(From Swissreg.ch)
It's not unusual for Rolex to register dozens of soundalike trademarks, names like “Datejuster” or “Master-Datejust,” not with the intent to produce new models, but to guard its nomenclature from imitations. These filings are a form of brand protection against names closely tied to the Rolex identity.
Still, the brand's decision earlier this week to register “Tru-Beat,” a name that is not a riff on anything in the current lineup, is worth writing about. First introduced as a doctor’s watch in the mid-1950s, the original Rolex Tru-Beat featured a mechanical movement with a ticking seconds hand that mimicked the motion of a quartz watch, making it easier to measure heart rates. It's a Rolex mechanical watch pretending to be quartz.
The “Tru-Beat” trademark filing on Monday is not a renewal; it’s a new application for a watch name that has been out of circulation since 1959—and sounds nothing like what is currently in the catalog. Could Rolex be planning something more than just legal protection?