How Rolex Watches got to be the king of watchmakers

The Rolex company was founded by German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law under the name "Wilsdorf & Davies" in London, 1905. At this time Swiss companies were the main watch providers, but still had difficulty making accurate timepieces with small enough movements that wrist watches required.

Hans Wilsdorf starting using Swiss-supplied movements and this greatly improved the accuracy of watches. Just three years later, in 1908, it had grown to be one of the leading watch companies in London, and it was in this year that Wilsdorf changed the name to "Rolex."

The prestigious name soon after gained increasing respect. In 1910 Rolex was awarded "Official Chronometer Certification" from the "Bureau Officiel" of the School of Horology in Switzerland, the first time this award had ever been given to a wristwatch. This was followed by numerous praises and awards, including the "Class A Precision" title given by the Kew Observatory in 1914.

In 1931 the "Perpetual Rotor" was released, which is the basis for today's self-winding watches. Rolex gained more and more prestige with each year as the company kept coming out with firsts. In 1954 Rolex released the first "Oyster Perpetual Ladydate," then the "GMT Master" with dual time zone function in 1955, and the first Day-Date watch in 1956.

On July 6, 1960, Andre Heiniger took over Rolex following the death of Hans Wildorf and continued the tradition of quality. Heiniger once said, "we've never wanted to be the biggest, but certainly one of the finest in the field." The company continued to innovate technically and stylistically with each release. In 1967 the "Sea-dweller" broke records when it was certified as reaching depths of up to 1,220 meters. Then in 1978 the "Explorer II" was released and "Cosmograph Daytona" in 1988, both releases solidifying the idea that Rolex created and continues to create the world's most prestigious time-pieces.

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