Rolex

Rolex is a Entreprise Suisse of watches of Luxe, founded in 1908 by Hans Wilsdorf. Its model headlight, called “ Oyster ” (in English: oyster ), exists since 1945.

History

Unless otherwise specified, information comes from the site of the mark.

L´histoire from Rolex is closely related to that of the Wilsdorf family. She begin with alliance from British commercial know-how with Swiss industrial quality, fields which make the reputation of these two countries at the beginning of the 20th century.

Beginnings of the mark

In 1905, Hans Wilsdorf is established with London and founds, with his/her brother-in-law Alfred Davis, a company of manufacture of watches called of their two names, Wilsdorf & Davis . At that time, the majority of the production is done in Switzerland, the craftsmen of this sufficiently small country being then the only ones with being able to manufacture movement S mechanics to hold in a watch of pocket.

At the beginning of its activities, Wilsdorf specializes in the crenel of the luxury, requiring of its suppliers parts increasingly smaller and more reliable, system which makes it possible to manufacture various models of wrist watches increasingly miniaturized, whereas the onion of pocket is at the time with the mode. C´est finally the company Aegler (of the name of its creator Jean Aegler), a small located manufacture with Bienne, which agrees to provide him the required parts. Collaboration between Wilsdorf & Davis and Aegler any more will not cease during the two following centuries.

In 1906, the company deposits a Brevet on the extensible bracelet of which will be equipped the near total with the models. The mark Rolex is finally deposited by Wilsdorf in London in 1908. In order not to destabilize the customers, the models of the company will carry, during a certain time, the name of Wilsdorf & Davis - Rolex before keeping only the name of Rolex .

Two years later, in 1910, Rolex require of the Swiss Société chronometry to certify its movements in order to prove that the wrist watches are reliable and precise, which was at the time the main argument in favor of the watches of pocket. The company obtains the first certification of precision for a watch of wrist. In 1914, it is with the turn of the Kew Observatory of Great Britain to issue a certificate of precision Classe has at Rolex. Hitherto, this certification had been allotted only to military stop watches, mainly used in the navy.

The same year, Wilsdorf leaves London to be established with Geneva, this to avoid the tax of 33% striking all the products of importation decided by the British government to finance the associated costs with the First World War.

The Oyster

The problem of reliability solved, Wilsdorf then starts to work on the second great defect of the watches of the time: dust and moisture infiltrate there under the dial and by the crown and damage the movement of it. To cure it, the mark develops and leaves, the November 24th 1927, the model Rolex Oyster , first watch waterproof equipped with a revolutionary crown.

The consumers of the time remain however skeptics as for the faculty of a watch to being completely tight. Like demonstration, Rolex installs, in the windows of its principal sales outlets, of the Aquarium S filled, in which are of Oyster. This publicity campaign then creates an important public recognition of the mark which, since then, remains among the most known marks of the general public.

In 1927, Mercedes Gleitze, a British young person swimmer, crosses the Manche to the stroke with Oyster to the wrist. This sporting young person will be the first of long series of Rolex Ambassadors . In order to promote this exploit near the general public, Rolex then offers the first publicity ever carried out for a mark of watches, in the shape of the first page of the daily newspaper Daily Mail . This first page of course contains the advertisement of the crossing of the English Channel by Oyster, but this advertisement, centered, covers only hardly the first quarter of the page; the remainder is devoted to the various models of the mark, in particular the watches of cocktails for ladies.

New inventions

After the development, in 1928, model Rolex Prince which quickly becomes a success with its double dial, Rolex develops, in 1931, the Rotor , a semicircular plate of metal which, thanks to gravity, moves freely. The first automatic mechanism of rolling up (called perpetual in the publicity of the time) was born and will revolutionize the development of the future watches.

Although other models leave the Rolex factories regularly, the big firsts are generally reserved for the model headlight of the mark. Thus, in 1945, leaves a new version Oyster called Oyster Perpetual Datejust which is the first watch in the world to give the date, or more precisely day the month, in a small setback of the dial on the right-sided (with the 3 hours height). In 1953, it is with the turn of the Oyster Perpetual Submariner , able to resist depths of 100 [[meter m]]; in 1955, the Oyster Perpetual GMT Master makes it possible to read the hour on two different time zones; the following year, the Oyster Perpetual Day Date adds to the date the day of the week posted in all letters.

To note that if, since the medium of the Années 1930, all the watches of Rolex carry the inscription of Chronometer which they are or not tested, in the Années 1940, this inscription becomes Certified Chronometer then, at the beginning of the Années 1950, Officially Certified Chronometer . It is only in 1962 that the current inscription Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified is adopted. However, Rolex always produced series of Oyster, of course less expensive, but which are not certified.

