Some people believe that the wristwatch is a redundant accessory in the modern world of global technological advances. Indeed, who would buy a watch when there's a new smartphone in the pocket or smartwatch on the wrist? It shows the time and offers a lot of other interesting stuff. Anyway, most people hold a different opinion. A wristwatch is more than just a time display item. It is a stylish accessory that can emphasize the owner's individuality, a high social status and standing in the society. Can any iPhone or Apple Watch replace the legendary Rolex or Cartier? Of course, not… Did you know that just about 100 years ago, most men did not use a wristwatch, since it was considered bad manners and a female prerogative? Surprised? Well, that's true. At that time, almost all respectable gentlemen preferred only pocket watches, arguing that the small size of a wristwatch simply could not support a quality, durable and accurate mechanism. And they were completely right because it was really so. A high-quality mechanism simply could not be as big as a beer cap, and maybe it would have been that way, and we would still be carrying enormous watches in our pockets, but one day everything changed. There was one skilled craftsman who decided to change the opinion of most of the male population of the world for the next 100 years. He wasn't afraid to take a risk, thus forever engraving his name in world history and revolutionizing the minds of all mankind. As you have already understood, today we are going to talk about the famous Swiss watch company "Rolex", known worldwide for its quality and special prestige, since the cost of these legendary watches exceeds several times the cost of the most expensive cars, and it is a must-have for every self-respecting businessman and millionaire. So how did the story of Rolex actually begin? Who was that genius? What did he struggle through? And how did he achieve such incredible success? That's what we're going to talk about today. But before we begin, make sure you have subscribed to the channel and hit the bell icon to stay updated with future content. The company's history dates back more than 100 years, and, by the way, it was exactly the case when first you work for your reputation and then the reputation works for you. Rolex was founded as far back as 1905 by two relatives, Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis. The first had an idea, something he had nurtured for a long time and a precise plan for its realization. While the second had money to invest. The most surprising thing is that Hans, a German by birth, had never been a hereditary watchmaker, and certainly was not a Swiss. He was born in 1888, in a poor Bavarian family, where he spent most of his childhood. At the age of 12 the boy was already orphaned, but even in spite of such terrible shock in his life, he did not give up. The boy was taken to the local orphanage, where he fully immersed himself in learning, and a little later gained a place in one of the best Swiss boarding schools, where he could both successfully study and earn his living. The boy was very determined and patient. While all his peers from the orphanage were involved in illegal activities, our hero preferred to spend his time with the books. Of course, it wasn't easy for him, he was a kind of black sheep, but thanks to this he graduated from school with honors, and then without any difficulty was able to find a job at a large company, which dealt with the import of pearls. By the age of 20, he thought he had found his place in this big world. The boy was satisfied with everything, had a steady income and career prospects. But then one day, he got a letter from a school friend that forever changed his life and the whole history. It was a school friend who offered him a job at a small firm that was just starting to export Swiss watches. Yes, friends, at that time Swiss watches were already famous for their excellent quality. But those were the pocket watches. As he later said, "It was something new to me, and I thought, 'Who cares what to sell?'" So his story began, a story related to watches. After working in the firm for several years, the 22-year-old man moved to London, a city of aspirations, in 1903. In London, he became the official representative of the Swiss watch manufacturer La Chaux-de-Fonds, where he worked for several years. His primary challenge was to expand markets and increase sales, something he started to do in England by selling Swiss watches. His business was going well, the sales were growing every day, and Hans kept finding more and more customers and expanding his client base. The guy moved into a small house near the center of London, and a few months later he met a girl, who became his first true love, and to whom he married six months later. Soon afterwards he received the British citizenship. So, with a large and strong family at the age of 24, he was sitting one evening by the fireplace after a family party, talking about his life with his half-brother Alfred Davis. They talked about the time to start his own business, because Hans had been nurturing an idea for months, but lacked the money to launch it. Alfred said that he was ready to help him, but only if he was 100% sure. This is how Hans and Alfred became business partners in 1905 and a small company