1. Rolex is a Swiss brand born in... London
The history of Rolex begins in London in 1905 when a young German, Hans Wilsdorf, founded, together with his brother-in-law Alfred Davis, a company specialising in the distribution of watches equipped with small movements manufactured by a Swiss manufacturer in Biel. The shop only moved to Switzerland in 1919, after the British government introduced a 33% tax on all imported products (to finance debts from World War I).
2. The name means nothing
The name Rolex was invented from scratch, as confirmed by Wilsdorf in 1946. According to the brand's website, this name was chosen because it is easy to pronounce in all European languages, and that it is short enough to be easily included on the dial of a watch. Wilsdorf said with humour: “I tried to combine the letters of the alphabet in every possible way. A few hundred names emerged, but none of them really satisfied me. One morning, when I was on the upper deck of a horse-drawn omnibus travelling along Cheapside, in London, a genius whispered Rolex to my ear."
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3. The Oyster model is the first waterproof wristwatch
To overcome the great defect of the watches of the time (the dust and humidity accumulated under the dial), Rolex launched the Rolex Oyster model in 1926, the first waterproof watch with a revolutionary crown. To prove this, Rolex installed water-filled tanks in its windows and placed Oyster watches inside.
The case was put to the test for the first time in 1927 by Mercedes Gleitze, an athlete who set out to swim across the English Channel with a gold Rolex Oyster hanging around her neck. Upon finishing 10 hours later, the watch was still in perfect working order and contributed to the myth of the brand.
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4. 100% of Rolex watches are assembled by hand
Even if the annual production is estimated at nearly a million watches, Rolex claims that the assembly and adjustment of all of its timepieces is done entirely by hand. Around 4,000 highly qualified operators and watchmakers are involved in designing the models, in more than 100 different countries. Rolex also requires all of its watches to be chronometer certified. To earn this title, a movement must face fifteen days of ruthless testing by the Swiss official chronometer control, the COSC.
5. The most expensive Rolex is $17.7 million (£13.24 mil)
Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona was auctioned off in October 2017 in New York by Phillips for an incredible sum of $17.7 million (£13.24 mil). The piece was acquired by an anonymous bidder after 12 minutes. It became the most expensive collector's watch in the world (all brands combined), before being dethroned in October 2019 by a Patek Philippe watch that sold for CHF$31.1 million (£25.23 mil).
6. The Rolex Submariner is the first watch waterproof to 100 meters
Created in 1953 for fans of scuba diving, an activity still in its infancy in the 1950s, the Rolex Submariner is the very first watch waterproof to 100 meters. Proposed as the essential accessory for divers, it also becomes a symbol of action and appears many times in James Bond films. Sean Connery wears the model reference 6538 in his first four films, while Roger Moore sports the 5513 in two films.
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7. Rolex has a little sister, the Tudor brand
In 1946, Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf announced the birth of the brand's little sister: Tudor. These watches pride themselves on having the same quality as Rolex watches but at a more affordable price point. However, the most expensive model, according to the Barnebys database, flew for CHF375,000 (£245,625) in 2015 at Phillips.
8. There are more fake Rolexes than real ones
According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, the production of counterfeit watches is more prolific than the production of genuine luxury watches. Over 7 million fake models are sold every year.
Rolex is the top search term on Barnebys. Find all of the brand's models here.
