Rolex, Always in the Right Place at the Right Time
Rolex, Always In The Right Place at the Right Time
Rolex……Just saying the name Rolex conjures up images of luxury, celebrity, rap songs, wall street bankers, heads of state, and yacht cruises. For some, maybe the name Rolex marks a financial milestone, a wedding, a birth, or even family. Whatever the case, it goes without saying everyone knows Rolex. One of my questions today is why? Why is it that a singular brand can be so famous nearly everyone in the world knows it? Why when you think of a watch you most likely think of a watch that looks like a Rolex? Why are Rolex’s styles so ubiquitous that even their “competitors” copy them?
Rolex has a perfect tagline, “A crown for every achievement.” It has become essentially an instinct for everyone to buy a Rolex when something significant happens in our lives. However I think that another tagline would fit Rolex, and it’s “Always in the right place at the right time.” Throughout it’s history Rolex has rarely pioneered anything. They weren’t the first to use an automatic movement, they weren’t the first to put date complications on their watches, and they weren’t the first company to make a divers watch. Rolex’s aren’t as beautiful as Patek Phillipe and not as accurate as Omega. However, Rolex is seen by many to be the best of the best. To be fair and clear, Rolex has made PLENTY of substantial innovations. However I am simply trying to explain that Rolex isn’t necessarily known for innovation but taking ideas and making them better and more popular. It’s strange but honestly the most simple answer as to why Rolex “crowns every achievement” is it’s marketing. Over the years Rolex has had some of the best marketing campaigns and publicity stunts ever seen, to propel them from a humble Swiss (English) watch company to the pinnacle of luxury.
If you’re ever on Jeopardy one day Rolex was founded by Alfred Davis and his brother in law Hans Wildorf in London, England. Another fun fact is that the name Rolex is derived from the French “horlogerie exquise” or as a contraction “horological excellence” which means “exquisite clockwork”. So from HoROlogical EXcellence you get Rolex. Wilsdorf wanted a name that was easy to pronounce in any language. In 1919 Wilsdorf moved the company to Geneva, Switzerland to avoid wartime import taxes and it’s been there ever since. Everyone knows the phrase “it runs like a Swiss watch”, that “Swiss Watch” is Rolex.
How did Rolex make it’s big splash?
By 1926 Rolex was a fairly well known company. Their watches were extremely well made and they were profitable. They were no where near as renowned as they are today. That was until they created the “Oyster”, the first fully waterproof watch. In 1927 Mercedes Gleitze helped elevate Rolex to the world stage. Mercedes was the first British woman to swim across the English Channel. Rolex saw an incredible opportunity to sponsor Mercedes’ swim and had her wear the “Oyster” on her historic swim. Rolex took out a full page ad in the Daily Mail, with a testimony from Mercedes that spoke about the durability and quality of the watch. Word quickly spread throughout Europe and the world about Rolex and their waterproof watch. Many companies were forced to follow Rolex. The only thing anyone wanted in a watch was for it to be waterproof. This marked the long standing tradition of Rolex attaching themselves to historical events and brand ambassadors. Mercedes Gleitze being their first but certainly not their last.
Rolex makes it to the top.
After the success they had with Mercedes Gleitze, they continued to monopolize on putting their watches on the wrists of the best. One of their most notable early brand ambassadors was Malcolm Campbell. At the time he was the “king of speed” and set a land speed record of over 300 mph in 1935, and of course he was wearing a Rolex when he did it. However this doesn’t compare to the publicity that Rolex gained from Mount Everest.
From the 1930’s to 1950’s the world was obsessed with Mount Everest. The exploration of the tallest mountain was proving to be treacherous and deadly. The stories of death, danger, and exploration about the mountain excited the whole world. In the 1930’s early attempts to climb it, proved to be more than futile. However in 1933 a team of explorers became the first people to fly over Mount Everest, they were all equipped with Rolex “Oysters". Rolex advertised that they were unaltered and purchased from a store. However the “facts” when it comes to events such as that are a bit contentious. Whatever the case may be, the first watches to go to the “top of the world” were Rolex’s. Twenty years later Sir Edmund Hillary climbed to the top of Mount Everest with his partner John Hunt, and you guessed it they were wearing Rolex’s new “Oyster Perpetual” which Rolex soon after marketed as “The Explorer”. This is arguably their most iconic watch and for the most part has not changed in almost seventy years.
From then on nothing has slowed Rolex down. The Submariner, The Daytona, The GMT Master, The YachtMaster, The DateJust, The Day-Date, The SeaDweller, Deep Sea and many more. The iconic Submariner became famous because it graced the wrists of James Bond and Jacque Cousteau. The Submariner is such an iconic watch that it is the most homaged, replicated, faked, and straight up copied watches ever. Nearly every watch brand has it’s version of a “dive watch”. The Rolex Daytona became iconic because of Paul Newman. The Deep Sea and SeaDweller became iconic because they were used by deep sea scuba divers. Don Walsh (Deep Sea) and recently James Cameron (Sea Dweller) used Rolex’s to go to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (37,800 feet). Rolex has been an integral part of 20th and 21st century history. It’s status as a luxury brand is genuinely earned. Rolex’s history is rooted at the bottom of the ocean and the top of the earth. It’s the best because it has been used by all the best. Not space however, I am sure Rolex would have killed to have been the “Watch that went to the Moon” but that title goes to another famous watch company, which also happens to be my favorite.
It’s not my intention to write an advertisement article for Rolex. However there is an extremely interesting past there, full of incredible trivial bits of history, which is exciting and exactly what I am looking for and love. Furthermore, knowing all the history that Rolex has been a part of, it’s very easy to see now, how it’s become synonymous with quality, reliability and how it’s attached itself to the public psyche so deeply.
