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June 22, 2024
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Letters To The Editor Why Isn't Rolex Considered One Of 'The Big Three'?
UPDATED WEEKLY
Hodinkee Radio Pre-Owned Picks Vintage Watches Watch of the Week Watching Movies Weekend Edition
LATEST ARTICLES
Watch Spotting NBA Star Jayson Tatum Wearing A Richard Mille RM 67-02 At The Boston Celtics 2024 Championship Parade
Introducing The Noah x Timex Sun And Moon Watch
Introducing The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra With A Lacquer-Finished Black Dial
Recommended Reading A Farmer Reunites With His Rolex After 50 Years And One Bovine Adventure
ALL LATEST
New In The Shop
Nivada Grenchen
Celebrate 175 years of Glashütte watchmaking.
New In The Shop
Grand Seiko
Elegant timepieces with innovative technology.
POPULAR COLUMNS
A Week on The Wrist Beginner's Guide Buying, Selling, & Collecting Four + One Hands-On Hey, Hodinkee! Hodinkee Radio In-Depth Introducing
One to Watch Reference Points Second Opinions Shop Stories Steal vs. Splurge Talking Watches The Value Proposition Watch Of The Week Watching Movies
ALL ARTICLES
New Watches Of 2023
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Accutron A. Lange & Söhne Alpina Armin Strom Audemars Piguet Baume & Mercier Bell & Ross Blancpain Bovet Breguet Breitling Bremont Bulgari
Bulova Carl F. Bucherer Cartier Certina Chanel Chopard Chronoswiss Citizen Fortis F.P.Journe Frederique Constant Girard-Perregaux Glashütte Original
Grand Seiko G-Shock Hamilton Harry Winston Hermès H. Moser Hublot HYT IWC Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaquet Droz Laurent Ferrier Longines
MB&F Mido Montblanc NOMOS Glashütte Norqain Omega Orient Star Oris Panerai Parmigiani Fleurier Patek Philippe Piaget Porsche Design
Hodinkee INSURANCE
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches and jewelry you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and jewelry and focus on enjoying them.
GET STARTED
INSTANT QUOTES
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
WORLDWIDE COVERAGE
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches and jewelry are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
ZERO DEDUCTIBLE
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
INVESTMENT PROTECTION
Each of your watches and jewelry is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
CATEGORIES
New Watches Pre-Owned Watches Straps Accessories Books & Magazines Travel & Storage Tools Limited Editions
SHOP ALL
SERVICES
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Rolex Omega Tudor TAG Heuer BVLGARI Cartier IWC Patek Philippe Audemars Piguet Grand Seiko
ALL BRANDS
Featured Collection
Limited Editions
For Hodinkee.
SELL
It's time to get what you really want
Our quotes are based on historical sales and real-time market data allowing us to give fair prices without all the hassle.
UPDATED WEEKLY
Hodinkee Radio Pre-Owned Picks Vintage Watches Watch of the Week Watching Movies Weekend Edition
LATEST ARTICLES
Watch Spotting NBA Star Jayson Tatum Wearing A Richard Mille RM 67-02 At The Boston Celtics 2024 Championship Parade
Introducing The Noah x Timex Sun And Moon Watch
Introducing The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra With A Lacquer-Finished Black Dial
Recommended Reading A Farmer Reunites With His Rolex After 50 Years And One Bovine Adventure
ALL LATEST
New In The Shop
Nivada Grenchen
Celebrate 175 years of Glashütte watchmaking.
New In The Shop
Grand Seiko
Elegant timepieces with innovative technology.
POPULAR COLUMNS
A Week on The Wrist Beginner's Guide Buying, Selling, & Collecting Four + One Hands-On Hey, Hodinkee! Hodinkee Radio In-Depth Introducing
One to Watch Reference Points Second Opinions Shop Stories Steal vs. Splurge Talking Watches The Value Proposition Watch Of The Week Watching Movies
ALL ARTICLES
New Watches Of 2023
All The New Watches Of 2023
Accutron A. Lange & Söhne Alpina Armin Strom Audemars Piguet Baume & Mercier Bell & Ross Blancpain Bovet Breguet Breitling Bremont Bulgari
Bulova Carl F. Bucherer Cartier Certina Chanel Chopard Chronoswiss Citizen Fortis F.P.Journe Frederique Constant Girard-Perregaux Glashütte Original
Grand Seiko G-Shock Hamilton Harry Winston Hermès H. Moser Hublot HYT IWC Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaquet Droz Laurent Ferrier Longines
MB&F Mido Montblanc NOMOS Glashütte Norqain Omega Orient Star Oris Panerai Parmigiani Fleurier Patek Philippe Piaget Porsche Design
Hodinkee INSURANCE
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches and jewelry you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and jewelry and focus on enjoying them.
GET STARTED
INSTANT QUOTES
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
WORLDWIDE COVERAGE
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches and jewelry are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
ZERO DEDUCTIBLE
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
INVESTMENT PROTECTION
Each of your watches and jewelry is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
CATEGORIES
New Watches Pre-Owned Watches Straps Accessories Books & Magazines Travel & Storage Tools Limited Editions
SHOP ALL
SERVICES
POPULAR BRANDS
Rolex Omega Tudor TAG Heuer BVLGARI Cartier IWC Patek Philippe Audemars Piguet Grand Seiko
ALL BRANDS
Featured Collection
Limited Editions
For Hodinkee.
