Like a Swiss watch? Rolex’s difficult beginnings

Rolex is one of the most popular luxury watch brands in the world. The timepiece native to Switzerland (surely?) is today already more of a prestigious ornament than a device by which we know how much we are in a hurry. At the beginning of its history, however, the brand was just one of many… and to this not very successful. This was at a time when the value of a watch was determined primarily by the precision of timekeeping. At the time, not everything in a Rolex worked, “like a Swiss watch.”

The company was founded in 1905 on the initiative of Hans Wilsdorf, who formed a company with his brother-in-law called Wilsdorf & Davis – not yet Rolex at the time. Wilsdorf entered the market with the ambitious goal of creating watches that not only measured time perfectly, but were also great decoration – they were to have an original and attractive design. Today we know that it worked, and his life’s work – the world-famous company – has outlived him and continues to do very well. The effects are easy to see, unlike the sweat on Wilsdorf’s temples.

Difficult beginnings of the Rolex brand

The company was founded in 1905, but not until the 1910 Wilsdorf reaped the first fruits of his labor. For the first five years, his watches were poor quality, and on top of that measured time poorly. It wasn’t until half a decade later that the first replica watch made by Wilsdorf was certified by the Trieste Observatory, which audited the precision of the timepieces. This made it possible to start building a great brand.

Interestingly, the company – contrary to legends – has been did not come from Switzerland, and Wilsdorf was not Swiss. The company’s original headquarters were located in the UK, and it was not until 1912 that it moved to Switzerland. Four years earlier, the trademark “Rolex” was reserved, and from then on the company branded its products with it.

As with many businesses, so it is with Rolex, A strong will has proved crucial. After a five-year drought, the brand’s more than 100-year streak began. Since winning certification, Rolexes have been gaining in popularity. 10 years later, Wilsdorf did not make the mistake that sometimes even the most powerful companies cannot avoid – he began to go with the flow technological development. Rolex – although today it is based more on sentiment for traditional timepieces – bet at the time on the innovations. This included eliminating the need to wind the watch, thanks to an automatic mechanism.

Rolex – the first waterproof watch in history

The biggest breakthrough in the history of the Rolex brand came more than 20 years after its inception. W 1927 Hans Wilsdorf’s company made history with the invention of the first waterproof watch. It was made specifically for Mercedes Gleitze – a famous swimmer. Gleitze was the first person to swim across the river Strait of Gibraltar and the first British woman to swim across the k by her own power anche. Together with her, Rolex crossed the La Manche! Gleitze succeeded, but so did Rolex -. survived the entire crossing.

The rest of the story wrote itself over the following decades and continues. Rolex was and is regarded as a brand of prestigious, offering unique design and workmanship. However, we should remember that were it not for self-denial Wilsdorf in the first five years of the brand’s existence, there would not have been another more than 100.