Rolex

Rolex SA is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches and accessories. Rolex watches are considered status symbols,^[1][2][3][4] although they are described as "reverse status symbols" among the very wealthy because of their mass appeal and their relatively low price by the standards of the rich.^[5][6] Rolex is the largest single luxury watch brand by far, producing about 2000 watches per day, with estimated revenues of around US$ 3 billion (2003).^[7] BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex #71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most important global brands, top among all watchmakers.^[8]

History

Rolex SA was founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law, Alfred Davis. Contrary to popular belief, Hans Wilsdorf was neither Swiss, nor a watchmaker. Wilsdorf & Davis was the original name of what later became the Rolex Watch Company. They originally imported Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and placed them in quality cases made by Dennison and others. These early wristwatches were then sold to jewellers, who then put their own names on the dial. The earliest watches from Wilsdorf and Davis were usually hallmarked "W&D" inside the caseback.

Hans Wilsdorf, along with Michael Hickman, registered the trademark name "Rolex" in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1908, with the company name Rolex registered on 15 November 1915. The word was made up, and its origin is obscure. Wilsdorf was said to want his watch brand's name to be easily pronounceable in any language. One story, which was never confirmed by Wilsdorf, is that the word "Rolex" came from the French phrase horlogerie exquise, meaning exquisite clockwork. Another story claims that Wilsdorf was riding a bus when he realized that "rolex" was the sound a watch made while being wound.^[9] In the book The Best of Time Rolex Wrist Watches by J.Hess & J. Dowling the authors state the name was just made up. In 2007 a Book by Mark A Cooper A Movement in Time with Breitling & Rolex an Unauthorized History claims the name was made by Wilsdorf & Alfred Davis using a combination of Rolls Royce, a maker of motor cars known for quality and perfection of engineering, and Timex, the watch brand. They put these names together to make the name Rolex. It has been claimed that, "this account is possible as Rolls Royce was a well known make, and although the Waterbury Watch company did not use the Timex name in America until 1950, they appear to have used Timex on watches sold in the UK from 1879." However, contemporary news accounts (such as a Time magazine article on Timex from March 1963) as well as multiple other sources all state that the name "Timex" was not used on watches until after WW2. Until evidence in the form of company records, advertisements, or actual examples of what would have been English market Timex pocketwatches from the late 19th century can be produced in substantiation of the claim that "Rolex" is a portmanteau of Rolls Royce and Timex, the assertion must be considered speculation. The company name was changed to the Rolex Watch Company during 1919. It was later changed to Montres Rolex, SA; and finally Rolex, SA.

Vintage Daytona

The Wilsdorf & Davis company moved out of the United Kingdom in 1912 as taxes and export duties on the case metals (silver and gold) were driving costs up..^[10] From that time on, Rolex has been headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, though it owns facilities in other cities (Biel/Bienne, etc) and continents (North America, Asia, Australia, etc).

Rolex SA is owned by a private trust, and shares are not traded on any stock market.^[11] .

Other innovations

Among the company's innovations are the first waterproof watch case;.^[12] the first wristwatch with a date on the dial;^[13] the first watch to show two timezones at once;^[14] and the first watchmakers to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch.^[15] To date, Rolex still holds the record for the most certified chronometer movements in the category of wristwatches.^[16]

Rolex participated in the development of the original quartz watch movements. Although Rolex has made very few quartz models for its Oyster line, the company's engineers were instrumental in design and implementation of the technology during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1968, Rolex collaborated with a consortium of 16 Swiss watch manufacturers to develop the Beta 21 quartz movement used in their Rolex Quartz Date 5100.^[17] Within about five years of research, design, and development, Rolex created the "clean-slate" 5035/5055 movement that would eventually power the Rolex Oysterquartz.^[18] The first self-winding Rolex watch was offered to the public in 1931, preceded to the market by Harwood which patented the design in 1923 and produced the first self-winding watch in 1928, powered by an internal mechanism that used the movement of the wearer's arm. This not only made watch-winding unnecessary, but eliminated the problem of over-winding a watch and harming its mechanism. Rolex was also the first watch company to create the first water resistant watch to 330 feet.^[19] Wilsdorf even had a specially made Rolex watch attached to the side of the Trieste bathyscaphe, which went to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The watch survived and tested as having kept perfect time during its descent and ascent. This was confirmed by a telegram sent to Rolex the following day saying "Am happy to confirm that even at 11,000 metres your watch is as precise as on the surface. Best regards, Jacques Piccard"..^[20]