SELL
It's time to get what you really want
Our quotes are based on historical sales and real-time market data allowing us to give fair prices without all the hassle.
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Because then it would be a Big Four. KIDDING. Read on.
July 07, 2017
One of the things about the world of watches is that there are certain subjects that though they come up time and again, never seem to lose their ability to arouse controversy. Date windows are one subject, limited editions are another and of course, pretty much anything Rolex is a lightning rod for comments and often, acrimonious backs-and-forths between otherwise civil enthusiasts. Another such subject is the question of the so-called "Big Three" of Swiss watchmaking: Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and Patek Philippe (you can say "Holy Trinity" too; some people do).
There are several questions that can come up in the context of the Big Three; nowadays one is whether or not at this point, there should be a Big Four with the inclusion of A. Lange & Söhne. (Not to be excessively parenthetical but it is perhaps fortunate that no one has ever asked me where the phrases "Big Three" and "Holy Trinity" were first used. Timezone? Does anyone actually know? Because I don't.)
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In any case, a reader wrote in to us on Facebook recently, asking why Rolex wasn't part of this elect group. The question (lightly edited) was:
"I am a humble watch enthusiast, whose education about watches far outpaces his collection of actual wrist watches. My immediate goal is to obtain an AP Royal Oak. However lately I have been taking a bit of a deep dive into Rolex and have learned a great deal reading all that I can find. I was quite intrigued by your piece on the Rolex factory visit ... distilled down, my question is this: Why does it seem Rolex does not have the same level of respect as the 'Holy Trinity of Watches' – AP, Patek and Vascheron? I love the beauty of the Submariner and the Yacht Master, but do not want to own a fine timepiece that is not regarded well, as this will be my first major purchase. I would highly value any insight or guidance. Thank you."
The Henry Graves Patek "Supercomplication."
There are certainly historical reasons why the Big Three/Holy Trinity are who they are but to understand why we have to take a little bit of a longer view. All the Big Three have certain things in common, and two points especially stand out.
First, they've all been around for quite a lot longer than most other modern brands, and have all three been in continuous operation since their founding (Lange for instance while a brand I admire essentially without reservation, basically ceased to exist after the end of World War II and the collectivization of the Glashütte watchmakers, and only came back to life as a new independent brand after German reunification).
The Vacheron Constantin ref. 57260: the most complicated watch ever made.
Second, all three have basically never made anything other than an haut de gamme luxury product. There have been varying degrees to which this is strictly true for each brand, but by and large, the watches from the Big Three have movements that have been hand-finished to a very high degree using the whole repertoire of traditional finishing methods, which is where 90% of the value added of haut de gamme watches has traditionally been. Only the highest quality materials were used for everything from components to cases, dials and hands and of course all three had the capacity to engage in very high end watchmaking as well (though not all of the Big Three necessarily made all movements or complications in-house, which was not, despite the modern preoccupation with "in-house," historically a major criterion of quality nor a source of concern to connoisseurs).
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To take an example other than Rolex, let's look at the Grande Maison, as it is sometimes called: Jaeger-LeCoultre. It has been around in one form or another for quite a long time but for much of its history it was a movement supplier rather than a producer of finished watches. One might be tempted to say "mere" movement supplier but of course Jaeger-LeCoultre made some of the most amazing complicated and ultra-thin movements in the entire history of Swiss watchmaking, and all three of the Big Three used Jaeger-LeCoultre calibers as did a lot of other luxury houses (Cartier is just one example). However, the fact that for a significant part of its history, it was a supplier rather than a maker of finished watches per se, probably has a lot to do with why it wasn't frequently thought of as being at the level of the so-called Holy Trinity.
The Rolex 'Bao Dai' ref. 6062: a five million dollar simple calendar with moonphase.
This brings us then to Rolex. Rolex has never been an haut de gamme manufacturer, nor has it ever tried to be. Instead Rolex's stock in trade since it was founded by Wilsdorf, has basically been the creation of robust, reliable watches made to very high quality standards, but not to haut de gamme finish standards. Rolex has also never made or sold any of the high complications with the exception of the odd rattrapante chronograph; instead it has gone for steady, incremental improvements to reliability and accuracy in basic time-and-calendar wristwatches.
However none of that means that Rolex is not a respected name – in fact in terms of movement reliability and build quality, basic quality of materials, and real improvements to reliability and functionality, they are one of the most respected names in watchmaking and their watches are worn and worn happily by many who understand watchmaking right down to its bones.
They have classic good looks, are versatile, and are made with a level of attention to detail and consistency in quality that is really admirable and the fact that they are not a part of a group whose membership has some historical defensibility, but which is really more of an enthusiast's casual rule of thumb than a serious classification, should not dissuade anyone from buying a Rolex. (And in fact, every year hundreds of thousands of people do just that – buy a Rolex, that is). 'Big Three' is one of those catchphrases like 'in-house' which might at first glance seem meaningful but which in reality, and the more you learn, really doesn't mean much or tell you much. And as usual, the reality is much more interesting.
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By Anthony traina