Wilsdorf & Davis appeared in London, involved in the supply of watch mechanisms and also in the assembly of watches under the W&D logo. Their business model was extremely simple: they bought all the mechanisms from other manufacturers, assembled them under their own brand and skillfully sold all this to their large client base. However, no matter how well things were going, the company, despite growing sales and increasing profits, was haunted by doubts and the feeling that all he was doing wasn't making him happy. Every time he came to a meeting to present his product, he was asked the question, "Who makes your watch and where does it come from? Hans always answered that the mechanisms and casing were made in Switzerland, but in order to assure the potential buyer of their quality, he had to name the manufacturer, accompanied immediately by the same question: "Why should we buy the watch from you, when we can order it directly from the factory?" At that point Hans started to think about his own production. Moreover, almost everyone was producing pocket watches without much distinction from each other, which meant he had to create something new, something that hasn't existed until now. Such thoughts inspired Hans to make a know-how - a wristwatch for men. By the way, this idea was not just something random. The thing is that pocket watches pissed off our genius. You had to constantly pick it from your pocket, and he really hated that. That's why Hans had been thinking of making a wristwatch at least for himself for a long time. Besides, Hans often carried something heavy in his hands, so he couldn't check his watch, because to do so he had to put down his bag and only then find out the exact time. However, the idea was difficult to put into practice despite his desire. The reason is that the compact watch movements of the time were not very accurate, and therefore did not show the time correctly. In order to solve this problem, Hans traveled halfway across Europe in search of craftsmen who could craft his idea - a small and compact clockwork that would be perfectly accurate. After a while, he finally succeeded. The factory in the Swiss Bienne, which is now a small town called Biel with only 50,000 inhabitants, agreed to experiment, and made a small mechanism. That's how, you might say, the very first Rolex watch was created. Of course, the sales of the wonder watches were not that great. The whole point was that no one bought a wristwatch, many people even laughed at Hans: "You offer us a watch? What kind of watch? A wristwatch? No, I'm sorry." Breaking stereotypes has always been a challenge, but our hero kept a steady hand and decided to promote a new product using his own example. His wristwatch, which he personally wore on his arm, later became the best advert. Every time he was at an important meeting or just with friends, he always raised his hand and looked at his watch demonstrably. At first people were surprised, but realizing how practical it was, many soon started to ask for the same watch. Thus, the era of the wristwatch began. In the same 1905, Hans launched the first wristwatches of his own production, with silver and gold straps, which soon gained attention among customers and gradually became popular among men. But that was not all. The following year Hans made a special attention to a novelty, and at the beginning of 1906 he presented to his customers an invention - a flexible metal bracelet, which had no analogues before. It was something amazing, out of the normal things. He made W&D's watches one of the most sought-after and best-selling models of watches in all of England. And that in just a few months. Following the resounding success Hans started to think about changing the company name, because it should be strong, memorable and, of course, short, and most importantly, without difficulty fit on the dial. As the genius himself said: "I tried all sorts of letter combinations. There were about 100 different names, but I didn't like any of them. One morning as I was driving down Cheapside in London, it was like someone whispered in my ear 'Rolex.' Finally, on July 2, 1908 the company Wilsdorf & Davis changes its name to the new one. By the way, it is not clear why Hans decided to call the company that way and even the representatives of the brand keep it a secret to this day. There is also a version that "Rolex" is just a set of letters, a short name, which in any language is pronounced the same. From that moment on, Hans Wilsdorf started to work hard on the development of his own watch mechanism. He studied all the movements of the gears on his own and watched them work, so after much trial and error, dismantling and assembling several hundred different watches, he received the official certificate of chronometric accuracy in 1910 - for the first time in the history of the wristwatch. In just four years, he perfects the mechanism to such an extent that it is assigned a class "A", which until then had only been given to marine chronometers. It's just amazing how precise the mechanism was - a perfect creation. From 1910 to 1915 wristwatches "Rolex" became a highly recognizable brand, and many of the nobles of the time chose it. The 15th of November 1915 is an important day for the company. It was then that Rolex officially registered its