The history of the most recognizable Swiss watch brand in the world is inextricably linked with the innovative genius of the founder of the company, Hans Wilsdorf. And she began with a modest watch company, which 24-year-old Hans Wilsdorf founded in 1905 in London, taking his brother-in-law, Alfred James Davis, as a companion. Even then, the young businessman dreamed of a wristwatch, and although the first such models were not very accurate, Hans Wilsdorf foresaw the possibility of making them not only elegant but also a functional accessory. The visionary and innovator Hans Wilsdorf brought to life ambitious plans, supplying his products with ultra-precise compact timepieces for that time, produced by the Vienna factory.
Hans Wilsdorf (1881-1960).
Any start-up company needs a catchy and capacious name. Hans Wilsdorf approached the choice of a “name” for the future famous brand with skill. Discarding the standard scheme, according to which the company was named after its founder, the famous German went a different way. He clearly understood that the company name should be short, easy to remember, and easy to pronounce in all languages. Given the specifics of the Hans Wilsdorf case, one of the most important criteria when choosing a name was its brevity, as the name of the company should have looked beautiful on the dials and movements of the watches.
According to one legend, in 1958, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the company, Wilsdorf recalled that he tried to combine the letters of the alphabet in all possible ways, but not one of the hundreds of options received completely satisfied him. The word Rolex, known to the whole world, appeared, according to him, one morning, when he was riding a horse trail on London Cheapside. Apparently, the cherished 5 letters to Hans Wilsdorf were whispered by providence itself. The Rolex trademark was officially registered on July 2, 1908.
Hans Wilsdorf (1881-1960).The newly-minted manufacturer of Swiss watches relies on the quality of watch movements. The course on the ultimate chronometric accuracy is quickly bearing fruit, and already in 1910, watches manufactured under the Rolex brand receive their first certificate of accuracy issued by the Swiss Bienna Watch Evaluation Committee. After 4 years, the quality of Rolex products is also recognized at the British Kew Observatory, where Rolex wrist models receive a Class A accuracy certificate. This historical fact is very revealing, since until 1914 only marine chronometers were awarded such certificates.
The first Rolex certificates: on the left is the certificate of 1910, on the right is the certificate issued by Kew Observatory in 1914.
The first resounding success in the history of Switzerland's top watch brand is associated with the advent of the first water and dustproof watches. The impeccable tightness of the case, which, like a safe, protected the clockwork from destructive moisture and dust particles, the manufacturer emphasized with the catchy symbolic name “Oyster”, which means “oyster” in English. But it is one thing to publicly declare the miraculous ability of a watch to keep water out of the mechanism, and it is quite another to prove it in practice. In 1927, the Rolex Oyster crossed the English Channel on the wrist of a young English athlete, Mercedes Gleitze. The grand 10-hour swim ended without incident, and the watch came out of the water,
without losing a bit in functionality and accuracy.
without losing a bit in functionality and accuracy.
Rolex Oyster
The triumph on the English Channel then became known to the whole world: in the London Daily Mail, Rolex placed an advertisement that occupied the entire front page and eloquently described all the advantages of a waterproof watch company.
Rolex Oyster Watch Advertising.
In 1931, Rolex began developing an automatic winding system based on the Perpetual “perpetual” rotor, which made it possible to start the watch with a simple movement of the wrist. Subsequently, an original technical solution formed the basis of all modern Rolex watches equipped with automatic winding.
The automatic winding system with Perpetual rotor.
One of the most important areas of the company’s development was testing its movement for durability in conditions as close as possible to real ones. Since the 1930ths, various spheres of human activity, such as sports, aviation, car racing and expeditions to far corners of the planet, have served as models for Rolex, a kind of testing ground for a wide range of technical characteristics of watches. , For example, Rolex Oyster models showed themselves perfectly during the first flight over Everest in 1933, and a little later they witnessed a dizzying record.
It belonged to one of the fastest racers on the planet, Sir Malcolm Campbell. On September 4, 1935, on a track laid along the bottom of dried Bonneville Lake in Utah, Sir Campbell, earned the eloquent nickname “King of Speed,” accelerated to 300 mph (about 485 km / h) while driving his famous Blue Bird car. setting a record for the speed of movement on Earth. This achievement of the great racer closed the chain of 9 records (1924-1935), 5 of which were installed on the famous Daytona Beach route in Florida.
It belonged to one of the fastest racers on the planet, Sir Malcolm Campbell. On September 4, 1935, on a track laid along the bottom of dried Bonneville Lake in Utah, Sir Campbell, earned the eloquent nickname “King of Speed,” accelerated to 300 mph (about 485 km / h) while driving his famous Blue Bird car. setting a record for the speed of movement on Earth. This achievement of the great racer closed the chain of 9 records (1924-1935), 5 of which were installed on the famous Daytona Beach route in Florida.
Sir Malcolm Campbell in a racer helmet and in a strict suit with a clock on his hand.
In a letter addressed to the Rolex management, at that time, Campbell wrote, “I am using a Rolex watch now, and it works great in the extreme conditions that they now have to deal with”.
