The history of Rolex dates back to 1905, when Hans Wilsdorf, a Swiss watchmaker, established a company selling Swiss watches in London. At the same time, the watches he offered his clients did not satisfy him in terms of quality. At that moment, the philosophy of Rolex was born – maximum quality at maximum price.
Nobody is able to say where the name Rolex has derived from. The representatives of Rolex keep the origin of the brand secret. There are at least three versions of how Hans Wilsdorf created this name. The first one is supported by the official sources of information and describes the story of how the owner tried to find a name that would be short and clear in any European language. At the same time, it had to look nice on the dial. That is how the name Rolex was born. The second version is more romantic. Some of the Rolex admires believe that this name is a sophisticated abbreviation of Horologerie exquise (a perfect watch art). The third version is the most pragmatic: Rolex is just a set of letters. However, you won’t find any person living at the beginning of the XXI century who would agree with this version. For them Rolex is almost a common name for the timepieces of the best quality.
Five years following their establishment, in 1910, the Rolex timepieces were recognized as the watches with an extra accurate mechanism and awarded the epithet of a certified chronometer. By the way, the Rolex were the first watches over 300 years of the Swiss watchmaking history that received such certificate. Now, all earnest watchmakers are trying to get it, as it is being the proof of high quality and prestige.
Rolex made a revolution in the world of watches. In 1914, it moved from English to Switzerland and settled in the city of Biel. Soon it purchased one more factory in Geneva. To the present day, the Rolex mechanisms are produced in Biel, and the assembly of all watches produced by the company is carried out in Geneva. In 1926, Rolex surprised the whole world having realized the first ever waterproof watch – Rolex Oyster. It combined two brand new qualities: a remarkably solid case and a sealed crown. In a year, the company carried out an unusual test: Mercedes Gleitze swam across the English Channel wearing an Oyster wristwatch, which mechanism hasn’t suffered a bit. All newspapers published the picture of the swimmer with her hand lifted up demonstrating the legendary Rolex. It kept working after 15 hours in the water! Needless to say: the system is remarkably accurate and reliable.
Following the testaments of the greatest watchmaker Breguet, the founders of Rolex started perfecting not only the appearance, but mainly the mechanisms of watches. Thus, several years after the presentation of the waterproof timepiece, Rolex produced the first self-winding watch. Due to its mechanism, one doesn’t even need to touch the crown. The vibrations of the owner’s hand are transferred to the watchwork, where a tricky rotor passes the energy to the driving spring.
When Rolex turned 40 (i.e. in 1945), the anniversary was celebrated by the release of the most technologically perfect model. It is when the world received Rolex Datejust. It was the first certified waterproof chronometer having combined two complications – a self-winding mechanism and a calendar (it showed the date only). Even now, Rolex Oyster Datejust is the basis of the Rolex collection.
In 1967, guided by the fashion trends and pressed by the competitors, Rolex unveiled its Oyster Sea Dweller, a timepiece featuring waterproofness at the depth of up to 610 meters. At that time, it was the most advanced watch among the sportive timepieces. Updated by Rolex in 10 years, the new Oyster Sea Dweller boasted a 1200-meter waterproofness.
In 1988, Rolex tried something new. It released the first and the only watch made of a meteorite. It was a bombshell making the name of Rolex sound even louder.