Perpetual movement and hermeticity are the two elements that define the history of rolex . A story that begins at the beginning of the 20th century when a young Hans Wilsdorf founded a company in London specialized in the distribution of movement boxes and other watchmaking items under the name Wilsdorf & Davis.
In 1908 Wilsdorf registered the trademark Rolex, abbreviation according to some of the French phraseexquisite horology. Wildorsf, who discovered very early on that he had innate knowledge in the world of marketing, wanted it to be a short name, easy to pronounce and easy to remember in any language. Three traits that the word Rolex fulfills and that were combined with another fundamental one: that it looked good on the watch face.
In the second decade of the century and already as Rolex , the company focused on boosting the quality of movements and increasing the popularity of wristwatches, especially among men. Not an easy task since we had to dispel the myth that small movements were less precise. In these years the manufacturing Rolex It receives precision certifications usually granted to marine chronometers and manages to become a symbol of precision. Already in 1920, the company moved its main offices to Geneva and continued working on its global expansion.
The history of Rolex It is marked by numerous innovations that have marked a before and after in the world of watchmaking. In 1926 it was the first brand to manufacture a wristwatch of exceptional robustness, resistant to water, the Oyster . This watch had a hermetically sealed case that guaranteed optimal protection of the movement.
Two years later Rolex launch the model Prince with an unusual rectangular shape and with the special characteristic of having two spheres. This model featured Aegler's 877 movement and met all expectations of accuracy, making it the leading wristwatch produced in large quantities and receiving a chronometric certificate.
In 1931 the Rolex history marks another milestone by creating the world's first automatic mechanism, the Perpetual rotor, which uses the movement of the wearer's arm. Today this mechanism is still considered a true work of art and is at the heart of the vast majority of modern automatic watches.
In the decades of the 40s and 50s Rolex continues to set standards in the history of watchmaking by creating the first wristwatches with automatic date change on the dial (Datejust and Day-Date). This latest model of Rolex It remains the watch par excellence of the most influential global personalities. He also created the first wristwatches waterproof to 100 meters deep (Oyster Perpetual Submariner) and to display two time zones at once (GMT Master) suitable for pilots of transoceanic flights.
The history of Rolex and its creations do not end with mechanical movements but continue with the brand's engineers participating in the design and implementation of quartz technology during the 1960s and early 1970s. This experimentation did not make it move away from its tradition, the brand remained faithful to mechanical movements which allowed Rolex save sectors of the Swiss watch industry.
At the moment, Rolex continues to produce models for extreme conditions and risky sports such as diving at great depths, motor racing, mountaineering or aviation. Iconic models such as the Cosmograph Daytona, the Submariner and the Oyster Perpetual Date Sea Dewller are associated with renowned racing circuits, expeditions to Everest or the poles and forays to great depths. There are also models, such as the Milgauss, that are resistant to very strong magnetic fields and that, due to their design, can be considered as breaking the most sober aesthetics of the models. rolex watches .
Currently the brand Rolex has two watch collections: Oyster and Cellini; which are characterized by perpetual movement, the use of stainless steel or gold bands, ceramic bezels and parachrom type hairsprings. Rolex It not only offers products under that brand but also under the Tudor brand at more reasonable prices.
Each of the collections of Rolex You have very specific characteristics depending on the target audience they are aimed at. Cerachrom-type bezels, for example, attempt to combine design and durable functionality in extreme conditions. The Ring Command rotating bezel, designed and developed by Rolex for some models Oyster Perpetual , allows interaction between the movement and the case, which facilitates the insertion of a programmable countdown device that allows quick synchronization and adjustment of its functions. There are also technical innovations such as the Ringlock System that makes the case withstand a pressure equivalent to the weight of approximately three tons on the glass. Something fundamental in models like the Rolex Deep Sea It has been designed for extreme underwater explorations.
In recent years, Rolex has worked on the vertical integration of the company, which gives it full control over the manufacturing of the essential components of the brand's watches. During its history, Rolex has developed more than 170 models and more than 3,200 combinations, becoming one of the brands of luxury watches most important and productive within the watchmaking industry.
Curiosities about the Rolex History
- Rolex is the largest single luxury watch company in the world, with an estimated daily production of 2,000 watches.
- Business Week magazine counts Rolex among the 100 most important companies in the world.
- Different Rolex models have been present in sporting milestones such as the first swimming across the English Channel by a woman (Mercedez Gleitze) or the conquest of Everest (Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay).
- Rolex has a philanthropic program that emerged to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Oyster and that encourages innovation in science, exploration, conservation, education and the arts.
- The caliber 4130 mechanism was created and assembled exclusively at Rolex in 2000 for the Cosmograph Daytona and consists of only 290 components, many fewer than those found in a standard chronograph, making it a myth of sobriety.
- Its ambassadors include personalities, artists and athletes such as Paul Newman, Plácido Domingo, Yo-Yo Ma, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic, among others.
- The James Bond character in Ian Fleming's novel series wore a Rolex Oyster Perpetual and in some of the film versions it was also included in the character's characterization.
- Rolex is the largest consumer of gold in Switzerland – about 13 tons annually – as a result of the large number of gold watches it produces.
- The Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea Challenge holds the world record as the diving watch that has been taken to the deepest depths (10,908 meters).
- To date, the Rolex history holds the record for the most certified chronometer movements in the wristwatch category.
- Rolex has been designated as the official timekeeping brand for competitions such as the Australian Open Tennis and Wimbledon Cup, the British and US Open Golf Championships, the Formula 1 Championships and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- The most expensive Rolex in history, a 1942 Rolex Split-Second Chronograph of which only 12 examples were made, sold for $1,163,340 at an auction in Geneva.
