21 years: 2005 - 2026

Blog: Hans Wilsdorf - Early Days

Copyright © David Boettcher 2005 - 2026 all rights reserved.

First published: 2 August 2019, last updated 03 March 2026.

I make additions and corrections to this web site frequently, but because they are buried somewhere on one of the pages the changes are not very noticeable, so I decided to create this blog section to highlight new material. Here below you will find part of one of the pages that I have either changed or added to significantly.

The section below is from my page about Hans Wilsdorf and Rolex. Thanks to Sav for prompting me to get out my copy of the Rolex Jubilee Vade Mecum and discovering some new information about Cuno Korten, and a possible name for the company that Wilsdorf worked for in London before he founded Wilsdorf and Davis. I have also added some information about the expanding bracelets that Wilsdorf says ‘an important jewellery firm invented and launched in about 1906.’

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

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Hans Wilsdorf - Early Days

Hans Eberhard Wilhelm Wilsdorf was born in Kulmbach, Bavaria, on 22 March 1881, the second son of a family of three. His father owned a hardware and household goods business in the town marketplace that had been founded by his grandfather. His mother's early death was soon followed by that of his father and, in 1893, when he was 12, his uncles decided to liquidate his father's business and use the proceeds to place the children in a very good boarding school in Coburg. Wilsdorf showed a particular liking for mathematics and languages, which later drove him to travel and work in foreign countries.

After leaving school, Wilsdorf apprenticed at a firm of exporters of artificial pearls in Geneva, whose sales organisation covered the whole world. Wilsdorf said this experience was invaluable throughout his whole career.

Cuno Korten

In 1900, aged 19, Wilsdorf started work at the watch and clock exporting firm Cuno Korten in La Chaux-de-Fonds at a monthly salary of 80 francs. He was employed as an English language correspondent, corresponding with British, Anglo-Indian and American customers. Wilsdorf says that Cuno Korten was a ‘big concern’ exporting about one million francs worth of watches annually. This is an exaggeration; it would have made Cuno Korten one of the largest companies in the Swiss watch industry, which it wasn't.

Outside of the long established watch making centre of Geneva, La Chaux de Fonds and Le Locle formed the hub of the Swiss Jura watchmaking industry at the time. It was a French speaking area of Switzerland so Wilsdorf would have to have spoken Swiss French in addition to his native German and English. In La Chaux-de-Fonds and the nearby Le Locle, Wilsdorf was exposed to the most influential people and companies in Swiss watchmaking, which would later be an important asset in the founding and success of his own business in London, which became the Rolex Watch Company.

Cuno Korten was born in Ohligs in the Solingen region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in 1872. Cuno Korten is an unusual name. Cuno (or Kuno) is a Germanic name with origins in Old High German. It is derived from kuni, meaning ‘clan’ or ‘family’. It is relatively rare but was been used in Germany in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Both German and Dutch linguistic influences exist in North Rhine-Westphalia and Korten may have roots in either region, possibly derived from kort, meaning ‘short’ in Middle Low German or Dutch, possibly referring to the stature of the first person given this name.

In 1899, Cuno Korten established a company under his own name in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The first image here shows that on 22 June 1899, Cuno Korten, from Ohligs, Germany, but now resident in La Chaux-de_Fonds, was registered as the ‘chef de maison’ or head of the company of the same name. The nature of the business was horology and its office was at 49 rue Léopold Robert.

The second image shows that on 16 October 1899, the company Cuno Corten registered the name ‘Arno’ as a trademark for watches, watch parts, cases and their packaging. The Arno is a large river in the Tuscany region of Italy, suggestion that Korten was anticipating exporting watches to Italy. The registration number of the mark is 11,529. Cuno Korten subsequently registered a number of trademarks as shown in the table.

