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The history of Rolex is deeply intertwined with the pioneering spirit of its founder, Hans Wilsdorf. In 1905, at just the age of 24, he established a company in London dedicated to distributing timepieces and harbored an ambitious vision for wristwatches.
He believed that, unlike traditional pocket watches, wristwatches could not only be fashionable but also highly accurate. To support this innovation with reliability, Wilsdorf was keen on supplying his innovative timepieces with small movements manufactured by a Swiss watchmaking company in Bienne to ensure they met the highest standards of precision.
The story took an exciting turn in 1908 when he combined various combinations of letters from the alphabet until he found Rolex. He recounts, I tried out all possible permutations of the alphabet and finally settled on 'Rolex', which seemed most fitting.
In 1910, Rolex made a significant breakthrough by equipping its wristwatches with movements that received the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision from the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne. This move paved the way for the first wristwatch to achieve the distinction.
Four years later, in 1914, Rolex took another giant leap forward when a Kew Observatory in Great Britn awarded one of its wristwatches with a Class A precision certificatea title previously reserved exclusively for marine chronometers. Henceforth, Rolex became synonymous with precision watches.
By 1919, the company had moved to Geneva, renowned worldwide for its watchmaking tradition. In this city, Montres Rolex S.A., as it would become known, was officially registered in 1920.
The next chapter of Rolex's journey is yet to be written, but one thing remns clear: Wilsdorf's legacy lives on through the company's relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation.
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1926-1945
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Rolex: Innovation in Watchmaking History Hans Wilsdorfs Pioneering Spirit Chronometric Precision from 1905 Bienne Swiss Movement Manufacturing Worlds First Accurate Wristwatch 1910 Kew Observatorys Class A Certification 1914