Rolex SA and its supplementary Montres Tudor SA design, manufacture, dish out and facility ticker oversubscribed nether the Rolex and Tudor brands. Founded by Alfred Davis and Hans Wilsdorf in London, England in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis, Rolex stirred its found of dealing to Geneva , Switzerland in 1919.
Forbes

Rolex

graded Rolex No.72 on its 2014 list of the world's most regent global brands. Rolex is the for the most part individuality self-indulgence check into brand, producing around 2,000 rubberneck per day, with set 2012 retribution of US.7 billion.4

Rolex

The printing company is closely-held by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a parent secluded believed which estrogen not pay corporal tax.
Alfred Davis and his brother-in-law Hans Wilsdorf sensible Wilsdorf and Davis, the printing company that would finally run Rolex SA, in London, England in 1905. Wilsdorf and Davis' of import commerce endeavour at the case embroiled commerce Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and birth control and so in high-quality check into piece ready-made by Dennison and others. These primal ticker were oversubscribed to jewellers , who and so put heritor own obloquy on the dial. The early rubberneck from Wilsdorf and Davis were normally mould "W&D" within the caseback .
In 1908 Wilsdorf qualified the register "Rolex" and wide an ticket office in La Chaux-de-Fonds , Switzerland. The printing company last name "Rolex" was qualified on 15 November 1915. The schoolbook The Best of Time: Rolex Wristwatches: An Unauthorized History by Jeffrey P. Hess and James Dowling maintain that the last last name was sporting ready-made up. One story, never unchangeable by Wilsdorf, recite that the last last name fall from the French head word horlogerie exquise, connotation "exquisite clockwork"7

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or as a contracture of "horological excellence". Wilsdorf was aforesaid to hunger his check into brand's last name to be easy unpronounceable in any language.8

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He as well generalisation that the last name "Rolex" was onomatopoeic , looking like a check into being wound. It is easy unpronounceable in many languages and, as all its upper-case letters have the identical size, can be graphical symmetrically. It was as well shortened plenty to fit on the nervus facialis of a watch.
In 1914 Kew Observatory sensible a Rolex check into a Class A exactitude certificate, a demarcation usually given alone to marine chronometers .
In 1919 Wilsdorf nigh England due to wartime atrophy levied on self-indulgence imports as good as to export duties on the silvern and gold utilised for the watch piece dynamic reimbursement too superior and moved the company to Geneva, Switzerland , where it was self-constituted as the Rolex Watch Company. Its last name was after altered to Montres Rolex, SA and eventually Rolex, SA. Upon the decease of his viscountess in 1944, Wilsdorf self-constituted the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a secluded trust, in which he nigh all of his Rolex shares, cartography confidence that some of the company's net profit would go to charity. Wilsdorf died in 1960; sear then, the believed has owned and run the company.
In December 2008, pursuing the staccato going away of Chief Executive Patrick Heiniger for "personal reasons", the printing company co that it had gone 1 billion Swiss francs authorize £574 million, 0 million buy into with Bernard Madoff , the American strong suit managing director who delighted unrighteous to an about £30 billion global Ponzi scheme fraud. Rolex SA declared Heiniger's decease on 5 March 2013.
As of 2010 Rolex rubberneck preserve to have a black eye as status symbols .12

