ROLEX

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Rolex SA was founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law, Alfred Davis. Contrary to popular belief, Hans Wilsdorf was neither Swiss, nor a watchmaker. Wilsdorf & Davis was the original name of what later became the Rolex Watch Company. They originally imported Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and placed them in quality cases made by Dennison and others. These early wristwatches were then sold to jewellers, who then put their own names on the dial. The earliest watches from Wilsdorf and Davis were usually hallmarked 'W&D' inside the caseback.

Hans Wilsdorf, along with Michael Hickman, registered the trademark name 'Rolex' in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1908. The word was made up, and its origin is obscure. One story, which was never confirmed by Wilsdorf, is that the word 'Rolex' came from the French phrase 'horlogerie exquise', meaning exquisite clockwork. Another story claims that Wilsdorf was riding a bus when he realized that 'rolex' was the sound a watch made while being wound.

The company name Rolex was registered on 15 November 1915. Wilsdorf was said to want his watch brand's name to be easily pronounceable in any language. The company name was changed to the Rolex Watch Company during 1919. It was later changed to Montres Rolex, SA; and finally Rolex, SA. However how the name actually came about remains a mystery. In the book The Best of Time Rolex Wrist Watches by J.Hess & J. Dowling the authors state the name was just made up. In 2007 a new Book by Mark A Cooper A Movement in Time with Breitling & Rolex an Unautorized History claims the name was made by Wisldorf & Alfred Davis by using a combination of Timex (a well known watch company of that era) and Rolls Royce a name for quality, class and perfection. He put the names together to make the name Rolex.