New forms of publicity

Starting from 1959, Rolex will modify its marketing strategy while being one of the first companies with sponsoriser sports events. The first of these events is the race of endurance of cars over 12 midnight which proceeds with Daytona Beach, then called the 24 Hours off Daytona (its name will thereafter be changed besides into Rolex 24 At Daytona ). The following year, a Rolex Deep See Special is attached to the Bathyscaphe Trieste of the professor Jacques Piccard and goes down to 10910 meters of depth in the Fosse from Mariannes. In 1979, little time after its resumption in 1962 by the foundation Wilsdorf, Rolex becomes the official company of timing to the Tournoi of Wimbledon.

In addition to the sport, Rolex sponsored also of the companies or the private ones. In 1976, André Heiniger (which directs the company since 1963) announces the creation of the Rolex Awards for Entreprise at the time of the commemoration of the 50e birthday of Oyster. These prices are distributed annually to various projects in various fields. In 2002, his/her son and successor Patrick Heiniger lance the Rolex Mentor and Protected , a supplementary programme for various artistic fields. These two programs are gathered today in the organization Rolex Institute .

Origin of the name

The origin of the name “Rolex” would be the Abréviation of exquisite clock industry (or of extreme clock industry or of clock industry of excellence according to certain sources) but this forever officially confirmed point. According to the site of the mark, this name was selected because he decides easily in all the European languages, and that he is sufficiently short to be able to be included easily on the face of a watch.

Shorts, yet significant, not cumbersome there the dial (thus leaving room enough for the inscription off the English traders name) and above all is Word easy enough to stores, with has pleasant sound and cuts its pronunciation unchanged whatever European language it is spoken |Hans Wilsdorf|city by redwatches.com

Legal form

Rolex is a Public limit company whose capital is composed of 6000 [[Action (finance) actions]] personal of 500 Swiss francs each one. From the statutes of the company, these actions are the exclusive property of the Wilsdorf Foundation and are bound, which means that neither the actions, nor the company itself can be sold. If the company enormously communicates on its products and the events that it sponsored, it remains on the other hand very discrete on its financial results. As authorizes it the Swiss law, neither the assessment, neither the results, nor the annual report are published apart from the Board of directors.

Geographical presence

General headquarter

Since 1965, the general headquarter of Rolex is located in the Canton of Geneva in Suisse. Drawn by the office of architects Juillard & Addor , the building is completely surrounded by a water basin, pointing out the performance of sealing of the first Rolex.

This building, where the administrative services, data processing are gathered, financial, of public relations, marketing and human resources, as well as the head office of the group, is in the industrial park of the Vernets, surrounded by the military Caserne and the public Patinoire.

Branches

Of course, of very many sales outlets in more the big cities of the world the watches of the mark offer. The company has however one store in proper name, called Stopwatch-Time , which is the old Aegler factory and which today is officially called Manufacture of the Watches Rolex , is with Bienne and employs 1 400 people and a great research center and development with Plan-the-Waddings, inaugurated in 2006 and which employs: 1800 people exerting several tens of different trades.

Rolex also has the totality of the share capital of various suppliers (who however are not integrated in the Rolex group and thus remain independent), such as the companies Gay Brothers SA (manufacturer of bracelets), Beyeler & Co (manufacturer of dials) and Boninchi SA (manufacturer of crowns).

Principal models

The principal family of models of Rolex is of course devoted to Oyster. She is divided into two large collections, each one proposing several different models:

Oyster perpetual (the original version), with the models Air-king , Perpetual , Date (like Datejust and Datejust Turn-o-Graph ) and Day-Date . Some of these models are also proposed for women.
Oyster professional (the version sport), with the models To explore , To explore II , GMT-Master II , Submariner , Sea-Dweller 4000 , Yatchmaster , Milgauss and Daytona .

A special series Oyster 31 mm offers certain models with a diameter of 31 mm (whereas the standard models generally make 34 mms in diameter). These models are specifically dedicated to female customers.

Among the other families of products, one finds in particular the family Cellini (more refined) with the models Prince , Cellinium , Quartz , Cellissima , Classic , Danaos , Cestello and Orchid .

Rolex produced and also sells the mark Tudor , quite cheaper, whereas the components of the two marks are very often identical (the Tudor models, until in 1990, were sold with signed Rolex and marked bracelets crown).

Counterfeits and Rolex replica

Unless otherwise specified, information comes from the site China Replica Watches .

Like the majority of the marks of luxury, the Rolex mark is largely touched by the phenomenon of the Contrefaçon. This parallel market exploded in the last years, particularly with the sales points on line which propose copies of existing models to good cheaper than their originals.

According to several studies, the China remains the principal producer of copies, followed by Taiwan and the Japan. So certain copies are of very bad quality, it also exists about it of much better, almost equivalent in quality to the originals. These réplicas is also manufactured with the hand, the price difference being explained mainly by materials much cheaper and the less precise movements.

A relatively simple “trick” to differentiate a true Rolex from a bad copy (in addition to the name, sometimes spelled Folex or Rqlex ) consists in observing the movement of the needle of the seconds. Contrary to the models with quartz cheap where it advances by jerks, the needle turns continuously on a true model.

