What is Rolex Steelinox? Complete Guide
Many Rolex bracelets in steel are engraved with the text “Steelinox” on the clasp blade. But what does it mean?
The answer to this is quite simple.
The term STEELINOX is a french word combined with the term “Steel” and “Inox”. Inox is an abbreviation of the French term “inoxidable”.
Directly translated, inoxidable means stainless. In other words, “Steelinox” directly translates to stainless steel.
Therefore, Stainless steel is the Rolex way of saying stainless steel.
Inox = Inoxidable = stainless
Steel = Acier
On the vast majority of watches made in stainless steel, you can find the text “Stainless steel” engraved on either the bracelet or the case (or both). On Rolex bracelets, you will find the text “Inoxidable”. If you remove the bracelet from a Rolex watch, you will see the wording “Stainless steel” engraved on the case at 12 o’clock. This is interesting because for the case, Rolex uses the English term “Stainless steel”, but for the bracelet, Rolex uses the term “Steelinox”, even though the steel used for the bracelet and the case is the same, 904L Oystersteel.
Today, modern inox steels, have about 14 to 17 % chrome content which (together with other things) helps make the steel more resistant to corrosion and pitting. At the same time, it is important to point out that no steel is completely rustless. Note that Rolex has used the term both for watches made with 316L steel and 904L steel which they use today. This is because both of these steel alloys are stainless steel, although 904L has greater anti-corrosive properties.
Rolex Steelinox is a material that is used in the manufacture of Rolex watches. It is a type of stainless steel that is hardened and tempered to a very high degree. This makes it very resistant to corrosion.