A Rolex watch can fetch from one hundred dollars to one hundred thousand dollars covering most of the market in price range. These watches are considered statues symbols the brand Rolex represents quality and luxury and anyone with an ego wants a Rolex watch and there is one to suit all budgets. Rolex is one of the most successful brands in the world ranked at 71 place by Business Week magazine in 2007 in its list of the most important global brands.


When did the Rolex Company begin?

What is now known as Rolex originally started of as a watch manufacturing company in England called W&D after the founders Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis. This company imported clocks and watches encased in beautiful cases made by Dennison. These watches were then sold onto jewelers where they were marked by the jeweler’s individual mark. Only the very earliest watches have the W&D marked on the casings. The name Rolex was registered in 1908 by Hans Wilsdorf, the origin of the name is disputed but one storey is that it comes from a French phrase meaning exquisite watch industry (h'orlogerie exquise).



How Did Rolex Become a Worldwide Name?

Due to heavy taxes and levies on exporting goods the company moved to Geneva Switzerland in 1912 were the headquarters still remains today. The Company was officially registered as Rolex in 1915 and an attempt to make the company a brand had begun. Wilsdorf wanted the name Rolex to be a brand name that anyone in the world would recognize. At the time pocket watches were still the fashion and wrist watches were seen as an accessory for women, Wildorf wanted to change this and make the wrist watch a must have accessory for both men and women alike which he most defiantly achieved.


Rolex became one of the biggest ever watch manufacturers the world has seen with a brand and reputation second to none. They continue to be innovative and move with the times so to speak. They developed the first ever waterproof watch, the first watch to display date and the first watch makers to receive the chronometer certification for a wrist watch and holds the world record for the most of chronometer certificates received by one company. In the late 1960’s the Rolex engineers helped design the quartz range of watch movements it took five years of design and research but eventually the Oyster quartz range was marketed and it holds the reputation of being the finest quartz movement watch ever made.



There are three basic Rolex ranges which are Oyster Perpetual, Professional and Cellini. The most coveted watch of all time is the Rolex Daytona which is a stainless steel model, the waiting list for this product can run up to several years some customers have paid up to $15,000 dollars to get onto this waiting list. The Rolex Oyster line is the primary line being the most expensive with prices running into the tens of thousands, the Cellini line is other wise known as the “fancy” line and the Tudor brand is the less expensive but high quality line to make the brand affordable to the masses.


Rolex is a massive brand across the world now from its humble roots in England to dominating the Swiss Industry where it remains today. More then half of all the COSC certified watches manufacturer today are Rolex watches.