new Submariner is only called "Parachrome" and not "Parachrome bleu" anymore. I asked James D. about it who asked Rolex at Baselworld and they told him it was the same thing but it wasn´t called "bleu" anymore.

Maybe they have the same material in two different batches, one is blue and the other one isn´t? Would it be possible that Rolex made it blue (like blued screws or hands) in order to be able to have something "new" - not just an antimagnetic hairspring but a blue hairspring?

Looking forward to your clarifications John!
Nico

Well, the story James originally got is essentially the same information that I got in the call back.

The company line is that the 4130 has always had the Parachrom hairspring - it just hasn't always been blue. Apparently the oxide coating gives it the blue color. Without ripping the the hairspring out of pre-blue Daytona, and submitting it for spectral analysis to identify the elemental composition of the metal, I really don't know how to solve this mystery except to take Rolex at their word - which doesn't make sense to me on many levels.

I was told that Rolex decided that, since blued metal was a special decoration in watch movements (it was pointed out that others have done a blue hairspring before) they decided to make the hairspring blue with an oxide coating because the hairspring was so revolutionary and special. Looking at what we know, it looks as though the non-blue parachrom hairspring was in production for a good 4 years or more before someone said "hey, I think we should make the hairspring blue!"

[jholbrook]

Thinking about this some more, I think I understand the logic. What I couldn't wrap my head around is the fact that they supposedly had this new revolutionary hairspring on the Daytona for at least four years before they made any mention of it, then suddenly decided to color it blue, and prominantly mention it in their marketing. But I now have a new theory.

If I'm a manufacturer, and I want to field test a significant poduct modification, I'd pick a lower volume model to put it on, and I wouldn't tell anyone...in case problems came up during field testing. Then I'd sit back and see if the modification fucntioned properly, see if any service issues arose etc. Now if the field testing went well, I'd feel comfortable telling the world what I great new revolutionary idea I had...all of this seems to map plausibly with how the Parachrom hairsping ended up on the 4130 for years before Rolex made any mention of the fact...and when the Marketing people were tasked with how best to market a "boring hairspring" someone probobly came up with the idea that putting the oxide coating on it wouldn't impact performance, and would give a blue color which would look snazzy, make for good marketing copy, etc. And they likely decided to give it a sexy new name - "Parachrom Bleu."

I'm trying to run this by my contacts to see if my theory in any way maps to reality. Thoughts?

[NicoH]

Well, John, your first reply sounds good and that´s just how I think that things were going

On your new theory, though... well, I´m just not sure. Field testing and Rolex? Why do they always need years and years of developement before they come up with something new? I guess they *do* test but that´s rather the employees who wear around a watch for some time before it hits the stores.

I would rather think that the old 4130 hairspring was not as antimagnetic as the new PB hairspring but they keep on telling people that the 4130 always had the PB so that people wouldn´t complain.

But as you said: What do *we* know, and how can we tell without an analysis?

Best-
Nico

[jholbrook]

Originally posted by NicoH
Well, John, your first reply sounds good and that´s just how I think that things were going

On your new theory, though... well, I´m just not sure. Field testing and Rolex? Why do they always need years and years of developement before they come up with something new? I guess they *do* test but that´s rather the employees who wear around a watch for some time before it hits the stores.

I would rather think that the old 4130 hairspring was not as antimagnetic as the new PB hairspring but they keep on telling people that the 4130 always had the PB so that people wouldn´t complain.

But as you said: What do *we* know, and how can we tell without an analysis?

Best-
Nico

Nico - that's a nice thought...but if we're to believe Rolex, there are no differences in the physical properties (besides the obvious color) of the "pre-blue" and "bleu" versions of the Parachrom.

[NicoH]

Yeah, and if we are to believe Rolex, it takes a year to make one

[jholbrook]

Update: I had a nice long chat with James Dowling, and we compared notes on our individual efforts to discover when the Parachrom Blu was first introduced. He confirmed that Rolex has been telling him, like me, that any 4130 equiped Daytona has the Parachrom Blu hairspring. But James also confirmed that the blue color of the hairspring isn't caused by an oxide coating - as he understands it, the blue color is a physical property of the two elements which combine to create the Parachrom alloy under tremendous heat and pressure. The alloy turns blue as soon as it hits oxygen. So for him, it's just as big of a mystery as it is for me, and the information that Rolex is providing just doesn't make sense, based on what we know of the Parachrom manufacturing process.

Rolex USA is further researching this point, and will be getting back with me (hopefully) within the next week or so.

[NicoH]

Thanks for the update

Original von jholbrook
So for him, it's just as big of a mystery as it is for me, and the information that Rolex is providing just doesn't make sense, based on what we know of the Parachrom manufacturing process.

Seriously, John, what would we expect? Like Rolex would tell us all their secrets?

[jholbrook]

Originally posted by NicoH
Thanks for the update

Original von jholbrook
So for him, it's just as big of a mystery as it is for me, and the information that Rolex is providing just doesn't make sense, based on what we know of the Parachrom manufacturing process.

Seriously, John, what would we expect? Like Rolex would tell us all their secrets?

Granted, but at this point it's hard to deny that somebody hasn't given someone correct information....We'll see.