History of Rolex Watches

1905-Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis began importing Swiss movements and reselling them with a luxury high quality casing. It started of as W&D.

1915-They registered under the name Rolex and opened an office in Switzerland. The name Rolex is still yet to be decided its definite origin. Some say it comes from the French word horologe exquisite which means exquisite clock. Others say it was simply made up.

1945- The 40-year anniversary of the production of Rolex, the Datejust is the best selling watch of Rolex. Initially, in honor of the Allied victory in the 2nd world war, Wilsdorf thought of naming it “The Victory”, however it was changed to the Datejust , shortly after that. At first many thought that the Datejust was just a variation to the Bubbleback, which was released in the 1940's, and both were known as the "New Watch" for its domed back.

1950-A new fluted bezel with a larger crown replaced the coin edge bezel which was first introduced with the Datejust models. Model 6605 of the Datejust were released. In this model, over the date on the watch's crystal, there’s a magnifying bubble known as the Cyclops.

1956- A Datejust model watch featuring a Turn-O-Graph gold Bezel was released by Rolex. This model was called the “Thunderbird”, model 1625. After much success, the Datejust which was only offered in 18kt yellow gold, now also offered in platinum or white gold, and stainless steel.

1962-The two-tone Datejust models were now introduced. Also, the Datejusts offered a variety of options for the watch-straps. These included a leather watch-strap, an Oyster bracelet, or a Jubilee bracelet.

1971-A number of improvements led to a change in the original shape of the Datejust model during the

1970's. a person wearing a Datejust model could easily adjust the date function without having to turn the crown over and over again – this was an impressive feature called the “Quick-set”. This feature was responsible in solving one of Rolex's major problems.

1983-All Rolex models were adjusted to the “Quickset” feature. In addition, Rolex eliminated the old domed plastic crystal and the new Datejust had sapphire crystal. This new feature drastically improved the aesthetics and longevity of the watch as it provided improved waterproof security and was scratch resistant as well. Furthermore, Rolex eliminated the old pie-pan dial and changed the dial and case to the sapphire crystal that had a smaller and slimmer profile. Rolex also modified the earlier four-digit case reference number to a five digit number. Also during this time, the Oyster date, which was similar to the Datejust, was introduced. The only distinguishing feature was that it was 2mm smaller. The “midsize” version of the Datejust was available and was approximately 80% of the original size.

1992-Rolex is in production of over a dozen different types of watches and had over 2000 styles available. Annual revenue is over 3 billion dollars a year and has been the word leader in high end luxury timepieces for over 50 years. They currently still manufacture the Air-King, Date, Milgauss, Datejust, Pearlmaster, GMT Master II, Explorer, Submariner, Sea Dweller, Daytona, Day-Date, Masterpiece, and Yachtmaster. They now come in Stainless Steel, Steel and 18k Gold, and all 18k gold with a jubilee or oyster bracelet. Everyone knows The Rolex watch is a status symbol, it’s the Rolls Royce of all Watches. This is why it’s the most copied watch in the world today. If you buy direct from a dealer or watch store you will pay full price and get a genuine watch. However it IS possible to get a genuine Rolex watch online from a reputable jeweler. The best deals on a Rolex watch can be found on http://www.swiss-wrist.com/