Rolex

Rolex is a Swiss watchmaker headquartered in Geneva. It was founded in London in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis, registered the Rolex trademark in 1908, and moved its base to Geneva after World War I. Since 1960 the company has been owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private family trust.

Two early developments gave the Oyster Perpetual its name: the waterproof Oyster case of 1926 and the Perpetual self-winding rotor patented in 1931. In 2004 Rolex acquired Aegler, its long-time movement supplier, as part of bringing component production in-house. Today Rolex SA and its subsidiary Montres Tudor SA design, make, distribute and service luxury mechanical wristwatches sold under the Rolex and Tudor names.