28/11/2014
MR. ROLEX
( Hans Wilsdorf )
On the 22nd of March 1881, Mr Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the Rolex Watch Company, was born in Bavaria (Germany) to a successful, middle-class family of iron mongers. At the age of 12, circumstances made young Hans an orphan. He was given to an Aunt and Uncle who promptly placed him in a Boarding School in Coburg, Germany about 25 miles away from his home. He focused on his school work to survive and became quite proficient at reading, writing and speaking English. This would later become quite useful!
One day, Hans decided to leave the boarding school and suddenly found a job working for a pearl merchant. The company purchased pearls from various markets then sorted, graded and packaged them for sale to jewelers. This would also prove to be a great lesson to young Hans.
At the age of 19, Hans started working as an English correspondent and clerk with the firm of Messrs. Cuno Korten in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.He was hired because he could read and write English and could answer correspondence from The British Empire and America, the richest nations in the World at that time. While at Kuno-Korten Hans became fascinated with watch movements and their accuracy. This was the beginning of his life-long passion.
By 1903, Mr Wilsdorf settled in London, he works for another watch making firm. After gaining experience from this and his previous employment, his self-confidence grow, he started to established his own firm with the financial help from his brother-in-law, Alfred Davis. They opened their own watch company, Wilsdorf and Davis. Hans convinced a small watch movement manufacturer in Bienne, Switzerland , Aegler, to produce watch movements for him small enough to wear on the wrist. A great visionary, Hans saw the trend to move away from Pocket Watches. Their new watches proved to be very successful.
Although the firm was very successful being known as Wilsdorf and Davis, Mr Wilsdorf sought to establish a trade name that would identify the company and the products that it made. Therefore, on 2nd July 1908 the now famous name of ‘Rolex’ was born. It means absolutely nothing and is thought to have been inspired by George Eastman who in 1884 decided against naming his camera the Eastman 25 in favor of Kodak. Mr. Eastman is quoted as saying I knew a trade name must be short, vigorous, and incapable of being misspelled to the extent that will destroy its identity, and, in order to satisfy the trademark laws, must mean nothing.
Mr. Wilsdorf continued to be innovative with his watch and was intent upon its high level of accuracy. Then, in 1926 he added a new level of distinction, he made it water-proof and deemed it the Oyster. He coined the term due to his frustration in trying to open a tightly closed Oyster!
In 1927, Mr. Wilsdorf was looking to make his Rolex watch known around the world. He employed the services of a young London typist named Mercedes Glietz who at the time was attempting to swim the English Channel. Hans announced to the world media that she would be wearing his water-proof Rolex Oyster watch and that she would emerge from the water and his watch would be perfectly on time. This had never been done before. When Miss Glietz stepped from the water, exhausted, after swimming for over 15 hours, her Rolex was right on time. She and her Rolex Oyster made headlines around the world!
Rolex has continued to stay in the forefront of the watch world with classic design and innovation, to this day.
