In 1960, just seven years after the launch of the iconic Submariner watch, Jacques Piccard travelled 35,814 feet to the bottom of the Mariana Trench with a prototype Deepsea Special. Staying ever ahead of the game, Rolex invented the self-changing date for its 1945 Datejust, onto which a self-changing day was added in 1956 to make the Day-Date.Īs well as stretching the boundaries of innovation, Rolex watches also push the envelope when it comes to real world testing.
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Utilising a system of ratchets, clutches and an oscillating weight with the ability to rotate a full 360 degrees, the Perpetual had the ability to wind itself with the wearer’s movements. The Perpetual movement solved these problems while also producing longer power reserves and more accurate timing. Previous designs by other manufacturers had proven to be too awkward, too clumsy, or just plain unreliable. In 1931, the self-winding Perpetual movement was patented, a simple yet ingenious design that continues to power every automatic watch to this day. The publicity that followed launched Rolex watches to dizzying heights. As Mercedes emerged from the freezing waters, so too did the Oyster, and in perfect working order. With new features such as a screw-down crown and a precision milled crystal, it pioneered the modern diving watch.
The innovative brand’s achievements continued, when in 1927, Mercedes Gleitze swam the English Channel wearing the world’s first waterproof watch, the Oyster. Then, four years later, it was awarded a class ‘A’ precision certificate from Kew Observatory, an award that was previously reserved only for marine chronometers.
The brand’s fastidious nature to perform better than its competitors started in 1910, when one of its watches became the first ever to receive the Swiss Certificate of Precision. Where precision and robustness are required, you need look no further. With the Deepsea Special plumbing the depths of the Mariana Trench, the Explorer climbing through the thin atmosphere of Mount Everest’s peak, and the GMT-Master floating in the zero gravity of space, Rolex watches have been in just about every hostile environment imaginable. The level of recognition the brand possesses was not earned overnight-it is the product of over a century of dedication and skill.įormed in London in 1905 by watchmaker Hans Wilsdorf, the manufacturer has since scaled not only the ever-growing peaks of technological advancement, but also peaks of a much more geological nature, too. Stop anyone on the street and ask them to name a luxury brand, and Rolex will often be your answer.