Date	Number	Trademark	Struck off
16 October 1899	11529	Arno	April 1920
16 October 1899	11530	Skipper	April 1920
16 October 1899	11531	Thoma	April 1920
18 October 1899	11542	Rattler	April 1920
30 March 1900	12104	The Devan	September 1920
11 June 1900	12299	Metropolitan	December 1920
08 September 1900	12523	The Era	March 1921
05 September 1901	13860	The Reliance	March 1922
31 October 1901	14000	The Chippendale	April 1922
16 February 1903	15533	Ski Watch	August 1923
14 August 1905	19274	Geisha	January 1926

In the registration shown in the second image, Cuno Corten is described as a ‘fabricant’, that is, a manufacturer. However, there is no known evidence that Cuno Corten had a factory; the only known address is 49 rue Léopold Robert. Rue Léopold-Robert is La Chaux-de-Fonds' main street. When Cuno Korten had an office there at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was a fashionable street on which to stroll, to show oneself and to window shop.

In the registration of mark number 11542, the company is described as a ‘négociant’, that is a trader. It seems likely that this was the true nature of the business, a company that bought items from manufacturers and sold them on. Such companies require very little capital to set up, just an office and some business cards and headed notepaper. It will be seen later that this would have been useful experience for Wilsdorf.

The list of trademarks registered by Cuno Corten shows that the company was active from 1899 until at least 1905. Swiss trademark registrations were valid for a period of twenty years, after which they could be renewed. Marks that were not renewed were struck off the register. None of the registered trademarks was renewed and they were all struck off after twenty years.

On 6 March 1908, it was recorded that the registration of Cuno Korten had been cancelled ‘following the departure of the holder’.

Bechmann & Baer

In 1903, Wilsdorf moved to London, where he said that he worked as a representative for an unnamed but ‘good watchmaking firm’ which by 1946, when he wrote the Vade Mecum, had long since closed down. The name of this firm is not mentioned, but it seems likely that rather than being a Swiss watch manufacturer, Wilsdorf being rather young and experienced to take on the role, it was one of the Anglo-Swiss companies that imported Swiss watches and sold them to British retailers. However, in Wilsdorf's obituary, the Journal de Genève says the company was based in Neuchâtel.

The advert from 1904 reproduced here, which says that M. Bechman of the London company Baer, Bechmann & Co. Ltd. will be in Switzerland from 1 August, and that proposals of meetings can be made via Monsieur Cuno Korten of 49 rue Léopold Robert, La Chaux-de-Fonds. This was evidently a trip by Bechmann to find new lines of goods, clocks or watches, to import, and the mention of M. Korten suggests that he was facilitating meetings with Swiss manufacturers and was possibly the Swiss agent for Baer, Bechmann & Co. Ltd. Wilsdorf's English language skills would have been useful in communicating between the English and Swiss offices. Baer and Bechmann themselves would have almost certainly spoken German, but the Swiss watchmaking districts were then still mainly in the French speaking Jura and Geneva.

There is little trace of the many companies that operated in London as import agents for Swiss watch manufacturers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Their main tasks were taking samples round to watch retailers, usually jewellers shops, and recording orders, which would be amalgamated and sent on to the watch manufacturers. There were no restrictions on the import of Swiss watches, especially after Gladstone reduced import duties in the 1860s, and before 1907 there was no requirement that gold or silver watch cases be hallmarked.

Today agents for foreign manufacturers often simply send in the orders and receive their commissions, with the manufacturer taking responsibility for delivering the goods and invoicing the customer, but in those days the agent would collect parcels of watches from the shipping agent, paying any import duties, and send the watches on the customers who had ordered them. The appearance of Baer's name in a number of bankruptcies and financial arrangements shows that agents were also responsible for collecting the money from the customer. But it was relatively easy business with little capital involved; all that was needed was an ability to speak English and Swiss French or German, an office, and a working arrangement with one or more Swiss watch manufacturers.

Bernard, or Bernhard, Baer is recorded at 52 Hatton Garden, London, in 1887, where Bechmann & Baer were later listed as clock manufacturers, although they were really importers rather than actual manufacturers. The business was converted into a limited liability company as Baer, Bechmann & Co. Ltd. at 55 Hatton Gardens on 12 March 1902.

By 1913 Baer, Bechmann & Co. Ltd. had disappeared; incorporated into Junghans Brothers Ltd., clock manufacturers, at the same 55 Hatton Gardens address. The London company Junghans Brothers Ltd. went into voluntary liquidation in 1932, no doubt a victim of the severe financial depression that followed the Wall Street crash of 1929.