The first Rolex watch Datejust and Hans Wilsdorf testing this model In 1945, the Datejust watch was born - the first self-winding wristwatch equipped with a special window to display the date. A specially created Jubilé bracelet was also attached to the case of the elite model, and belonging to the famous Rolex family in the watch instantly issued a corrugated bezel. To the original male version (at first, the model was positioned exclusively as a watch for men), in the 50s several female versions will be added.
The first Rolex Datejust and Hans Wilsdorf testing this model.
The beginning of the 50s in the history of Rolex watch will be marked by the development of professional watches, the functionality of which went far beyond the simple display of time. These models were intended to serve professional areas of human activity, which at that time developed at a very fast pace: scuba diving, aviation, mountain climbing and various kinds of scientific research.
So, one of the brilliant chapters in the history of mankind was the conquest of Everest by the expedition of John Hunt. The participants of the legendary climb, Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay climbed the highest peak of the planet, taking with them an Oyster Perpetual watch. Released in 1953 as a tribute to this grand event, the Oyster Perpetual Explorer watch instantly replenished the ranks of iconic models.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norge
With the development of intercontinental flights, during which aircraft travelled distances to several countries in a short time, it became necessary for professional pilots to find out time at once in several places on the planet. And here, at the dawn of the era of supersonic aircraft, Rolex once again demonstrated the relevance of its products by creating watches that corresponded to the trends of the time.
The official watch of many airlines, including the famous Pan American World Airways, overnight became the GMT-Master model, developed in 1955 specifically for civilian pilots. Visually, the watch was distinguished by the presence of a two-colour bezel, which distinguished between day and night time.
The year 1956 was marked by the release of the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date model - a watch, on the dial of which, in addition to the date window, the full name of the day of the week first appeared. The first versions of the model were offered exclusively in 18-carat gold or platinum, and from the very beginning, they were equipped with a President type bracelet, designed specifically for this watch. For more than half a century, Oyster Perpetual Day-Date has remained the standard of style and accuracy for the most influential people on the planet.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date.
But the Rolex Milgauss model, which appeared on the market in the same 1956 year, was destined to become the standard in the field of antimagnetic watches. One of the first reliable watches capable of withstanding a magnetic field of up to 1,000 gauss was scientifically confirmed by the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which is at the forefront of research in the field of elementary particles. A fundamental innovation in the design of the model, which provided such a high level of antimagnetic protection, was a special internal screen.
Made of specially selected ferromagnetic alloys, the screen consists of two parts, one of which is attached directly to the mechanism, the other to a waterproof case. After passing tests by rigorous tests of CERN engineers, Milgauss watches, whose trademark was the presence of a curly arrow in the form of lightning, honestly earned a reputation as an impenetrable magnetic shield, which is confirmed to this day.
Bathyscaphe Trieste Back in the 50s, Rolex began research on the high seas, during which the Deep Sea Special experimental watch was tested for strength. About how the tests of the first prototypes passed, it is not known in detail. The third model of the Deep Sea Special, which managed to accomplish the impossible, went down in history: as part of the legendary expedition of Don Walsh and Jack Piccard to the Trieste bathyscaphe, the clock sank almost to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, reaching 10,916 meters.
Rolex Milgauss
Bathyscaphe Trieste
A page in Rolex history is linked to the legendary Daytona Beach, located in Florida. The long, flat and hard-line of the beach with compressed sand gained the reputation of the world capital of speed in the town of Daytona: from 1904 to 1935, 14 world records were set here, in five of which Rolex watches were directly involved.
Over the years, the quality of sand began to deteriorate, and in 1959 a modern the alternative to the beach track was built: the ultra-fast Daytona International Speedway. Although the beach of Daytona has been empty since then, a quiet cosy town of the same name has become the new Eldorado for all motorsports lovers and hosted the second most prestigious international endurance race “24 Daytona Hours”. Especially for the participants of the daily auto marathon, durable waterproof watches were created, equipped with a bezel with a tachymeter scale to calculate the average speed of the distance. The watch was called Cosmograph Daytona.ِ
The year 1967 marks the launch of the Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller with a water resistance rating of 610 meters. Meeting the requirements of professional divers, the case of the novelty was equipped with a helium valve, thanks to which, when working in the pressure chamber in the so-called decompression phase, the helium accumulated inside the watch case (part of breathing mixtures for divers) freely went outside without damaging the watch. An improved version of the model (Sea-Dweller 4000), in which the water resistance is 1,220 meters, was born in 1978.
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Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller In 1971, Rolex introduced the Oyster Perpetual Explorer II, addressed to polar explorers, cavers and all those who are destined to make new discoveries by nature. The watches were equipped with a special 24-hour hand, which helped scientists distinguish between day and night, however, the principle it is impossible to do this - in harsh polar regions or in pitch darkness underground.  Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer II |
The beginning of the 90s will be marked by the release of Pearlmaster and Yacht-Master models. If the first is a more modern interpretation of the Lady-Datejust model, then the second, as the name implies, is a marine chronometer, which strengthened Rolex's connection with the world of sailing. Yacht-Master watches will be the first models from the Professional Oyster collection, presented in three sizes: 29, 35 and 40 mm.
