Founders · Jul 8The Founder of Rolex: Hans Wilsdorf
Founded by Wilsdorf, who bet on the men's wristwatch early, chose one short brand name in 1908 and spent over 12,000 pounds a year on ads. It won the first Class A Kew certificate for a wristwatch in 1914, bought the waterproof seal patent in 1926, and kept advertising through 2008 while rivals cut. A trust set up in 1944 bars any sale or public listing.
Tips
- Hans Wilsdorf bet on the men's wristwatch when men refused to wear one▶ 14:55In 1914, at 33, he predicted pocket watches would almost completely disappear and be replaced by wristwatches.
- Wilsdorf saw that a watch on the wrist would sell far more watches▶ 13:46He expected the wristwatch to increase sales through novelty and through faster renewal, and orders soon ran into the tens of thousands.
- Wilsdorf insisted on selling watches under his own brand name, not retailers' names▶ 31:11Demand for a named brand gave him better orders and more control over wholesale prices.
- Wilsdorf spent heavily on advertising directly to the public for years in a row▶ 27:00More than 12,000 British pounds a year, for several years running, in the early 1900s.
- Wilsdorf set three goals for Rolex and spent two decades solving them in order▶ 35:53Roughly 20 years passed between founding in 1905 and the first waterproof watch, and about six more to the Perpetual.
- Wilsdorf solved waterproofing first because it unlocked the self-winding Perpetual▶ 43:29Rolex ran ads claiming the world's first self-winding watch and the world's first waterproof wristwatch.
- Wilsdorf bought the waterproof seal patent within about 60 days of its publication▶ 34:44Patent published May 1926, bought in July 1926, and it became the basis of the Rolex Oyster.
- Wilsdorf pushed for observatory timekeeping certificates and won the first Class A for a wristwatch▶ 32:16A small Rolex wristwatch won the Class A certificate at Kew Observatory on July 15th 1914, the first ever awarded to a wristwatch.
- Wilsdorf piggybacked on a news event to launch the waterproof Oyster▶ 38:36The same year he ran ads with a top British actress holding her wrist in a goldfish bowl while wearing the watch.
- Wilsdorf kept putting Rolex on the wrists of the world's top achievers▶ 41:02One ad ran the tagline linking Rolex to the people guiding the world, and another ran 'from the top of the world to the Bottom of the Sea'.
- Wilsdorf dropped his every-price-point brand scramble and chose a single name to build▶ 25:45He tried names like Rollo, Hoffex and Winex, and even Rolex Marconi for a cheaper line, before settling on Rolex.
- Wilsdorf first tried to supply a watch for every pocket and learned it was a mistake▶ 23:42He ran under more than a dozen brand names before 1908 and later narrowed to Rolex only.
- Wilsdorf chose the name Rolex using strict rules: five letters or fewer and easy in every language▶ 25:58Rolex is five letters and works across the many languages Wilsdorf dealt with as an exporter.
- Rolex kept advertising through the 2008 financial crisis while competitors pulled back▶ 28:45Sharp noted advertising growth slowed by an average of 27% at the start of the last three recessions, and the companies that did not cut captured the most share.
- Wilsdorf sealed a handshake deal with Aegler that lasted until Rolex bought the firm in 2004▶ 21:10The relationship ran unbroken for about seven decades with no contract before the 2004 acquisition.
- Wilsdorf used his orphan childhood and boarding school languages to build a global watch career▶ 1:38The Swiss exporter shipped about 1 million francs of watches a year and gave him a close view of every type of watch made in Switzerland and abroad.
- Wilsdorf set up a trust in 1944 so Rolex could never be sold or go public▶ 47:19The trust was set up in 1944 and still controls Rolex today.
David Senra · Feb 15