Given the connection between Cuno Korten and Baer, Bechmann & Co Ltd shown by the advert, it seems possible that Baer, Bechmann & Co was the London company alluded to by Wilsdorf, and the date of the disappearance of that company in 1913 would fit his statement in 1946 that they had long since closed down.

Foundation of Wilsdorf & Davis

Growing in confidence with the experience he gained from this and his previous employment, two years after arriving in London, Wilsdorf set about establishing his own business. In May 1905, at the age of 24, he borrowed some money from his brother and sister. He was introduced by his solicitors, White, Leonard & Co., to Alfred James Davis, who wished to invest some money. The two founded the firm of Wilsdorf & Davis on 22 June 1905 as equal partners, with its address at 83 Hatton Gardens, London E.C.

Alfred Davis married Wilsdorf's sister Anna in 1908. He does not seem to have been involved at all in running the business; he appears to have been a ‘sleeping partner’, a person who provides some of the capital for a business but who does not take an active part in managing the business. Next to nothing is known about him.

Hans Wilsdorf was a citizen of Germany, not Switzerland. He became a naturalised British citizen in 1911, taking the oath of allegiance on 20 November.

In the beginning, Wilsdorf & Davis did not concentrate solely, or even at all, on the top end watches that Rolex would later become known for. They imported a wide range of items that could be sold at different price points. In the Vade Mecum Wilsdorf says their first speciality was a travelling watch, called a portfolio watch, cased in fine quality leather. Wilsdorf also says that in 1905 he placed a large order for wristwatches with Aegler, a company that he had become aware of when he was working in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The wristwatches imported from Aegler by Wilsdorf & Davis were their ‘top of the range’ items. When the name Rolex was introduced it was reserved for use on Aegler lever watches, although even these were sometimes made with only seven jewels rather than fully jewelled with 15 jewels.

Wilsdorf & Davis also bought watches from other manufacturers, and not always of lever quality. Watches with cylinder escapement movements are seen with the W&D sponsor's mark, indicating that they were imported by Wilsdorf & Davis, although these were never branded with the Rolex name. The cylinder escapement was mass produced by the Swiss watch industry in the nineteenth century. It was cheap and robust, but inferior to the lever escapement due to its high friction and dependence on lubrication.

The advertisement reproduced here was published in a Swiss trade journal in January 1906 and documents a buying trip to Switzerland by Wilsdorf to find stock. It says that Hans Wilsdorf is staying at the Hotel Fleur-de-Lys until the 22 or 23 of the month. Located right in the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Hotel Fleur-de-Lys is only a few feet from the train station, where no doubt Wilsdorf alighted after a train journey that began at Holborn Viaduct station in London.

The advert says that Wilsdorf is especially interested in Nouveautés, that is, novelties, for the English colonies and the Far East. Note there is no mention of wristwatches, or even watches at all; any novelty that might sell in the colonies or the far-east is of interest.

British Import Hallmarks

Wilsdorf & Davis were not watch manufacturers; they purchased watches from Swiss manufacturers and sold them on to retailers, at first with no branding at all.

In 1907, British import customs practices changed, requiring that all imported gold and silver watch cases be hallmarked in a British Assay office before they were offered for sale. Before any item can be hallmarked, the responsible person must register their details and a sponsor's mark with the assay office. If an item does not carry a registered sponsor's mark, it will simply not be received by the assay office. If there is more than one punch, each one has to be separately registered at the assay office. The sponsor's mark is then punched onto items before they are sent in for assay and hallmarking.

Wilsdorf & Davis entered the sponsor's mark consisting of the incuse initials W&D within an incuse oval surround with points top and bottom at the London Assay Office on 25 June 1907. This was after the British Assay of Imported Watch-Cases Act came into force on 1 June 1907. Many other watch importers were aware that the change was coming, and registered their sponsor's marks before it came into force, so it is odd that Wilsdorf & Davis only registered their sponsor's mark after the change had occurred.

