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Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf invented the water resistant watch.Rolex was founded as Wilsdorf and Davis in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law, Alfred Davis. The company did not make original watches but imported Swiss movements to London where they were placed in watch cases and sold to jewelers who branded them as their own. Wilsdorf created the Rolex name three years later, but left London due to severe wartime taxes during World War I to set up shop in Geneva. -
A 1940s Rolex automatic chronograph.The exact origin of the Rolex name is murky, although the common story is that Wilsdorf wanted a name that was easy to pronounce in any language and have all letters the same size and be symmetrical. Another version is that Davis likened the watch to the quality of a Rolls Royce and lifted a portion of the name of the popular cheap timepiece Timex to create Rolex. -
A 1945 two-tone stainless steel Rolex Royal.Rolex focused its attention on producing wristwatches instead of traditional pocket watches. In 1914 it produced the Gentlemen's Sterling Silver wristwatch with a porcelain dial, luminous painted numerals and a sterling silver watchcase with hinged back. In the 1920s, the two-tone Octagon Oyster featured an octagon-shaped chrome and steel case. -
A precision Cuervo Y Sorbinos Rolex for the South American marketAt a dinner party one evening in 1926 Wilsdorf complained he couldn't open an oyster shell and noted that he wanted to make a watch as tough as an oyster shell. Not long after the dinner he developed the "oyster" case that was watertight, which ultimately became the Rolex Oyster. -
Rolex invented the self-winding and perpetual date watches.The water-resistant technology evolved from Wilsdorf developing a synthetic material to replace the watch face glass and a watertight winding mechanism. In 1931, he invented the self-winding watch in which arm and hand movement kept the watch wound and prevented overwinding. -
The Rolex watch plant in Geneva, Switzerland.At the close of World War II, Rolex developed the "Datejust" watch that for the first time had a perpetual date on the dial that was magnified 2 ½ times by a small lens. The day of the week was added in 1956. In 1946, the Tudor watch brand was established, which served as a lower-priced entry level watch for younger buyers. -
A 1973 Rolex Oyster watch.By the early 1970s, many Swiss watchmakers were stunned by the immense popularity of the Japanese-made quartz battery-operated watch. It appeared to spell doom for mechanical timepieces. Although Rolex resisted moving its entire line into quartz power it worked with 15 other Swiss watchmakers to create the Beta 21 quartz, which found its way into the Rolex Quartz Date watches. The traditional mechanical watch, however, rebounded in the mid-1990s and Rolex continues to lead the industry.
Comments
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