In reply to Thanks for the heads up… by mybulova_admin
Hi
It is hard to get solid information on when Rolexes patents went into effect, but the three dates that generally are expressed are 1926, 1953, and 1970. The first was for their original screw down crown, the second for the "TwinLock", and the third for the "TripLock". The first date is important because this was the year that the furious true dive watch competition between Blancpain, Rolex, and Doxa (who were actually collaborating with Rolex) came to the notice of the industry. Not sure about before 1950, but after that most watch patents were good for about 20 years (don't have the exact number of years). So Rolex's '53 patent of the "TwinLock" essentially restarted the patent clock on state-of-the-art screwddown crowns. The same with the 1970 "TripLock". By the early 70's other watchmakers were beginning to use screwdowns, albeit mostly using the simple technology of the 1926 design. The effect of Swiss patents in particular came to public awareness around 2003, when Sellita started producing a carbon copy of the ubiquitous ETA 2824...the SW-200. This came about because ETA's patents had expired, which inspired them to produce the newly patented "Powermatic 80" movements. It didn't hurt Sellita that they had been manufacturing many of the 2824 components for a long time for ETA. Now everyone has an ETA 2824 "clone".
Anyhow, I can do some digging and find more specific patent expiration dates, terms of patent length, etc., if you want to know more. I realize that administering MyBulova is a full time job, and I already do tons of research while doing jewelry appraisals.
Wish I had wrote down what popped up when I posted the watch, it was definitely some kind of exception or error message.
Take care
jimmy