Rolex has also made a reputation in watches suitable for the extremes of deep-sea diving, aviation and mountain climbing. Early sports models included the Rolex submariner and the Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 2000 (in 1971). This watch had a helium release valve, co-invented with Swiss watchmaker Doxa, to release helium gas build-up during decompression. Another sports model is the Rolex GMT Master II, originally developed at the request of Pan Am Airways to assist pilots in transcontinental flights.^[21] The Explorer and Explorer II were developed specifically for explorers who would navigate rough terrain — such as the world famous Everest Expeditions.

Rolex in murder case

In a famous murder case the Rolex that a victim wore on his wrist eventually led to the arrest of his murderer. When a body was found in the English channel in 1996 by a fisherman who caught the body, and the 4.5 kg anchor attached to it through the victim's belt, in his net about 10 km from the English coast,^[22] a Rolex wristwatch was the only identifiable object on the body.^[22][23] Since the Rolex movement had a serial number and was engraved with special markings every time it was serviced, British police traced the service records from Rolex, and Ronald Joseph Platt was identified as the owner of the watch and the victim of the murder. In addition British police were able to determine the date of death by examining the date on the watch calendar and since the Rolex movement had a reserve of two to three days of operation when inactive and it was fully waterproof, they were able to determine the time of death within a small margin of error.^[24][22]

Rolex in popular culture

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Paul Newman has worn a Rolex Cosmograph "Daytona" since at least 1972 and the dial on certain rare Daytona watches is named after him. The Paul Newman dial on a Daytona from the 1960s or 1970s is a collectible. Paul Newman actually wore a Rolex Daytona in the 1969 movie "Winning" about Indy car racing..^[25]

Ian Fleming's James Bond character wore a stainless steel luminous dial Rolex Oyster Perpetual in the series of spy novels. That watch came to an unfortunate end in the novel On her Majesty's Secret Service when he used it as a knuckle-duster. In many of the early EON produced Bond films, Bond wore a Rolex Submariner. Rolex models were used from the first Bond film Dr. No until 1974's The Man With The Golden Gun. Thereafter Seiko digital watches were worn by Bond until the Rolex Submariner reappeared in 1989's Licence to Kill. Since 1995's Goldeneye, Omega Seamaster watches have been 'product-placed' in the Bond films.

Watch models

Rolex SA has three watch lines: Oyster Perpetual, Professional and Cellini. Among modern Rolex Oyster watch models are the:

• Air-King
• Date
• Rolex Milgauss
• Datejust
• GMT Master
• GMT Master II
• Explorer
• Explorer II
• Submariner
• Sea Dweller
• Daytona Cosmograph
• Day-Date
• Oyster Perpetual
• Yacht-Master
• Yacht-Master II
• President

The primary bracelets for the Rolex Oyster line are named Jubilee, Oyster and the President. Rolex "dressy" watches are from their Cellini line. The third brand in the Rolex empire is the less expensive, but high quality, Tudor brand. It was started by Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf, in 1946. While still sold in Europe and the Far East, the Tudor line was discontinued in the United States as of 2004.