The forced adoption in 1907 of the W&D sponsor's mark, something that also happened to look very much like a trademark, is quite possibly what started Wilsdorf thinking about branding and marketing. It is the first such mark registered by Wilsdorf & Davis, and the same mark is also seen on stamped on to watch movements, which was not required by British law.

None of the items imported by Wilsdorf and Davis before 1907 are known; they were anonymous items with no name or branding. Because they were sold wholesale to retailers they are impossible to trace, there is not even the possibility of a point-of-sale receipt with the Wilsdorf & Davis name on it.

Wilsdorf in all likelihood thought of the items he imported as simple commodities, from the import of which he could take a financial profit but no pride – they could equally well have been grain or sugar or any other commodity. But seeing watch cases stamped with the W&D mark would naturally have caused him some pride, here was some way that the goods that he dealt with would be recognised, which would create a reputation for his business. And a good reputation is valuable, something to be nurtured and cared for.

Wilsdorf realised that building his own brand would be more lucrative than simply acting as an anonymous import agent. He began trying to think of a name for this brand. On 1 November 1907, Wilsdorf & Davis registered in Switzerland the trademarks Lusitania, Mauretania and The Eastern Watch for watches and associated parts. The fact that these registrations occurred nearly five months after the W&D sponsor's mark had been registered is notable.

Wilsdorf and Early Wristwatches

In the Vade Mecum Wilsdorf says that he became convinced that the wristwatch was the way of the future.

He thought there would be a better trade in wristwatches than pocket watches, because they were more prone to damage (and therefore need replacement), and because, unlike a pocket watch that was handed down from generation to generations, wristwatches would be fashionable items that would be personal to their wearer, who would also want to have two or three different wristwatches to go with different outfits.

Wilsdorf freely admitted that he was not a watch maker and was not interested in watches from a technical point of view, he was thinking as a marketing person who wanted to generate maximum sales revenue and profit.

When he was in Switzerland, Wilsdorf had become acquainted with the watchmaking company Aegler in Bienne. Aegler manufactured small lever escapement movements with a reputation for precise time keeping and good availability of spare parts due to the modern precision production methods, making extensive use of machinery and gauges so that parts were interchangeable.

Wilsdorf says that in 1905, soon after founding his firm in London, he went to Bienne to see Hermann Aegler and placed the largest order for wristwatches ever seen at that time. Wilsdorf says that the first wristwatches produced under this arrangement were for men's and ladies' wear in silver cases with leather straps.

However, the Vade Mecum was written in 1945 when Rolex had become famous for its men's wristwatches. In 1905, men were far less likely than ladies to wear a wristwatch and the assertion that the order included men's wristwatches is a little implausible. Indeed, Wilsdorf himself says At that period, the wristlet watch was not at all popular; in fact it was an object of derision, the idea of wearing a watch on one’s wrist being contrary to the conception of masculinity.

If the first order to Aegler did include men's wristwatches, there is no doubt that they would have sold very slowly. James Dowling notes that the majority of Rolex wristwatches with hallmarks prior to the start of the First World War are gold and in ladies' sizes, whereas those with hallmarks after 1915 are mostly silver and men's 13 ligne size.

There is another a statement in the Vade Mecum which suggests that most of the wristwatches sold by Wilsdorf and Davis at the time were for ladies: Next came the idea of the expanding bracelets, which an important jewellery firm invented and launched in about 1906. This too won the approval of our British clientele. From that time on, our little gold watch became increasingly popular throughout the Empire. Note that not only does he refer to the expanding bracelet described in the next section, which was not a feature of men's watches of the time, but he also calls it ‘our little gold watch’ (emphasis added). Although wristwatches are smaller than pocket watches, it is very unlikely that he would have referred to men's wristwatches in this way.

Wilsdorf says that the immediate sales success of his wristwatches after their autumn launch prompted him to widen the range and introduce a selection of designs in gold cases. Evidently he must have got his sales and marketing techniques right, because the success was not due to a change in fashion; aristocratic ladies had been wearing wristwatches for centuries and wristwatches had become fashionable with wealthy ladies for nearly twenty years, since the late 1880s. The advert by Le Roy from 1887 shows a lady's bracelet watch much the same as Wilsdorf & Davis began to sell in 1905.