Serial numbers and codes

True Rolex lay out all (whatever the model) several serial numbers and of reference, as well as various safety members. Of course, these various elements are not made public by the mark; however, the collectors were devoted to several studies on these safety members.

The following elements were identified:

Serial number: each watch has a single serial number, engraved on the box between the horns, with the 6 hours height. The first figures (or letters) of this number indicate the period of manufacture of the watch.
Reference number of the model: each model has a number from four to six digits engraved on the box between the horns, with the 12 hours height. The last figure of this number indicates materials used for manufacture.
Number of clasp: a code is engraved on the clasp of the bracelet. This code indicates, inter alia, the date of manufacture of this bracelet.
Code of country: on the guarantee a code with three digits indicating is the country of destination for which the watch was manufactured. Certain codes correspond to internal subdivisions, such as the code 061 , very rare, representing a watch produced for the general headquarter of Geneva.
Members safety: several safety members are also added to each watch, among which a crown engraved with the laser on the crystal as well as a holographic sticker .

Rolex ambassadors and sponsoring

Starting from the Years 1960, the publicity of Rolex is mainly centered on two great concepts which are the personalities (called Rolex ambassadors ) and the sponsoring of various events, mainly sporting and cultural. In both cases, the released image must always reflect an impression of luxury.

Ambassadors

Unless otherwise specified, information comes from the site of the mark.
When Mercedes Gleitze crosses the English Channel to the stroke for Rolex, it inaugurates, in addition to a new type of publicity, a long tradition of connections between various personalities and the mark. These personalities are, with the passing of years, of the exploring S or the adventurers (Malcom Campbell, Chuck Yeager or Edmund Hillary), of the sportsmen (Jean-Claude Killy, Arnold Palmer, Jackie Stewart or Tiger Woods) then, starting from 1976, of the artists (Kiri You Kanawa, Eric Clapton, Plácido Domingo).

In 2006, these ambassadors are mainly sportsmen (Golf eurs, riding, players of Polo, drivers racing S, Ski eurs, players of Tennis or navigator S) and artists (leaders, Chanteur S of opera or rock'n'roll).

Moreover, many celebrities of the cinema world or music are readily made photograph with a Rolex with the wrist. However, these people are not indexed by the mark like ambassadors . Various models are also used in films, such as the Submariner carried by Sean Connery in James Bond 007 against Dr. No or GMT Master carried by Robert Redford in the Men of the president .

Sponsoring

In addition to the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the already quoted tennis tournament of Wimbledon, Rolex is partner many sports activities and artistic. Some of these demonstrations (particularly in veil) were famous so that the name of the mark appears there.

artistic Events: the two artistic events supported by Rolex are Operalia , a contest of singers of opera founded by Plácido Domingo in 1993 and the Verbier Festival & Academy , a festival of Classical music which is held each year with Verbier since 2006.

sporting Events: the many constant demonstrations relate to the horsemanship (since 1957, with, in particular the world equestrian Jeux, the World Equestrian Festival TAP-HOLE with Aachen and the CIS-W of Geneva), the Golf (since 1967, with some of the greatest tournaments, such as the Open US of golf, the Masters of golf, the Evian Masters and the Ryder Cup), the automobile competition (with the 24 hours of Mans), the Tennis (with the Masters of Monte Carlo) and the veil (since the Years 1960, with, for example, the Giraglia Rolex Cup , the Sardinia Rolex Cup and the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship ).

The Rolex Institute

The mark created a Institut, called The Rolex Institut of which of goal is to help with the promotion of personalities and specific events through two distinct programs.

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise

The Rolex Award are prices, distributed every two years since 1976 (date birthday 50 years of Oyster) and intended for a company, a group or a personality presenting a project original and/or innovating (contrary at other prices which reward for the projects already carried out). The projects must belong to the one of the following categories:

Science and Medicine: by the contribution to health and the human wellbeing,
Technology and innovation: by the discovery in new ways of improving the life,
Exploration and discovered: by the increase in the knowledge of the world,
Environment: by the protection or the improvement of our environment,
cultural Heritage: by the conservation or the contribution to the cultural or artistic heritage common.

The prices in each category consist of a check of 100000 [[US Dollar dollars]], as well as a watch.

The Rolex Mentor and Protected Arts Initiative

The project Rolex Mentor and Protégé aims, annually, at joining together per pairs of the artists neophytes (called protected ) and others confirmed (called mentors ) of the same field. The fields covered by the project are the Danse, the Cinéma, the Littérature, the Musique, the Théâtre and the visual Arts. The potential candidates (for the two categories) are chosen and contacted directly by the institute.

During the year of collaboration, protected and the mentor commit themselves spending at least 6 weeks together to their suitability, Rolex taking instructs logistics and the financing with it (protected receives 20000 dollars for its expenses and the mentor 50000 dollars of fees). At the end of this year, protected a public spectacle, financed by the company with height of 25000 dollars maximum presents.

References

Random links: