Skip to content
Rolex

A Precise History of Rolex Watches

Rolex, the largest single luxury watch brand, has been producing precision wristwatches, for more than a century.

In 1905, at the age of 24, Hans Wilsdorf founded a company in London specializing in the distribution of timepieces. His dream, however, was to produce a precision watch worn on the wrist. Early wristwatches were not unfailingly accurate, but Wilsdorf foresaw that they could become not only reliable, but also elegant.

Rolex, Oyster Perpetual, Submariner, circa 1997. LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Fellows
Rolex, Oyster Perpetual, Submariner, circa 1997. LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Fellows

 

Wilsdorf first concentrated on the quality of the movements. The quest for chronometric precision led to success. In 1914, Kew Observatory in Great Britain awarded a Rolex wristwatch a class “A” precision certificate, a distinction that, until that point in time, had been reserved exclusively for marine chronometers. From that date forward, the Rolex wristwatch has been synonymous with precision.

Wilsdorf wanted his watches to bear a name that was short, easy to say and remember in any language, and which looked good on the dial. Having played with jumbles of letters without success, he claimed, “a genie whispered ‘Rolex’ in my ear.”

In 1919 Rolex moved to Geneva, a city renowned internationally for watchmaking. Montres Rolex S.A. was registered in Geneva in 1920.

In 1926, Rolex’s creation of the first waterproof and dustproof wristwatch marked a major step forward. Given the name “Oyster,” this watch featured a hermetically sealed case that provided optimal protection for the movement.

One year later a Rolex Oyster crossed the English Channel, worn by a young English swimmer named Mercedes Gleitze. The crossing took more than 10 hours, but the watch remained in perfect working order.

Rolex invented and patented the world’s first self-winding mechanism with a Perpetual rotor in 1931. This ingenious system is today at the heart of every modern automatic watch.

The year 1945 saw the birth of the Datejust, the first self winding wrist chronometer to indicate the date in a window on the dial. A watch of great distinction, the Datejust was equipped with a Jubilee bracelet created specially for it, and a fluted bezel, making it immediately recognizable as a Rolex. Initially for men, it became available in various models for women within a decade.

In 1953, Sir John Hunt’s expedition – in which Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest – was equipped with Oyster Perpetuals.

Inspired by knowledge gained from this fascinating chapter of human adventure, the Oyster Perpetual Explorer, launched that same year to celebrate the victorious ascent of Everest, immediately acquired iconic status.

Information from: www.rolex.com

[av_button label=’Click to view Rolex watches you can bid on right now’ link=’manually,https://www.liveauctioneers.com/c/rolex/21252/’ link_target=” size=’medium’ position=’left’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ color=’theme-color’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ av_uid=’av-pb774r’]