Step into the world of watchmaking excellence with Rolex, a brand renowned for its precision and innovation!
From its unique patented features to the brand’s publicity stunts, you’ll realize why Rolex remains the king of luxury watches.
You’ll also learn about the brand’s historical achievements, such as the innovative features added to Rolex watches and the publicity stunts that solidified its reputation in the watch industry.
With that said, let’s not waste time and discover everything you need to know about Rolex!
Rolex was founded by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in 1905 under the name Wilsdorf and Davis. It wasn’t until 1908 that the pair finally came up with the Rolex brand name.
Rolex marketed the Oyster as the first waterproof and dustproof watch in 1926. However, the first one was actually the 1919 Waltham Depollier.
Rolex’s first brand ambassador, Mercedes Gleitze, wore a Rolex Oyster as a pendant when she became the first British woman to swim the English Channel in 1927.
Rolex developed the Perpetual rotor in 1931, an automatic winding mechanism that utilized wrist movement, ensuring accurate and continuous timekeeping without manual winding.
In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary wore a Rolex Oyster Perpetual while achieving the world’s first successful Mount Everest summit with his partner Tenzing Norgay, showcasing the watch’s reliability in extreme conditions.
The Rolex Submariner was the brand’s first model designed for divers. It launched in 1953, featuring a rotatable bezel for tracking dive time and waterproofing to a depth of up to 330 ft (100 m).
Though a pioneer in self-winding watches, Rolex didn’t actually invent them. In 1953, they claimed credit through an advert, leading John Harwood, the true inventor, to sue and force Rolex to apologize three years later.
Introduced in 1956, the Rolex Milgauss was named using mille, French for 1,000, and “gauss” for the unit of magnetic field strength. It was designed for professionals working in highly magnetic environments, such as scientists.
In 1957, Rolex introduced the Lady-Datejust, their first women’s watch. While smaller in size, it had the same features as the men’s Datejust, such as the waterproof Oyster case, perpetual rotor, and the Datejust’s signature date display.
Rolex has a sister company, Tudor, which Hans Wilsdorf also founded as a more affordable alternative. Tudor has been known over the years to be used by professional divers and the navy.
Rolex watches have regularly appeared in James Bond films. Some examples include the Rolex Submariner 6538, Rolex GMT-Master 6542, and Rolex Daytona 6238.
On1960, a Rolex Deep Sea Special watch was attached to the Trieste submersible as it went down to the Mariana Trench, reaching a depth of 35,814 feet (10,916 meters). The watch functioned perfectly!
Since its inception, Rolex has sponsored numerous luxury sports, like tennis, golf, yachting, and equestrianism, to emphasize the brand’s commitment to precision, excellence, and prestige.
Rolex entered the world of racing in 1963 by introducing the Cosmograph Daytona, a high-performance watch with the ability to measure elapsed time and average speed.
Rolex is completely owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a non-profit organization that donates some of its profits to charitable causes, typically focusing on the environment, science, and art.
In 1967, Rolex collaborated with Comex, a diving company from to create the Sea-Dweller, the first Rolex with a helium escape valve, which releases trapped helium gases during deep-sea dives to prevent breaking the watch crystal.
