Rolex SA is a Swiss manufacturer of mostly mechanical wristwatches and accessories renowned for their prestige, dependability, and cost.
The company was founded in 1905 by the German Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law, Alfred Davis. Contrary to popular belief, Hans Wilsdorf was neither Swiss, nor a watchmaker. Wilsdorf & Davis was the original name of what later became the Rolex Watch Company.
Hans Wilsdorf registered the trademark name “Rolex” in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1908. The word was made up, and its origin is obscure. One story, which was never confirmed by Wilsdorf, is that the word “Rolex” came from the French phrase horlogerie exquise, meaning exquisite watch industry. Another is that the name was chosen to indicate movement when spoken in English.
From 1912 to the present Rolex is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, though the company owns facilities in other cities and continents, from North America, Asia to Australia.
Rolex watches are considered status symbols by many. Rolex is the largest single luxury watch brand by far, with estimated revenues of around 3 billion dollar a year.
The price of the watches differs from a few thousand to more than one hundred thousand U.S. dollars.
