The Rolex brand, registered in the UK in 1908, completes its centenary this year. Often referred to as the Rolls-Royce of watch brands, it has a special place in the hearts of watch lovers around the world. And a Rolex wouldn’t be what it is without so much of an aura around the brand. This brand and its watches combine elegance, supreme luxury, reliability and ruggedness in a unique way.
The origin of Rolex is hardly Swiss. Founded in 1905 by German watch maker Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis under the name and style of *Wilsdorf & Davis’ in London, the company moved to Geneva in 1919.There is great mystery attached to how the name Rolex came about. Some believe that Wilsdorf, the founder, suddenly thought about the name while traveling in a London bus. Other historians believe that the name was arrived using a combination of *Rolls Royce’ and watch brand *Timex’ (which was sold as a watch brand in UK from 1879, but was unregistered till 1950).
A never ending story of romance
Rolex introduced the first waterproof watch in the world by patenting the *screw down crown’. In 1927, Mercedes Gleitze became the first British woman to swim the English Channel wearing a Rolex. A month later, the legendary brand “Oyster” was born. 80 years thereafter, Oyster continues to be Rolex’s single biggest umbrella brand. This is a remarkable history not replicated by any other watch brand in the world.
1931 witnessed the introduction of the world’s first Automatic Rotary Winding Mechanism named ‘Oyster Perpetual’. Soon thereafter, in 1935, Sir Malcolm Campbell set a world speed record wearing a ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual’.
Rolex was the first wrist watch in the world (1910) to carry ‘Swiss chronometer rating’ which defines highest standards of accuracy and reliability. Not surprisingly, every Rolex watch gets handcrafted and about two hundred craftsmen and technicians work on every single piece before it acquires the Rolex name.
In 1953, when Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing climbed Mount Everest, both wore Rolex watches; Hillary wore a Rolex Oyster and Tenzing, a Bubble back. Tenzing got his Bubble back as a gift from his longtime friend and fellow climber Raymond Lambert and it is currently on display in Rolex’s Geneva headquarters.
Rolex’s Hollywood connection
The story of Rolex’s romance does not end without telling the story of *Daytona’. Introduced in 1961, the Daytona was worn by Hollywood actor Paul Newman in his car racing film ‘Winning’ in 1969. Subsequently, all Daytona exotic dials were nicknamed ‘Paul Newman Models’.
Standing tall over the last 40 years, the Stainless Steel Cosmograph Daytona is considered to be the ‘Holy Grail’ for all watch collectors around the world. Unlike thousands of other brands, a new Daytona is usually available only on a waitlist.
You can gauge this watch’s worldwide appeal with this fact. The Paul Newman Exotic Daytona retailed for less than $ 150 in 1969. They are now, routinely sold in various auctions for between $ 35,000 to $ 50,000. Rolex’s magic moved beyond Paul Newman to Ian Fleming’s James Bond. All 007s from Dr. No till Golden Gun wore Rolex Oyster Perpetual.
Also endurance Sports and Rolex, as a brand, became inseparable through many decades. Arnold Palmer, Vijay Amritraj, Roger Federer, Justine Henin and Andy Roddick; all wore a Rolex watch proudly.
While Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual Line is the largest selling Rolex line, there are two other popular lines namely – Professional and Cellini. Rolex also trades under the umbrella of a less expensive brand named ‘Tudor’.
Some 85 years after the company was founded, Rolex made its 10 millionth watch in 1990. Every year, Rolex factories make only about 6 lakh watches. Rolex records higher revenues from six lakh watches compared to Swatch’s revenue from 10 million watches per year. And a very significant portion of Rolex’s revenues originate from models introduced some 75 years ago. Rolex’s greatest policy is never to adopt change for change’s sake!
What makes Rolex such a resilient brand? Some analysts believe that the single most important aspect of Rolex is that since inception till 1992, Rolex was managed by only two managing directors – namely – Hans Wilsdorf and Andre Heiniger. They really never had to worry about quarterly results. In 1992, Pat Heiniger took over from his father as the Managing Director. At Rolex, the philosophy has been that the product should speak for itself.
The Prince
One of the quaintest watches Rolex has ever made is the Cellini Prince. The Rolex Prince, developed in 1928, became a bestseller in its time. Prince, being a watch with a rectangular case and dual dial, was a complete departure from Rolex’s design philosophy. There were so few Prince watches made that an old Prince is a collector’s prized dream.
In the centenary year of brand incorporation, Rolex has introduced the new ‘Prince’. This version, rectangular in a 18ct gold case is not for everyone – it is only for those who are head over heels in love with Rolex!Pradipta K. MohapatraAn amateur historian of events, people and objects
( This was published originally in Smartbuy, a supplement of BusinessLine on April 29th)
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