The History Of Rolex

The HISTORY of ROLEX BANKSLYON.CO.UK 1905- 1919 The company that eventually became known as Rolex was founded as Wilsdorf and Davis in London during 1905. Hans Wilsdorf and his brother Alfred Davis initially specialised in the distribution of timepieces under The word "Rolex" the hallmark "W&D". was chosen for its short length and global ease of pronunciation. The Rolex trademark was registered in 1908, and an office was opened in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. "I tried combining the letters of the alphabet in every possible way. This gave me Wilsdorf moved Rolex to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919 due to wartime taxes and high export duties. some hundred names, but none of them felt quite right. One morning, while riding on the upper deck of a horse-drawn omnibus along Cheapside in the City of London, a genie whispered 'Rolex' in my ear." In 1910, Rolex achieved the first certified Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision ever to be bestowed on a wristwatch. Four years later, in 1914, they were awarded a class "A" precision certificate, distinction usually reserved exclusively for marine chronometers. Hans Wilsdorf Co-Founder of Rolex Rolex pioneered the first water and 1926 dustproof wristwatch in 1926. It was known as the 'Oyster'. The Oyster's capability was proven beyond doubt when it remained in working order following a 10 hour English Channel swim by Mercedes Gleitzein 1927. W Rolex provided retailers with aquariums to display the watches. 1931- 1935 The self-winding watch movement saw its inception through the 1931 Rolex Perpetual mechanism. Rolex Oysters were proudly worn by the first expedition to fly over Everest. In 1935, a Rolex wristwatch was partnered with Sir Malcolm Campbell as he broke the land speed record. During the second world war, all British officer Prisoners of War were permitted to replace stolen military watches with a new Rolex model; on the gentleman's agreement that they would pay for them upon release. According to legend, less than 1% reneged on the deal. WWI MONTRES ROLEX S. A. GENEVE, 30th of Maroh 1943 GEPROFT 32 Td R vide C,a. 0.J. Matting der.Nr. 78 Stalas Juft 3 Rapelar t w/KC Dear Sir, Ye bog to acknowledge recoipt of your order dated 10th March 43,and in accordance with your instructions we will aupply you with 1 Chrenegrah Oyeter No 122. This watch coate to-day in Switaerland Fra, 250.- but you munt not oven think of sottlomont during the war. As we have now a large number of orders in hand for officera, there will be sose unavoidable delay in the execution of your order, but we wi12 do the bent we can for 8 7 you. Meanwhile, believe us to be Yours truly, Montres ROLKX 3. A. Dirpotor H. The Rolex Datejust was born in 1945; the first self winding chronometer to possess a date aperture on the dial. 1945 28 Sir John Hunt's expedition, in which Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest, 1953 was equipped with Oyster Perpetuals. Later the same year, the Rolex Submariner became the first wristwatch to resist water in depths of up to 100 metres. 1955 saw the birth of Tested and proven to resist magnetic fields of up to 1,0000 gauss, the Rolex Milgauss the Rolex 1955 1956 GMT-Master to meet the demands of airline pilots. A year on, the Day-Date was created in 1956. became the first watch to display the day of the week on its dial. The experimental "Deep Sea Special" timepiece survives The Rolex 1957 Lady-Datejust was 1960 released in 1957. the descent into the deepest known part of the legendary Mariana Trench in 1960. Rolex released the Cosmograph Daytona in 1963, inspired by In 1967, the Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller is 1963 1967 an association with released to withstand celebrated racing extreme underwater drivers. depths of 610 metres. Dedicated to the The boundaries of world of exploration, the Rolex Explorer II underwater horology are pushed even further in 1978 by the 1971 1978 was unveiled to meet this requirement in 1971. Rolex Sea-Dweller 29 4000; waterproof to a staggering 1,220 metres. 1985 saw Rolex Rolex expanded its range of celebrated timepieces with the become the first 1985 1992 watchmaking brand to utilise corrosion addition of the resistant 904L steel. Pearlmaster and the sailing focused Yacht-Master in 1992. At the turn of the millennium, Rolex reimagined the chronograph Developed in 2005, Cerachrom bezels 2000 2005 and the blue Parachrom hairspring were introduced by Rolex to respectively movement with the introduction of the beautifully uncomplicated 4130 22. ensure premium standards of calibre. durability and precision. The Yacht-Master In 2012 Rolex Il becomes the released the 2007-8 2012 first wristwatch acclaimed with a Sky-Dweller, a programmable wristwatch with dual countdown in time zones and an 2007, and is followed by a new annual calander that marks the passage of underwater timepiece, the Deepsea, in months. 2008. Later the same year, Rolex ensured that one of their timepieces reached the deepest place in the world once again. James Cameron attached a Rolex Deep Sea Challenge to the outside of his submarine which dived 7 miles (10,989 ft) deep under pressures of 13.6 tons. 2013 2013 saw the fiftieth anniversary of the famous Rolex Daytona, and to celebrate Rolex created their first solid Platinum sports professional, with the exclusive to Platimun ice blue dial and for the first time ever a chestnut brown cerachrome bezel. The latest feat in their remarkable story Rolex keep their cards very close to their chest. Nothing is official until announced by Rolex themselves at the annual Baselword Watch & 2014? Jewellery trade show held in march, though speculations have suggested a return of the tremendously popular Red and Blue Bezel for the GMT, and perhaps a Jubilee bracelet for the Datejust II. BANKSLYON.CO.UK All Rolex Oyster watches are now produced to COSC standards and duly certified. Over the past fifteen years, Rolex have been acquiring all the companies that once produced components for them. Now every single component is manufactured in house, under direct Rolex supervision. Even the gold smelting is conducted in house. The one thing not currently in house is the 904L steel smelting; however each consignment is subjected to rigorous testing. ΒΛNKS LYON LANCASTER & ONLINE