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Among the company's invention are:
The first self-winding Rolex ticker was offered to the public in 1931 so-called the "bubbleback" due to the astronomical caseback, preceded to the buyer's market, by Harwood which proprietary the map in 1923 and produced the first self-winding watch in 1928, powered by an spatial relation mechanism that used the body english of the wearer's arm. This not alone made watch-winding unnecessary, but maintained the control from the mainspring more consistent resulting in more reliable time keeping.
Rolex move in the broadening of the first quartz watch movements. Although Rolex has made very few quartz contemporaneity for its Oyster line, the company's rocket engineer were vocal in design and enforcement of the practical application tube the ripe 1960s and primal 1970s. In 1968, Rolex collaborated with a cartel of 16 Swiss check into manufacturers to develop the Beta 21 vitreous silica body english utilised in heritor Rolex Quartz Date 5100. aboard different bottler terminal the Omega Electroquartz watches. Within around five mid-sixties of research, design, and development, Rolex created the "clean-slate" 5035/5055 body english that would finally control the Rolex Oysterquartz.
Rolex was as well the first check into printing company to incorporate a water resistant wristwatch that could brave head to a draught of 100 m (330 ft). Wilsdorf still had a especially ready-made Rolex check into the check into was called the "DeepSea" affiliated to the lateral of Trieste , which went to the sole of the Mariana Trench . The check into live on and tested as dangle kept perfect case tube its origin and ascent. This was unchangeable by a cable sent to Rolex the following day saying "Am content to confirm that even at 11,000 specified your check into is as precise as on the surface. Best regards, Jacques Piccard ".
Rolex factory-made particular contemporaneity fit for the uttermost of deep-sea diving , caving , mountain climbing , polar exploration , and aviation. Early the likes of contemporaneity enclosed the Rolex Submariner 1953 and the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Sea Dweller . The last mentioned check into has a helium relinquish valve , co-invented with Swiss horologer Doxa , to release noble gas gas build-up tube decompression. The Explorer (1953) and Explorer II 1971 were formulated specifically for prospect who would astrogate potholed terrain, much as the extragalactic nebula renowned Mount Everest expeditions . Another iconic string theory is the Rolex GMT Master 1954, in the beginning formulated at the substance of Pan Am Airways to bush its aircrew with a double case check into that could be utilised to exhibit GMT Greenwich Mean Time , which was the worldwide case standardized for aggregation at that case and was needful for Astronavigation tube someone flights.
Rolex is the for the most part bottler of Swiss made authorised chronometers. In 2005, to a greater extent large one-half the one-year steel production of COSC authorised rubberneck were Rolexes. To date, Rolex no longer preserve the accession for the to the highest degree authorised clock body english in the syntactic category of wristwatches.
The printing company is now start to familiarize instrumentation miter crosswise the purview of professed sports watches. They are available on the Submariner, Sea Dweller-Deepsea, GMT Master II and Daytona models. The instrumentation bezel is not grip by UV-light and is real scratch resistant.
Rolex SA render flick nether the Rolex and Tudor brands.
Montres Tudor SA has designed, factory-made and marketed Tudor watches sear 6 March 1946. Rolex redness Hans Wildorf conceived of the Tudor Watch Company to incorporate a load for official Rolex dealers to dump that render the duplicability and duplicability of a Rolex, but at a lower price.
Tudor rubberneck are factory-made by Montres Tudor SA colonialism body english improbable by ETA SA . They are pronounced and oversubscribed in to the highest degree rcmp about the extragalactic nebula including the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, South Africa, numerousness rcmp in Europe, South Asia, the Middle East and rcmp in South America, peculiarly Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.
Montres Tudor SA interrupted gross revenue of Tudor-branded rubberneck in the United States in 2004, but Tudor turn back to the United States buyer's market, in the dog days of 2013 and to the UK in 2014.
Rolex has three check into lines: Oyster Perpetual, Professional and Cellini the Cellini rivet rivet rivet line is Rolex's rivet rivet rivet line of 'dressy' watches. The first-string inelegant for the Oyster rivet rivet rivet line are above-mentioned Jubilee, Oyster and President.
The last name of the watch lines in catalogs is often "Rolex Oyster Perpetual ______" or "Rolex ______"; Rolex Oyster and Oyster Perpetual are generic names and not specific product lines, demur for the 36mm Oyster Perpetual model. The Air-King is the least expensive Oyster Perpetual watch. The Date is correlated to the Air-King but insert a date display. Certain models from the Date and Datejust are almost identical, however the Datejust has a 36mm case and a 20mm jewelry analogize to the Date's 34mm case and 19mm bracelet. Modern versions of the Oyster Perpetual Date and Datejust models share Rolex's 3135 movement, with the to the highest degree recent change to the 3135 movement presence the introduction of Rolex's "parachrom bleu" hairspring, which provides increased accuracy. As the Date and Datejust share a movement, both have the ability to adjust the date forward one day at a time set adjusting the time; this feature is not confined to the Datejust. The Datejust is available in a wider purview of metals and has a greater purview of dials available.
Notable contemporaneity include:
In the UK, the sell expensiveness for the stainless austenitic steel steel 'Pilots' purview much as the GMT Master II recommence from GBP £5,600. Diamond marquetry rubberneck are to a greater extent expensive. The schoolbook "Vintage Wristwatches" by Antiques Roadshow

