One For All of Time

Across cultures and different stages, success has often been synonymous with owning a Rolex. Lily Ong examines this perception based on five examples

Owning a Rolex means so much more than merely posing as a valuable timepiece—it is also a symbol of success

Rolex has been an iconic timepiece for men and women since the early 1900s. In 1905, Hans Wilsdorf founded a company in London specialising in the distribution of timepieces. He named it Rolex, choosing a memorable and catchy name that would transcend language barriers and boundaries. He was obsessed with creating watches that are precise and wearable on the wrist at the same time. To do that, Rolex first concentrated on the quality of the movements. This relentless quest for chronometric precision rapidly led to success. In 1910, a Rolex watch was the first wristwatch in the world to receive the Swiss certificate of chronometric precision, granted by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne. Four years later, in 1914, Kew Observatory in Great Britain awarded a Rolex wristwatch the class ‘A’ precision certificate, a distinction reserved exclusively for marine chronometers at that point in time. Since then, the Rolex wristwatch has focused on precision. This innovative spirit endures until today—almost 112 years later. Read on to discover five reasons why Rolex watches are desirable and coveted among buyers and collectors, till today.

THE ROLEX WAY Paul Newman wears his Rolex Daytona so often that the dial he sports is known as the ‘Paul Newman’ dial

TIMELESS IN DESIGN Even with the passing of time, Rolex watches never go out of style, like this Oyster version, created in 1926