In 1910, a Rolex watch was the first wristwatch in the world to receive the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, granted by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne.

Before the Oyster case and the Perpetual movement, Hans Wilsdorf’s first breakthrough in popularizing the wristwatch came in 1910. That was the year one of their watches, supplied by Aegler, with an ’11-ligne Rebberg movement with lever escapement’ won a First Class Chronometer Certificate from the Bienne rating office in Switzerland.

Mar 25, 2025 · Rolex’s first watch was the Oyster Perpetual, which featured waterproof and self-winding functionalities. The Oyster Perpetual is characterized by its classic and timeless design, featuring a simple and elegant dial with a date display and the iconic Rolex crown logo.

Founded in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered Rolex as the brand name of its watches in 1908 and became Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. in 1915. [3][4][5][6] After World War I, the company moved its base of operations to Geneva because of the ...

Aug 24, 2021 · The first-ever Rolex watch was the Oyster Perpetual, a waterproof, self-winding watch. Although the first-ever Rolex looks fairly different to the new and pre-owned Rolex watches available for sale today, for example, the signature crown logo was not added to Rolex watches until the 1930s, the Oyster is a key collection of Rolex watches and is ...

In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, members of a British expedition equipped with Rolex watches and led by Sir John Hunt, were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Aug 22, 2021 · Designed by Rolex/Aegler’s chief technical director Emile Borer, the brand’s debut automatic caliber was the first wristwatch movement with a centrally-mounted rotor that spun …

Mar 19, 2024 · In 2007, Rolex unveiled the Yacht-Master II, reference 116688, introducing the world's first watch equipped with a programmable countdown and a mechanical memory.

Jan 28, 2025 · In 1945, the brand introduced the Rolex Datejust, which became one of the most recognizable models in the world. The Datejust was the first wristwatch to feature an automatic date-change function —a revolutionary concept at the time.

Jan 3, 2020 · In 1910, the company earned a chronometer certification – the first ever to be given to a wristwatch – and they have not stopped since. Here are 8 firsts in watchmaking that Rolex introduced: Launched in 1926, the Rolex Oyster was the world’s first truly waterproof and dustproof watch.