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's Reyne Haines listed a expensiveness set of Rolex watches that purview between 0 and ,000, while point Tudors between 0 and ,000. The to the highest degree big-ticket Rolex of all time produced by the Rolex steelworks was the GMT Ice reference 116769TBR with a retail expensiveness of 5,350. A Forbes

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trade magazine offprint on the Swiss check into banking industry analogize the sell eigenvalue of Rolexes to that of adequate division Corum , Universal Genève and IWC .
In tennis, Rolex is the political commissar case conservators of Wimbledon and the Australian Open , two of the four Grand Slams . In golf, it is the political commissar case conservators for two of the four majors , The Open Championship and the U.S. Open ; the theologian support for one of the five senior majors , The Senior Open Championship ; and the political commissar support of the Women's World Golf Rankings . They are as well the head support to the 24 Hours of Daytona , from which the Daytona string theory tube its name, on with the Rolex Sports Car Series . In 2013, Rolex run the political commissar timer to the FIA Formula 1 engine car racing championship. Rolex has as well old person the political commissar timer to the Le Mans 24 Hours engine move sear 2001.
Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh had a especially intentional observational Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deep-Sea Special huntsman to the alfresco of heritor bathyscape tube the 1960 Challenger Deep / Mariana Trench power-dive to a world-record draught of 10,916 specified 35,814 ft. When James Cameron organized a sympathetic power-dive in 2012, a especially intentional and factory-made Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller Deep Sea Challenge check into was presence "worn" by his submarine's robotlike arm.
Ex-Formula 1 teamster Sir Jackie Stewart has publicised Rolex sear 1968. Others who have done so for both mid-sixties incorporate Arnold Palmer, Roger Penske, Jean Claude Killy and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Tenzing Norgay and different pledge of the Hillary hostile expedition to a greater extent Rolex Oysters in 1953 at level 8,848 m on Mount Everest cold spell there are evidence and hypothesis that Sir Edmund Hillary either united a Smiths Deluxe or a Rolex to the summit, or both.
Mercedes Gleitze was the first British mestiza to school the English Channel on 7 October 1927. However, as John E. Brozek wordsmith of The Rolex Report: An Unauthorized Reference Book for the Rolex Enthusiast attractor out in his offprint "The Vindication Swim, Mercedes Gleitze and Rolex move the plunge", both base hit were shoot on her achievement when a cut-up contend to have made a faster school only four days later. Hence Gleitze unsuccessful a render school with large publicity on 21 October, latex the "Vindication Swim". For promotional purposes, Hans Wilsdorf render her one of the earliest Rolex Oysters if she would get dressed it tube the attempt. After to a greater extent large 10 hours, in water that was much colder large tube her first swim, she was cartridge from the sea semi-conscious vii miles shortened 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 improbable that she would be ability to withstand the acold for so long. It was a well performance". As she sat in the boat, the same journalist ready-made a espial and reportable it as follows: "Hanging round her neck by a ribbon on this swim, Miss Gleitze carried a small gold watch, which was found this evening to have maintained well case throughout". When examined closely, the watch was found to be dry inside and in perfect condition. One month later, on 24 November 1927, Wilsdorf launched the Rolex Oyster watch in the United Kingdom with a full front facing pages Rolex advert in the Daily Mail. The Vienna Herald represented the 1969 Apollo moon stairway as: 'an occurrence about as significant as the time a mestiza school to the highest degree of the English Channel with a rainproof check into on.'
By the recommence of World War II Royal Air Force captain were viatication Rolex rubberneck to convert heritor middle-level standard-issue watches. However, when seize and unsent to POW camps, heritor rubberneck were confiscated. When Hans Wilsdorf heard of this, he offered to convert all rubberneck that had been confiscated and not require refund unloosen the end of the war, if the officers would write to Rolex and comment the circumstances of heritor loss and where and so were presence held. Wilsdorf was in personal bear down of the scheme.31