Fifteen years later, Rolex will present a worthy continuation of the yacht series, the Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II is the world's first yacht chronograph equipped with a programmable countdown function with a mechanical memory. A unique complication of its kind is based on the interaction of the mechanism and the case, the main element of which is Rolex's own development - a rotating bezel with the Ring Command system. The Rolex innovation helps yachtsmen minimize the time gap between the start signal and the immediate start of the race.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II.
Another masterpiece of engineering, this time addressed to travel enthusiasts, will appear in the Rolex collection in 2012. The 42 mm Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller has a mechanism with an intuitive and easy to use second-time zone function. In addition, the watch is equipped with an annual calendar that requires adjusting the readings only 1 time per year. The innovative design was called Saros, after an astronomical phenomenon that formed the basis of the calendar concept. For a quick and easy adjustment of the readings in this watch, the Rotating Ring Command bezel, previously used in the design of the Yacht-Master II.
Rolex Deepsea Challenge There is another reason 2012 is a separate milestone in the history of Rolex. On March 26, 2012, the famous American film director and part-time National Geographic researcher James Cameron went down to a depth of 10,908 meters, having made the deepest single-sea dive in the history of mankind and the first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench since the expedition of the double bathyscaphe Trieste. Twice so deep down to the very bottom of the planet only one “researcher” was able to: the Rolex Deepsea Challenge watch, certified for diving to a depth of up to 12,000 meters. A world record in water resistance, which no model can do.
Jean-Frederic Dufour
Rolex Oyster collection
Fifteen years later, Rolex will present a worthy continuation of the yacht series, the Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II is the world's first yacht chronograph equipped with a programmable countdown function with a mechanical memory. A unique complication of its kind is based on the interaction of the mechanism and the case, the main element of which is Rolex's own development - a rotating bezel with the Ring Command system. The Rolex innovation helps yachtsmen minimize the time gap between the start signal and the immediate start of the race.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller
Rolex Deepsea Challenge There is another reason 2012 is a separate milestone in the history of Rolex. On March 26, 2012, the famous American film director and part-time National Geographic researcher James Cameron went down to a depth of 10,908 meters, having made the deepest single-sea dive in the history of mankind and the first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench since the expedition of the double bathyscaphe Trieste. Twice so deep down to the very bottom of the planet only one “researcher” was able to: the Rolex Deepsea Challenge watch, certified for diving to a depth of up to 12,000 meters. A world record in water resistance, which no model can do.
Rolex Deepsea Challenge
Rolex is the first watch company to use 904L steel in all steel models. The anticorrosive properties of the metal, which is popular in the high-tech, space and chemical industries, are comparable to similar properties of precious metals. In addition, 904L steel is perfectly polished, enriching the finished product with a unique sheen. The company has its own foundry and its own gemological laboratory, the walls of which test the quality of stones selected for inlaying models. In addition, the Rolex the engineering team is constantly expanding the list of scientific developments of the brand, which can improve the technical characteristics of the watch. So, in 2000, the calibre 4130 was assembled within the walls of the company. The mechanism intended for models of the Cosmograph Daytona series surprises with the simplicity of design, which contains only 290 components, much less than the standard chronograph design suggests.  Rolex calibre 4130 Cerachrom Bezel Since 2005, individual Rolex models have been equipped with a Cerachrom bezel, which, in addition to aesthetic appeal, provides the watch with perfect functioning even in extreme conditions. The ultra-strong chrome-plated ceramic of which the bezel is made practically does not lend itself to the formation of scratches and does not fade under the influence of ultraviolet rays. The bezel surface is diamond polished and the 24-hour dial is coated with a thin layer of platinum.  Bezel Cerachrom. Parachrom spiral Another outstanding brand development is responsible for the excellent shockproof qualities of Rolex models - the blue Parachrom spiral. Made from an innovative anti-magnetic alloy, the Parachrom spiral provides shockproof protection to the watch movement, which is 10 times the standard shockproof rating. The faces of the brand today are stars of the first magnitude who have achieved dizzying successes in various fields: tennis players Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki, golfers Adam Scott, Tiger Woods and Phil Michelson, competitors Kevin Stout and Scott Brush, opera giants Placido Domingo, Kiri Te Ditch and other famous personalities.  Since 2014, the company has been headed by Jean-Frederic Dufour. Starting his career as a modest bank employee, Dufour changed his direction in his time and did not lose. For 17 years of work in watchmaking, this talented manager managed to work with the Swatch Group and Ulysse Nardin, from 2001 to 2009 he headed the development department at Chopard, and 5 years before coming to the post of head of Rolex, the Zenith manufactory, which had begun to fade, came back to life, for which he was awarded the high title of "Man of the Year" by the magazine Tribune des Arts. And although no one expected the appointment of the former Zenith director to Rolex CEO, looking at Dufour's achievements in the watch industry, it can be said that the new head of the Swiss watch brand No. 1 is worthy to continue the course set 100 years ago by Hans Wilsdorf. |
