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Rolex is truly one of the classic watch brands and one of the greatest status symbols out there – signaling both wealth and success. It has grown from a small company to major global player. With a production of over 3200 watches per day, Rolex is the biggest and most well-known luxury watch brand today.
The history of Rolex began in England 1905, when a young Hans Wilsdorf started a company specialised in the distribution of timepieces. Hans started creating his own wristwatches and in 1908 he decided to give his creation the name Rolex and a legend was born.
Rolex, synonymous with precision
In the early days the company concentrated on the precision of the movements, which over the years resulted in many prestigious awards for the watches precision.
In 1910, a Rolex watch was the first wristwatch to receive the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Center in Bienne. (image left) 1914 – Kew Observatory in Great Britain awarded a Rolex wristwatch a Grade A precision certificate, a distinction which until that point in time only had been reserved exclusively for marine chronometers. (image right)
From that time on, Rolex wristwatches have been synonymous with precision.
Company moving to Switzerland
In 1919 the head-quarters were moved to the watchmaking capital Geneva, Switzerland and in 1920 the company name Montres Rolex S.A was registered.
Rolex presents the first waterproof watch
In 1926, Rolex presented the “Oyster“, known as the first waterproof watch. Above: Rolex advert for “Oyster” in Daily Mail, from Nov 27, 1927
Notable achievements
- 1945 – Datejust is launched and the first self-winding wristwatch with date in a window on the dial is presented.
- 1947 – Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier wearing a Rolex Oyster Perpetual.
- 1953 – Rolex Submariner becomes the first divers watch, waterproof to a depth of 100 meters.
- 1953 – Rolex, Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay reaches the summit of Mount Everest.
- 1960 – A Rolex Deepsea Special was sent down to the bottom of the Challenger Deep, about 10.900 meter down (37,800 feet).
- 1967 – Rolex pantented the helium escape valve.
- 1985 – Rolex was the first brand to use 904L stainless steel.
“Like a genial hotelier, Rolex has introduced me to some of the nicest people. I ask about their Rolex and they ask about mine. It’s as marvelous a conversation piece as it is a timepiece.” – Maurice Chevalier (1964)
Rolex Watches Product Portfolio
The main Rolex product portfolio consists of the following men’s models: Datejust, Day Date, Daytona, Deepsea, Explorer I & II, GMT-Master II, Milgauss, Submariner, Yachtmaster II
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James Bond and Rolex
James Bond wore Rolex in the first 8 movies, before Seiko took over. Rolex came back for Licence to Kill, where after Omega has held the prestigious title as official watch brand for James Bond. (Picture of Sean Connery wearing a Submariner.)
Other notable wearers and brand endorsers of Rolex
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Rolex Video
Books about Rolex
A lot of book have been written about this classic brand. The three books shown below are the most sold and popular on Amazon. Click on the images to get full description.
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