name, which by 1919 had been changed to Rolex Watches. Of course, the First World War made its own alterations to the company's work, but they were not as critical as they seemed. It is believed that during this period, the watch brand only firmed its place among many customers, most of whom were soldiers. The thing is that using pocket watches in military campaigns or during battles was totally inconvenient, but the wrist watches more than once saved men's lives. Focusing on their needs, the company was rapidly advancing in future research developments. In 1920, Rolex made the important decision to move its headquarters and production to Genève, the world's watchmaking capital. All of the brand's innovative models are thought to have been developed in Genève. The company was growing rapidly, and the staff was carefully selected by Wilsdorf itself. A milestone for the brand was the creation of the waterproof and dustproof "Rolex auster" watch However, declaring and proving it are two different things. Thus, in 1927, a young Englishwoman Mercedes Gleitze with this very watch on her wrist crossed the waters of la Manche, even after 10 hours in the water the watch proved its quality. In order to communicate its achievement, the company ran its first advertisement in London's Daily Mail newspaper, and it certainly worked out well. That event marked the start of the concept of the brand's followers. Just 4 years later, the company invented and patented the world's first self-winding movement powered by a "perpetual rotor," which is still the basis of almost all modern watches. In 1930, the brand once again decided to invest in advertising and once again did not go amiss, presenting its watches to the fastest racer in the world - Sulphur Malcolm Campbell. On September 4, 1935, he set a new world record with the watch of the already famous company on his wrist. In 1945, the world's first watch with a date display in a dial window called the Datejust appeared, and the watch was still being tested under various extreme conditions. Just two years later, one Rolex watch broke the sound barrier with the X1 pilot Charles Yeage, who later said the following about the watch: "My passenger on the fastest and highest flight did not let me down." Thus, the Rolex once again proved its quality and resilience in every situation, and it gained the reputation of being indestructible. At the time, there was even a joke that dropping a brick on them would be bad for the brick. In the early 50s, the brand released a series of special watches that were designed for people engaged in specific professions, such as mountain climbing or diving. In 1951, to celebrate the release of the 150,000th watch, a Datejust model was released with DDE engraving and five general's stars, which first appeared on the wrist of the future American president - General Dwight David Eisenhower. But the true legend came only 3 years later. It was in 1953 that a watch designed specifically for pilots crossing several time zones came out. The pilots needed to know the exact time in several points of the world, because hundreds of people's lives could depend on it. One of the first GMT Master models was tested by Pan American pilots. В In the same year a watchmaking legend came out, the Rolex Submariner, featuring a rotating bezel that allowed professional divers to track the time of a dive. Another famous Rolex Presidential model was made especially for Lyndon Johnson, with the case made of 18x gold and platinum. So in 2005, a Rolex Day-Date watch with the personal engraving "JACK, with love as always from MARILYN" appeared at one of the auctions. This is the model that Marilyn Monroe gave to John Kennedy. He ordered to get rid of it without even knowing that his request was ignored. By the way, the watch was sold for $120,000. Certainly, friends, we can't skip the company's pricing policy. While other brands compete with each other in the price press - the Rolex brand simply sets the price at its own discretion, never considering its competitors. You will never find any discounts or sales in the branded stores, except when the company's dealers offer discounts due to their own financial problems. What's more interesting is that Rolex customers agree to buy Rolex watches at a fixed price, even in times of crisis. You'll never buy a real Rolex online, but that doesn't mean the company doesn't have its own website. It does. You can easily read all the information about the model you are interested in, but you can only buy it in person at a Rolex jewelry store. The company's basic rules are to let the client feel the watch, try it on the wrist and examine it in all the details that they cannot see just by looking at a picture online. At the moment, the brand has refused mass advertising on TV or radio. After all, the company reps say that this is not their target audience. The minimum cost of a Rolex watch is $5300. That is why you can often see advertising for this brand at various tennis, golf tournaments or even at Formula 1. The main advertising message is that "Rolex" brand watches are presented as a sign of success. If you are already a successful individual, if you are a respected person and have made a lot of money - congratulations, you deserve to wear our watches. Few people know that Rolex is the most secretive