In addition, with high-born ladies seldom required to be punctual to any great degree, the movements inside were serviceable but not especially accurate. When Wilsdorf first formed his company, wristwatches were still very much the preserve of women, and usually aristocratic women at that.īefore the pair of groundbreaking innovations Rolex themselves brought to the fore decades later the waterproof Oyster case and the Perpetual automatic movement, these timepieces, known as wristlets, were particularly fragile, delicate items. By far the most prevalent at the time, pocket watches had been around since the 16 thcentury, invented by a fellow countryman of the Rolex founder, Peter Henlein. These completed timepieces were then sold onto other jewelers, sometimes as a co-branded effort, with the W&D logo next to the retailer’s, or else with their trademark nowhere to be seen.Īlthough Wilsdorf was a visionary who saw, sooner than most, the appeal and utility of the wristwatch, many of these early pieces created by the two were pocket watches. Instead, they assembled watches with parts imported from some of the finest Swiss makers. Setting up shop in Hatton Garden, the city’s jewelry district, the two men didn’t actually produce a single component themselves in their formative years. Originally named Wilsdorf & Davis, it was founded by Bavarian-born entrepreneur Hans Wilsdorf and his English brother-in-law Alfred Davis. What would go on to evolve, many years later, into the most successful and recognizable watch brand in the world began not as a manufacturer, but as a strictly commercial enterprise. For Rolex, that somewhere was London in 1905. Every great company has to start somewhere.

Rolex pocket watch serial number 46335