 | 1881 Hans Wilsdorf was born in Kulmbach, Germany |
| 1900 Wilsdorf apprentices at a watch exporting firm in La Chaux De
Fonds |
| 1905 Wilsdorf founds a firm called Wilsdorf & Davies in London that
distributes and soon manufactures watches |
| 1908 Wilsdorf creates the Rolex brand which is believed to be a
derivation from the words "Horlogerie Exquise" |
| 1910 Rolex gains recognition as first officially certified chronometer
in Switzerland. |
| 1914 Rolex wristwatch gets Class A precision certificate from the Kew
Observatory in Great Britain, previously only awarded to marine
chronometers |
| 1925 Wilsdorf spends large sums of money advertising the quality of
his watches. |
| 1926 Rolex develops the "Rolex Oyster", so named because it is
waterproof, dustproof and airtight. |
| 1927 Mercedes Gleitze swims the English Channel with a Rolex Oyster,
beginning a long line of endorsements. |
| 1931 Rolex develops the Perpetual Rotor which allows self-winding with
slight movements of the watch. |
| 1945 Oyster Datejust developed which displays date automatically. |
| 1953 Rolex develops the Submariner which is waterproof to a depth of
100 Meters. |
| 1956 Oyster Day-Date developed which displays the day of the week (
and the date). |
| 1960 Hans Wilsdorf passes away. |
| 1967 Rolex Oyster Sea-Dweller is developed. |
| 1971 Rolex Oyster Explorer II developed. |
| 1988 Rolex Cosmograph developed with perpetual rotor. |
| 1992 Rolex develops the Yacht-Master |
