Rolex

Originally called Wilsdorf and Davis, Rolex was founded in London in 1905 by the German Hans Wilsdorf. The company was an importer of manufacturing machinery and designed its own watch cases. The Rolex brand was registered in 1908. In 1919, due to high import duties in England, the company moved its headquarters to Geneva and was renamed Montres Rolex SA. Wilsdorf focused on wristwatches early on, even though pocket watches were more common, and aimed to produce a wristwatch that would be as accurate as pocket watches. Indeed, in 1910, Rolex was the first in the world to obtain Swiss chronometer certification for a wristwatch. In 1931, the company developed the rotor mechanism, based on gravity and the movement of the wearer’s hand, which evolved into the Perpetual automatic movement. Today, Rolex is one of the world’s best-known and most respected brands, and its watches are known throughout the world as accurate and reliable timekeepers. The most popular Rolex watches are the Submariner, GMT-Master II, Datejust and Sky-Dweller.