Rolex

The story of the iconic brand

By Josh Sims

Rolex must rank near the top of globally recognized premium brands for producing timepieces famed for their unfailing quality, design excellence, functionality and chic, but is Rolex a talisman of success or a rather brash statement of opulence?

Founded in London 1908 by German born Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex relocated to global watch capital Geneva in 1919. It launched the world's first waterproof wristwatch in 1926, named the Oyster because of its hermetically sealed case during an era when wrist watches were replacing pocket watches as more convenient for explorers, adventurers, aviators, climbers, divers and sports people.

The mechanical complexity of automotive engineering and watchmaking make these two precision engineering disciplines easy bedfellows within Motorsport, where Rolex's successful sponsorship alliances started with Sir Malcolm Cambell's 1935 land speed record attempts for which Campbell was alleged to have foregone his fee as a gesture of impartial endorsement. 

Astutely, Rolex reinvests one third of its revenue in marketing and perhaps its most enduring ambassador is three-time F1 world champion and brand emissary for 6 decades Sir Jackie Stewart. Celebrity wearersinclude Dwight D Eisenhower, Ronald Regan, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman and Michael Caine. Evenchampion of communism Fidel Castro wore a Rolex! Mountaineers Sir John Hunt, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were supplied with Rolex watches for their 1953 ascent of Everist and a 1970s advertisement extolling the unfailing reliability of Rolex stated: There's no repair shop on the Matterhorn'.

Continuous global exposure provides promotional gold for Rolex who attach evocative monikers to their watches: Submariner, Explorer, Air King, Yacht-Master and Daytona, the latter symbolic of Rolex's close alliance with the American 24-hour race. Limiting production - 800,000 units per year - helps create desirability and the iconic Submariner is acknowledged as one of the world's most copied chronographs.

The book also records strides in chronomantic science. In 1944 Rolex pioneered the automatic self-winding mechanism and date adjustment. Airtight, dustproof, watertight and suitable for artic and tropical conditions are all hallmarks of Rolex functionality. In 1963 watch face luminosity, originally provided by Radium, was changed to Tritium after harmful effects of the former radioactive substance became known.Most Rolex watches operate in temperatures ranging from +66C to -46C and a safe depth of 100M - 300M.

Expertly written by Josh Sims in the same down-to-earth style as his subject matter the 160-page, indexed hardback provides a definitive guide to Rolex, a private company owned by a non-profit trust.Published 2024: ISBN 978-1-80279-759-6 the cover price is £13.99 available from a number of on-line suppliers. 

Ken Davies ©