The first clip shows an escapement. Or, to put it more accurately, a natural escapement. Rolex recently filed a patent for a new type of natural escapement that features two escape wheels instead of one. Compared to a traditional Swiss lever escapement, which Rolex and most other brands currently use, a natural escapement is more efficient, more precise and requires no lubrication, extending service intervals.
The trouble with implementing them up to this point has been the difficulty in producing them at scale, which Rolex — the master of industrialization — seems to have figured out. The new movement appears to rely heavily on the use of Syloxi, Rolex’s patented silicon material used to make its hairsprings.
The material gets a shoutout in the teaser, with its name appearing on a hairspring, and both escape wheels visible in the clip of the natural escapement appear to be made of the same material, with its blue-purple hue being a dead giveaway.
So why do I think this new escapement will debut in the integrated watch? Well, the new watch bears a strong resemblance to Rolex’s original integrated watch, the Oysterquartz. That model debuted in 1977 as Rolex’s first quartz watch, debuting what was then groundbreaking technology. With the Syloxi natural escapement representing another technological leap, it makes sense to give it a similarly themed home.