Rolex is the largest manufacturer of Swiss made certified chronometers. In 2005 more than half the annual production of COSC certified watches were Rolex.^[26]

Rolex counterfeits

Main article: Counterfeit watch

Like many high-priced, brand-name accessories, Rolex watches are among the most counterfeited brands of watches, often illegally sold on the street and on the internet. These fakes are mainly produced in China due to the ease in copying the general design (EU figures show that 54% of fakes seized in 2004 originated in China),^[27] and retail anywhere from $5 upwards to $1000 -- for high end replicas fabricated in solid gold. By some accounts, over 75% of all replica watches produced annually are copies of Rolex Oyster Perpetual designs. These fake watches have been nicknamed "Folex" or "Fauxlex", or "Trolex" in Spain (trola means fake in Spanish)^[28]

Significant events in Rolex history

• Rolex is the official time keeper of Wimbledon and The Australian Open tennis grand slams
• Jacques Piccard and his Rolex Oyster: 1960, Mariana Trench, depth of 11,000 m
• Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing and their Rolex Oyster: 1953, altitude 8,848 m, Mount Everest
• Mercedes Gleitze was the first British woman to swim the English channel on 7 October 1927. Some doubts were cast on her achievement when a hoaxer claimed to have made a faster swim only four days later. To silence her critics, Mercedes Gleitze attempted a repeat swim on 21 October in the full glare of publicity. Hans Wilsdorf knew a good marketing opportunity when he saw one, and offered her one of the earliest Rolex Oysters if she would wear it during the attempt. After more than 10 hours, in water that was much colder than during her first swim, she was pulled from the sea semi-conscious seven miles short of her goal. Although she did not complete the second crossing, a journalist for The Times wrote "Having regard to the general conditions, the endurance of Miss Gleitze surprised the doctors, journalists, and experts who were present, for it seemed unlikely that she would be able to withstand the cold for so long. It was a good performance." This silenced the doubters, and Mercedes Gleitze was hailed as a heroine. As she sat in the boat, the same journalist made a discovery and reported it as follows: "Hanging round her neck by a riband on this swim, Miss Gleitze carried a small gold watch, which was found this evening to have kept good time throughout." When examined closely, the watch was found to be in perfect condition, dry inside and ticking away as if nothing had happened. One month later, on 24th November 1927, Wilsdorf launched the Rolex Oyster watch in the United Kingdom as the focal point of a full front page Rolex advert in the Daily Mail, and the Rolex Oyster began its rise to fame.

Company

By 2007 Rolex had their United States headquarters in New York and select direct point of sales in New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, and Miami.

In Australia Rolex's head office is located in Melbourne on Collins Street on the Melbourne Skyline. A service centre is also there. Similar regional offices of Rolex exist throughout the world.

The top executives of Rolex are:

The Rolex sign around the world

See also

• Rolex awards

Notes

References

• Hess, Jeffrey P., The Best of Times Rolex Wristwatches An Unauthorized History, Schiffer Publishing Limited, 1996. ISBN 0-7643-0011-3
• Cooper, Mark A. , A Movement in Time with Breitling & Rolex An Unauthorized History Infinity Publishing, 2007, ISBN 0-7414-4168-3
• Brozek, John E., The Rolex Report, InfoQuest Publishing, Inc (Self-published), 2004. ISBN 0-9723133-0-3
• Jarman, T. Charles, The ROLEX Reference Guide - 4th Edition, Leap Enterprises (Self-published), 2003. ISBN 0-9709514-2-6
• Brown, Richard,The Replica Watch Report, Lulu Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-4116-1402-X
• Skeet, Martin & Urul, Nick, "Vintage Rolex Sports Models - A Complete Visual Reference & Unauthorized History", Schiffer Publishing Limited, 2005. ISBN 0-7643-2248-6
• Rolex GMTII (new) 116710 vs 16710 Comparison
• Rolex GMTII vs Submariner Comparison
• Rolex GMTII vs SeaDweller Comparison
• Rolex Price Evolution since 1957 (US)
• Price List March 1, 2008 (US & UK)

External links

• Rolex, Official Rolex site
• Rolex Forums, a non-commercial website for the discussion of all aspects of Rolex, with reviews, photo galleries and other information, e.g. an online Rolex reference library.
• oysterinfo, a non-commercial website about Rolex history, models and other information e.g. serial numbers=year of manufacture, workshops.ar:روليكس

ca:Rolex de:Rolex fr:Rolex ko:롤렉스 it:Rolex nl:Rolex ja:ロレックス no:Rolex pl:Rolex pt:Rolex ru:Rolex sv:Rolex tl:Rolex