2018 marked the sixth consecutive year of Rolex being the Global Partner and the Official Timepiece of Formula 1®. "A match made in heaven" – one could say, and one would be absolutely correct. Cars and watches have forever been, and shall forever after remain a most natural combination, for they excite the senses and amaze the brain in comparably magnificent ways.
However, not all cars, and certainly not all watches are created equal. At the pinnacle of all things on four wheels, Formula 1® is all about precision and uncompromising attention to detail and, as you'd already know, a relentless dedication to those exact values has been a part of Rolex since the company's inception in 1905.
At the end of the day, these two institutions – the be all and end all of motor sports and the inimitable entity that is Rolex – go together so well thanks to their rarified focus on making the most of cutting edge technology and human resources.
It is the smartest possible use of the best know-how and the world's best professionals that allows both the be at the forefront of their respective fields – creating cars that seem to defy the laws of physics, and crafting timepieces that excel at every aspect of excellent timekeeping – and manage to do so much more, than just tell the time.
Because what one has to understand first on his or her quest to grasping the excellence of Rolex or Formula 1®, is the role of confines.
A Formula 1® racing car has to be within the rules of the sport, has to be this wide and that tall, must not be lighter than a certain amount – and the regulations regarding their inner and outer workings go on for hundreds of pages.
A Rolex watch, similarly has its own confines. Its case and bracelet must maintain a certain width and thickness that yields sublime wearing comfort, has to incorporate into said limited space a host of impressive technological feats that allow it to perform to design, and has to have a design that speaks not only to the laws of physics, but the heart and soul too.
As a Formula 1® car's engine runs at some 12,500rpm, with bits of metal flying around thanks to the nerve-enticing beauty of internal combustion, a great variety of technology is working together in great harmony. All this happens at a quest of generating immense power and putting all that at the sole disposal of the driver – one among the best in his field.
Comparably, the mechanical movement inside every Rolex watch operates at a frequency of 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour – hour after hour, year after year, decade after decade. Designed and assembled by some of the absolute best engineers and craftsmen in their field, a Rolex caliber will forever be at the forefront of horology. Uncompromising functionality and dependability go hand-in-hand with stellar performance.
Millions of Formula 1® fans across the globe share a love for the sight of racing cars running around some of the most iconic strips of tarmac on the planet – and many of them have developed the same sensation when seeing the running seconds hand trace the periphery of the dial and its series of 18ct gold or diamond indices.
Formula 1® and Rolex are a match like no other because they are entirely inimitable and absolutely irreplaceable at who they are, what they do and how they continue to remain in their singular positions. And that is more than enough to warm the hearts of racing and watch lovers across the globe.
