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Rolex was started under the name of Wilsdorf & Davies, founded in London in 1905,
by Bavarian born Hans Wilsdorf.
Rolex was coined early on by Hans Wilsdorf because it is short, easy to pronounce and remember.
Early model Rolex watches have both the name Rolex and the trade name on them.
This lasted until 1927, when the Rolex Oyster was worn by Mercedes Glietze, a London stenographer,
who swam the English channel in 15hours and 15 minutes wearing her watch.
The success and public interest in this first water resistant watch launched Rolex clear into the hearts
and minds of the watch buying public.
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Rolex followed up the success of the Rolex Oyster with the submariner a watch water resistant
to 300 meters. Rolex were also the first wrist watches to display date on the watch face The Datejust Rolex.
1906 saw the expanding bracelot added to the Rolex, which has become one of the hallmark features of the
Rolex brand.
In 1919 Rolex was relocated from London to Geneva, where its headquarters are still located today.
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Rolex has managed to build a reputation for high quality time pieces, this reputation is probably the result of the
Rolex thinking, as outlinned in a letter from Hans Wilsdorf, when he wrote the following shortly after the
initial success of the Rolex Oyster:-
It is not with low prices, but on the contrary it is with improved quality that we can
not only hold the market but improve it.
True to this culture, Rolex has always produced a high number of its watch lines as certified chronometers.
Rolex has another brand of high end market watches produced under the name Cellini, along with a high quality
modest priced line of watches marketed under the name Tudor.
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The name Rolex has been known as high quality dive watches for a long time, but Rolex has been associated
with other noted sports/adventure achievments. A Rolex Oyster accompanied Sir Edmund Hilary to the summit of
Mt Everest in 1953. A rolex was also worn by Reinhold Meisner 25 years later when he made his first non oxygen
assisted ascent of Everest. A Rolex was worn by Ranulph Fiennes when he circumnavigated the globe through the
north and south poles on his Transglobe expedition.
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