History of Rolex
In 1905 Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis founded "Wilsdorf and Davis" in London. Their main business at the time was importing Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and placing them in quality watch cases made by Dennison and others. These early wristwatches were sold to jewellers, who then put their own names on the dial. The earliest watches from Wilsdorf and Davis were usually hallmarked "W&D" inside the caseback.
In 1908 Wilsdorf registered the trademark "Rolex" and opened an office in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The company name "Rolex" was registered on 15 November 1915. The word was made up, but its origin is obscure. Wilsdorf was said to want his watch brand's name to be easily pronounceable in any language. He also thought that the name "Rolex" was onomatopoeic, sounding like a watch being wound. It was also short enough to fit on the face of a watch. One story, never confirmed by Wilsdorf, is that the name came from the French phrase horlogerie exquise, meaning "exquisite clockwork". The book "The Best of Time: Rolex Wristwatches: An Unauthorized History by Jeffrey P. Hess and James Dowling" says that the name was just made up. In 1919 Wilsdorf moved the company to Geneva, Switzerland where it was established as the Rolex Watch Company. Its name was later changed to Montres Rolex, SA and finally Rolex, SA. The company moved out of the United Kingdom because taxes and export duties on the silver and gold used for the watch cases were driving costs too high.
Among the company's innovations are:
* The first wristwatch with an automatically changing date on the dial (Rolex Datejust, 1945)
* The first wristwatch with an automatically changing day and date on the dial (Rolex Day-Date)
* The first wristwatch case waterproof to 100 m (Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner, 1953)
* The first wristwatch to show two time zones at once (Rolex GMT Master, 1954)
* The first watchmaker to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch
Rolex was also the first watch company to create a wristwatch water resistant to 100 m (330 ft). Wilsdorf even had a specially made Rolex watch attached to the side of the Trieste bathyscaphe, which went to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The watch survived and tested as having kept perfect time during its descent and ascent. This was confirmed by a telegram sent to Rolex the following day saying "Am happy to confirm that even at 11,000 metres your watch is as precise as on the surface. Best regards, Jacques Piccard".
Rolex produced specific models suitable for the extremes of deep-sea diving, mountain climbing and aviation. Early sports models included the Rolex Submariner and the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Sea Dweller. The latter watch has a helium release valve, co-invented with Swiss watchmaker Doxa, to release helium gas build-up during decompression. The Explorer and Explorer II were developed specifically for explorers who would navigate rough terrain, such as the world famous Mount Everest expeditions. The most iconic model is the Rolex GMT Master, which was originally developed in 1954 at the request of Pan-Am Airways to assist its pilots with the problem of crossing multiple time-zones when on transcontinental flights (GMT standing for Greenwich Mean Time). In 2005 this classic watch was updated and re-issued as the Rolex GMT Master II "50th anniversary edition".
Rolex is the largest manufacturer of Swiss made certified chronometers. In 2005 more than half the annual production of COSC certified watches were Rolexes. To date, Rolex still holds the record for the most certified chronometer movements in the category of wristwatches.