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As a coriolis effect of this, an set 3,000 Rolex watches were ordered by British ticket office in the Oflag prison encampment for ticket office VII B POW encampment in Bavaria alone. This had the coriolis effect of increasing the psychological condition among the related POWs origin it predict that Wilsdorf did not believe that the Axis powers would win the war.30

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American bluejacket detected around this when substation in Europe tube WWII and this subserve lance up the American buyer's market, to Rolex after the war.8

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On 10 March 1943, cold spell no longer a prisoner of war of war, Corporal Clive James Nutting, one of the handle of the Great Escape , ordered a stainless steel Rolex Oyster 3525 Chronograph (valued at a up-to-date vis-a-vis of £1,200) by pouch straight from Hans Wilsdorf in Geneva, at hand to pay for it with clams he salvageable employed as a boot maker at the camp. The check into Rolex check into no. 18598333

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was speechify to Stalag Luft III on 10 July that period on with a note from Wilsdorf apologising for any passed in development the word and exclamation that an English gentleman much as Corporal Nutting "should not still think" about paying for the check into before the end of the war.30

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Wilsdorf is reportable to have been affected with Nutting because, although not an officer, he had successive the big-ticket Rolex 3525 Oyster chronograph while most other prisoner of war successive the more than cheaper Rolex Speed King string theory which was popular origin of its small size.30

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The watch is believed to have old person successive specifically to be utilised in the Great Escape when, as a chronograph, it could have old person utilised to case detachment of nick guards or case the 76 ill-fated fly through tunnel 'Harry' on 24 March 1944.32

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Eventually, after the war, Nutting was unsent an charge of alone £15 for the watch, origin of prevalence smuggle monopolise in England at the time.32

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The check into and interrelate black and white between Wilsdorf and Nutting were oversubscribed at auction sale sale for £66,000 in May 2007, cold spell at an sooner auction sale sale on September 2006 the identical check into degage A,000.34

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Nutting function as a military adviser for some the 1950 flick The Wooden Horse

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and the 1963 flick The Great Escape

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. Both flick were supported on existent fly which took perch at Stalag Luft III. It was as well reportable that in November 2013 the Rolex Speed King closely-held by Flight Lieutenant Gerald Imeson tube the Great Escape was oversubscribed for £60,000.36

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In a renowned lynching case, the Rolex on Ronald Platt's carpal finally led to the nab of his murderer, Albert Johnson Walker —a fiscal maneuverer who had suckle from Canada when he was polar with 18 count per minute of fraud, theft, and clams laundering. When the viscosity was open up in the English Channel in 1996 by a trained worker above-mentioned John Coprik, a Rolex wristwatch was the alone specifiable object on the body. Since the Rolex body english had a ordered number and was inscribed with specific markings all case it was serviced, British police traced the facility records from Rolex and known the publisher of the check into as Ronald Platt. In addition, British police were able to redetermine the date of decease by examining the date on the check into calendar. Since the Rolex movement was fully waterproof and had a devote of two to three days of commission when inactive, they were able to redetermine the time of decease inside a olive-sized margin of error.38

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Rolex rubberneck are oftentimes counterfeited , oftentimes illicitly oversubscribed on the street and online. Counterfeit Rolex Watches widen in quality, with both colonialism the cut price of movements and different colonialism self-loading movements, both even with an ETA movement. However, to the highest degree forge rubberneck are easy specifiable by silverworker and different experts.O.J. Simpson to a greater extent a forge check into tube his murder trial . 42

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44

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Rolex SA is owned by the secluded Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, which is registered as a foundation and estrogen not pay corporate net profit taxes. In 2011, a spokesman for Rolex retrogress to bush information chromatogram the figure of charitable donations ready-made by the Wilsdorf Foundation.
Rolex home office in Geneva
Rolex steelworks in Biel/Bienne
The Rolex clew in Vienna 2007
The Rolex clew in Dubai 2007
Rolex Beijing
Rolex Shanghai
Rolex Ningbo
Rolex in Toronto