A chronological look at the history of Rolex

Rolex's success is the result of numerous inventions and achievements that have shaped the history of wristwatches. Many of these are now taken for granted, such as the brand name on the dial, precise timekeeping, waterproof watches, and automatic winding mechanisms. The century spanning from 1905, when German-born Hans Wilsdorf founded the company, to 2000, when the company perfected its own in-house chronograph movement, was filled with many highlights. The editorial team at Kronos Germany highlights the 20 most significant milestones.

1905

The Founding of Wilsdorf & Davis: First came the wristwatch

　In 1905, Hans Wilsdorf, a merchant born in Bavaria, Upper Franconia, Germany, founded the watch wholesaler Wilsdorf & Davis in London. This was where he laid the foundations for what would become the Rolex watch empire. Initially, he mainly sold travel watches in elegant leather cases, but Wilsdorf saw an opportunity when demand for wristwatches from the military, athletes, and especially women increased. He quickly found a Swiss partner, the watch manufacturer Egler. Bienne's first order with Egler was worth several hundred thousand Swiss francs, perhaps unprecedented in the wristwatch industry. This amount was equivalent to five times the capital of Wilsdorf & Davis.

　Sales of Egler's watches were extremely strong, and the order contract was renewed every year thereafter. Various ideas for new cases and dials, and especially for more precise movements, were sent from London to Bienne, but even in the Wilsdorf style, early wristwatches still retained strong characteristics reminiscent of pocket watches. The movements had hinged case backs and handle-shaped lugs soldered to the round silver cases. Of particular note was the red "12" on the enamel dial, a design that became very popular around 1910.

1908

The path to establishing the "ROLEX" brand on the dial

　Despite his success with watches, Wilsdorf, who had acquired British citizenship, was not happy with the prevailing practice of the time: large British importers were only allowed to use their own company name on movements and dials, while designers, manufacturers, and wholesalers were not allowed to use their company name. In order to maintain good business relationships, Wilsdorf was forced to submit to this mandatory, unwritten rule regarding inscriptions.

　However, he also understood all too well that an exceptional product required an appealing name. So, after some time had passed, he decided to take what he considered an inevitable path. In 1908, Wilsdorf registered the "ROLEX" trademark for his watches. The origins are controversial, but one theory is that it was coined from the words "rolling export." The catchy, two-syllable name was easy to pronounce in any language and didn't take up much space on the dial, leaving room for watch and jewelry stores to include their names. To achieve his goal, a "trickle-down strategy" was necessary.

　He initially obtained permission from his clients to feature the word "ROLEX" on the dials of some of the watches they supplied, and gradually increased the number of watches bearing this mark. It took a total of 19 years before he was able to achieve this, with just the Rolex name engraved on the dial, movement, and case. This manual-winding watch, with a 13-line Egler manual movement housed in a silver hunter case, features an enamel dial and a red "12" and is considered one of the earliest models to bear what is now a world-famous brand name.

1910

The first Bienne-made watch to be awarded an official chronometer certificate
Officially certified system

　Hans Wilsdorf's priorities were reliability and precision. He placed such importance on these two points because even in 1916, when Rolex had officially verified the precision of its wristwatches through testing, wristwatches were not fully accepted by conservative contemporaries. Not only were they considered a weak choice for a man, but they were also considered less accurate than other types of timepieces. However, Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, had no doubt that wristwatches could and should be just as precise as pocket watches.

　With this belief in mind, in 1910 Rolex submitted a sample 11-line lever escapement to the École d'Horlogerie de Bienne, which would later become the Official Watch Testing Institute. There, the escapement had to prove its accuracy for 14 days under official supervision, in various positions and at different temperatures. After two weeks of testing, even the merciless testing committee had no choice but to return the "miniature" movement with a certificate of rate accuracy and a word of congratulations. This was the first Official Rate Certificate ever awarded to a wristwatch.

1914

The first wristwatch to receive an "A" grade rating from Teddington Observatory, Kew
Proof in the UK

　Hans Wilsdorf continued to operate in the UK, and so he submitted the 11-line hand-wound movement manufactured by Egler for testing there as well. A second official validation test was conducted in 1914 at the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington Observatory, Kew, England. The movement again passed with flying colors. The tests were carried out over a 45-day period in five positions: 3 o'clock up, 3 o'clock right, 3 o'clock left, dial up, and dial down, and at three different temperatures: room temperature, refrigerator temperature, and oven temperature.

　After testing, the gold watch with a blue enamel bezel became the first wristwatch to receive an A-class official rate certificate. This type of rate certificate was originally designed for larger watches such as marine chronometers. Since there was no demand for such small movements and no dedicated regulations existed, a considerable amount of equipment had to be used to measure a "miniature" movement.

1926

The birth of the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch

　Hans Wilsdorf had repeatedly received criticism that the vulnerability of watches to dirt and moisture was due to the case. The weak spots were the green crystal, the case back, and the crown. Because elastic materials like rubber or leather deteriorate, he chose not to use these materials for gaskets. Instead, he insisted on solving the problem through design using the following components:

A: A completely airtight case in which each part is screwed together to seal it so that water does not get in.
B. A completely sealed crystal, a new invention at the time, made of synthetic material and shaped to match the case.
C Winding crown that reliably protects the movement from moisture even during daily use

　On October 18, 1926, Wilsdorf filed a patent application for a case with a screw-down winding crown with the Swiss Intellectual Property Office in Bern. The patent application was accepted in the United Kingdom on October 30, 1926. The screw-down case itself was already patent protected at the time. Rolex gave the case the evocative name "Oyster," named after the bivalve shellfish. Along with the watch, Wilsdorf also developed a new testing device capable of detecting even 0.5 milligrams of water that had penetrated the case. Wilsdorf wanted unconditional acceptance from watch retailers. A seasoned marketing strategist, he provided a small aquarium, also patented, for this purpose. It was placed in a shop window, featuring an Oyster displaying the time, surrounded by amazed goldfish. The strategy proved a resounding success.