watch company in the world. A person who simply wants to see the production, talk to the staff, will have to undergo a lot of checks and, of course, get a personal approval from the CEO. Even the world's best-known media have not been able to get into the most intimate of areas - the company's production and assembly shop. Yes, it's that serious. Of course, this brand, like many others, suffers from mass counterfeiting, and the Rolex Submariner is generally considered one of the most counterfeited watches in the entire world. To protect all original watches, the company uses certain unique markings, which, by the way, even helped the police solve a murder case. Each model has its own unique serial number, thanks to which the police can easily identify the real owner of the watch. That is, in fact, a Rolex watch is a kind of passport. Often the clients of a watch brand are very famous people. An interesting story happened during the filming of the first James Bond movie. During the filming, the main character needed a watch to enhance his status. The budget of the film didn't allow for a new pair of watches. So, one of the main producers, simply took a brand-new Rolex Submariner off his hand and gave it to the main character Sean Connery. Titanic director James Cameron, who often appeared on the set, also took part in the hidden advertisement for the watch. In 2013, the brand released an advertising campaign centered around celebrities who had given their preference to Rolex. Among them were such celebrities as Pablo Picasso, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King and dozens of other mega-famous people, with the company slogan stating: "It doesn't just tell time. It tells history." To date, the company is not listed on stock exchanges, as the brand cares seriously about its security and status, and there is still no word on Rolex's biggest financial successes. In general, everything about this brand is kept secret. Even on the official website you will find only a few words just like in Wikipedia, which is quite strange for such a recognizable and status brand. Yet all of this once again hints that some things can only be afforded by the chosen ones. True, in 2016 the brand took its place in Forbes' ranking, and the company was valued at an unrealistic $9 billion. Since 2014, the brand is headed by Jean-Frederic Dufour. By the way, the most expensive watch was sold on October 26, 2017, by the auction house Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo. The 1968 Paul Newman's Cosmograph Daytona Rolex was sold for $17,752,500. Can you imagine that? We should also note that Rolex is the number one brand among watches today. Rolex is responsible for many breakthroughs, such as shockproof glass, water-resistant watches and a bunch of other things that are considered to be normal for us today. But not many people know that it was Rolex that invented it. The company currently employs 30,000 people, and production is located in Switzerland. As for the founder's father, Hans Wilsdorf died in 1960. He left his company to a trust, acting as a representative for his children. He made sure that the company did not pass into the hands of outsiders. Thanks to an elaborate system of share ownership - no one can get even a part of the company without the consent of all owners. Moreover, Wilsdorf limited the power of owners over managers. In his company the owners cannot in any way put pressure on the managers and force them to make quick decisions, being guided only by profit considerations. Therefore, the company's management is built on a long-term strategy. It is also worth noting that even 60 years after the founder's death, the company operates strictly according to his principles. The company is still very protective of its brand. Rolex does not over-saturate the market and creates artificial scarcity, producing no more than 1,000,000 watches a year. Rolex does not share its name with others. You won't find the Rolex crown on glasses, bags, cars, or clothes - they only make watches and nothing else! And they do it better than anyone else! Of course, we may say that Hans Wilsdorf was just lucky and that he was in the right place at the right time, but let's not forget that this guy started from the bottom. He wasn't a watchmaker; he didn't even have the money to start his own company. And even with all that, he just had a dream. He wanted to make this world a little better. To do what no one else had done before him. And the result of his work is impressive. His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can enjoy the wealth for decades to come, and it's all thanks to one man. As always, we should probably say that big things start from small ones, and Rolex is a good example of that. One more interesting fact about Rolex for those who watched this story until the end: The Hans Wilsdorf Foundation donates a big percentage of its income, but this also means that it doesn’t pay corporate income taxes because involved in charity. Nevertheless, when you buy a Rolex, you are actually indirectly donating your money We are curious to hear your opinion about this video in the comments. At this point, we get to the end of our video. We hope you enjoyed it. Make sure to subscribe to the channel and hit the bell icon, and give this video a big Thumbs up.