The Rolex Land-Dweller undoubtedly generated the most buzz before and during the 2025 Watches and Wonders. With all the excitement about the look of this watch, it’s easy to forget how this is actually not just an evolution, but a revolution, with Rolex unveiling a completely new movement. It’s understandable that media buzz – whether you’re talking about Rolex or any other brand – is primarily directed at what’s easily accessible to the customer. On the other hand, it’s regrettable that the considerable expense for technical innovation is disproportionate to its reception. To pay tribute to the watchmakers and engineers, we’re spotlighting some of the most impressive Watches and Wonders technical innovations from this year, showing you why they deserve your attention just as much as case shapes, dial materials, and precious metals used.
The New Rolex Land-Dweller Caliber 7135
Images: Rolex Rolex‘s recipe for success can be explained objectively in parts. Consistency is one element you’ll hear about over and over. Changes at Rolex are slow and evolutionary. Reliability, quality, and recognizability contribute to the continual popularity of the brand and to the preservation of its value. The new Land-Dweller movement represents a revolutionary leap forward with its new escapement and design. Let’s focus on this innovation, whose influence on the industry and technical development trends should not be underestimated. Going back a few years: although Rolex invested in silicon technologies and the opportunities offered by microsystem technology at an early stage, movements and, in particular, the escapement were built according to the well-known Swiss lever escapement principle. This remained the same with the new 3200 caliber generation of the 2010s, which replaced the previous 3100 generation. Here geometries and efficiency were optimized via modern production technologies. Futuristic, unusual escapement concepts had previously been left to the competition, and there was little to suggest Rolex would deviate from tried-and-tested formulas. However, the Land-Dweller delivered something different this year. The caliber 7135 can rightly be considered an evolution at Rolex. But what does this movement and its Dynapulse escapement, as Rolex has christened it, have to offer? When optimizing the Swiss lever escapement, as with every conventional mechanical watch, the obvious approach is always to minimize friction. For centuries, escapement concepts have been applied in theory and practice that operate almost friction-free. These were and are unlike the Swiss lever escapement, which is subject to a certain degree of friction due to its design. Unfortunately, despite their supposed advantages, none of these were able to overtake the Swiss lever escapement. There are many reasons for this, such as manufacturing tolerances, reliability, sensitivity to shocks, restart after standstill, and so on. With Dynapulse, Rolex is adopting an escapement concept that at first glance is reminiscent of Breguet’s échappement naturel (see this article for more). It differs from the latter mainly in that the impulse to the balance wheel is not transmitted directly by the two escapement wheels, but indirectly by a kind of anchor, the impulse rocker. One of the escapement wheels is driven by the running gear, the second by engaging with the first escapement wheel.
The escapement wheels have an extremely complex geometry that achieves both the meshing of the two escapement wheels and the resting and lifting (i.e. temporary blocking of the movement and transfer of the impulse at each half-oscillation) on the same plane. A decisive aspect of Dynapulse’s efficiency and low friction is that friction-related processes between the impulse rocker and escapement wheels take place in a rolling motion in line with precisely calculated geometries. This rolling friction is considerably lower than sliding friction, as occurs in the Swiss lever escapement, and so energy can be conserved despite the high frequency of 5 hertz. Another efficiency component is the low inertia of the silicon components, which is due to their compact diameter as well as the material itself, along with a highly polished ceramic balance wheel arbor. With a power reserve of 66 hours, this movement is only four hours behind the “classic” caliber of a Rolex 4-hertz Submariner. The precision of these components is made possible by the DRIE process, deep reactive ion etching, which is used to manufacture not only the escape wheels and lever of the Dynapulse escapement, but also the Syloxi hairspring in the caliber 7135. Like it or not, with Rolex mass-producing such an innovative escapement packed with silicon components, it’s safe to assume that silicon will become more prevalent, with watchmaking more automated as it moves away from conventional, artisanal, manufacturing processes. Admittedly, there have already been several escapement concepts, some of which were even more complex, high-frequency, and radical. Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux, Zenith, and Frédérique Constant are just a few examples. However, these were mostly limited or only temporarily available models in small quantities, while the Rolex Land-Dweller can be expected to be produced in extensive numbers.
The caliber A&S5219 of the Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon 11
Caliber A& S5219 by Arnold & Son Arnold & Son is the high-end flagship in the portfolio of the Citizen Group, which also includes brands such as Frédérique Constant and the movement manufacturer La Joux-Perret. In line with the market positioning, the Constant Force Tourbillon 11 was presented in the six-figure price segment. The back of the movement is inspired by a historic, posthumous collaboration between John Arnold and Abraham-Louis Breguet, whereby Breguet installed his tourbillon in an Arnold chronometer after Arnold’s death, dedicating the watch to his son. The modern reinterpretation is appropriately dedicated to Breguet and Arnold, and works with a patented Constant force mechanism by Arnold & Son, which also equips the movement with a jumping second. The patent goes back to La Joux-Perret and the year 2015, when the mechanism was already being installed in models at that time. Although the design is not celebrating its premiere in this case, it offers an impressive overall package, flanked by a Grand Feu enamel dial, a double barrel with a 100-hour power reserve, the historic-looking movement architecture, and of course its tourbillon. As with its historic predecessor, the tourbillon is discreetly presented on the reverse side of the watch, with the constant-force mechanism on the front revealing its function to the keen eye.
Grand Seiko’s caliber 9RB2 in the SLGB003
With the new Spring Drive caliber generation, Grand Seiko has expanded upon its mechanical movements in terms of both design and construction. Spring Drive movements are extremely accurate because they are regulated by a quartz oscillator. The accuracy of “ordinary” Spring Drive movements was further improved to +- 10 seconds per month with the 9RA5 three-hand movement. With the 9RB2 U.F.A. (Ultra Fine Accuracy) however, Grand Seiko now tickles +-20 seconds per year out of a more compact movement. Compared to the 9RA5, the movement has to make do without a double barrel and a lower power reserve of “only” 72 instead of 120 hours. Grand Seiko attributes this increased accuracy to optimizations in the production of the quartz oscillator and the integrated circuit. For the first time in Spring Drive history, the 9RB2’s rate accuracy can be adjusted by a watchmaker in the blink of an eye using a regulation mechanism similar to that used in mechanical movements. Whether this will even be necessary in view of its accuracy remains to be seen.
Grand Seiko SLGB003 with its particularly precise 9RB2 Spring Drive movement. Externally, only the subtle UFA lettering on the dial and the engraving on the automatic rotor indicate that this is a technologically updated watch. It’s in keeping with the brand’s philosophy of understatement, and an excellent example of how it pays to look beyond a Grand Seiko’s dial.
