Blog: Wilsdorf's Other Brands

Update 15 October 2017

Wilsdorf & Davis and Stockwell & Co.

A correspondent drew to my attention that I had described Stockwell & Co. as "importers". This was wrong, and I was quite surprised to see that I had done it. Stockwell & Co. were carriers who, from June 1907, also acted as Assay Agents for some of their clients who were importers. Wilsdorf & Davis almost certainly used Stockwell & Co. to transport all their watches from Switzerland to London, and they also used Stockwell & Co. as assay agents for some of their watches. I have added a new section to clarify the relationship between Wilsdorf & Davis and Stockwell & Co.

Update 10 October 2017

Unmarked Rolex?

I was contacted by a correspondent who had purchased a trench watch and identified the movement as a Beguelin (BTCo.) from my Movement Identification page. From this he also knew that Beguelin supplied watches to Rolex. He told me that there are no markings on the case but the dial and crown are identical to many pictured Rolex on Google. His question was "Is it an unmarked Rolex?"

I explained that Rolex didn't actually make watches, they bought them from manufacturers such as Aegler, Fontainemelon, and Beguelin. Those manufacturers also supplied watches to other companies, so the only thing that distinguishes a watch supplied to Rolex from one supplied to another company are markings, such as the W&D sponsors mark, or the name Rolex or Rolex Watch Co., or one of their "other brands". Therefore there can be no such thing as an "unmarked Rolex".

Beguelin movements were not used in Rolex branded watches. They were used for other Rolex Watch Co. brands such as Rolco, Marconi or Unicorn. Any watch with a Beguelin movement and Rolex on the dial has had the name on the dial added later, Wilsdorf and Rolex did not use the Rolex name for these watches.

The section reproduced here is from my page about Rolex.

If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me via my Contact Me page.

If you have any comments or questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch via my Contact Me page.

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