Harrop's Britannic Bracelet

In the Vade Mecum Wilsdorf says ‘Next came the idea of expanding bracelets, which an important jewellery firm invented and launched in about 1906. This too won the approval of our British clientele ... [and] became increasingly popular throughout the Empire.’

The ‘important jewellery firm’ that Wilsdorf refers to was Edwin Harrop, who called the expanding bracelet they invented in 1906 the ‘Britannic’ as shown in the advertisement reproduced here. Edwin Harrop was granted patent No. 24396/06 in 1907 for this design. The Britannic bracelet became extremely popular and was made for many years – at least until 1964. They are still seen regularly today on ladies watches; Harrops must have sold many thousands of them.

Wilsdorf rode the success of the Britannic bracelet, remarking that ‘... both a new fashion and a great commercial success sprang from an apparently foolhardy idea. Soon we were placing orders for tens of thousands of pieces ...’ So the early success of Rolex was, in part at least, due to Harrop's Britannic bracelet.

Wilsdorf doesn't say it in the Vade Mecum, but these expanding bracelets were for ladies' wristwatches. An attempt to introduce a similar expanding bracelet branded ‘Army’ during the First World War, emphasising the benefits of a metal bracelet over leather in wet and muddy conditions, fell upon stony ground because of its effeminate appearance, despite the branding.

Very few, if any, of these early wristwatches would have been sold to men. Before the First World War, wristwatches were very much considered a woman's item and many men regarded them, like bracelets, as effeminate. An exception to this were military men who did buy wristwatches, but there is no evidence that Wilsdorf was involved in that area, or even realised at the time that this small, specialised, demand existed.

The Britannic bracelet was guaranteed for five years, and tested in public demonstrations over 110,000 cycles. But they don't last forever, especially in everyday use, and many watches from the pre-war period have had their Britannic bracelets replaced. The lugs that attach the bracelet to the case are very narrow and won't take a leather strap, but they can be adapted for a leather strap by fitting loop ends.

Swiss Office

On 1 July 1907, Wilsdorf & Davis opened an office in La Chaux-de-Fonds at 9, Rue Léopold Robert, the avenue that runs through the very centre of the town. The nature of the business was given as Horlogerie en gros or wholesale horology. This office was evidently intended to be a point of contact between Swiss watch manufacturers and the London import business. La Chaux-de-Fonds was the heart of the Swiss watchmaking industry. It is notable that Wilsdorf chose this location rather than Bienne, where Aegler was based. Evidently, at the time, Wilsdorf did not appreciate the future importance of Aegler to his business.

The Wilsdorf & Davis office in La Chaux-de-Fonds was closed in November 1913, and a new office opened in Bienne in January 1914. On 17 June 1914, the trademark ‘King George Lever’ was registered by Wilsdorf & Davis in Bienne.

Creation of the Rolex brand

Wilsdorf & Davis began business from 1905 without any trademarks or brands. In 1907, the British Hallmarking Import Act forced him to register the W&D mark at assay offices as a sponsor's mark. There was no need for this mark to be used on anything other than gold and silver items being sent for hallmarking, but exactly the same W&D mark started appearing on movements. Using the same mark on movements was not just a coincidence; it required positive choice and action. The first W&D punches would have been given to watch case makers so that cases could be stamped during production; more punches would have been needed for the movement workshop. The W&D mark was the first trademark or brand of Wilsdorf & Davis.

Wishing to create a more recognisable brand, Wilsdorf started using the Swiss office of trademark registrations to register brand names. The first he names he chose to register, on 1 November 1907 were Lusitania, Mauretania and ‘The Eastern Watch’. The Lusitania was an ocean liner launched by the British Cunard Line in 1906; the biggest, fastest and most luxurious liner in the world at the time, and Mauretania was her sister ship, launched three months later. In 1915, Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, an event that brought America into the First World War on the side of the Allies, but by then Wilsdorf had long since lost interest in the name.

In 1908 Wilsdorf coined the name Rolex.

Some have speculated that the name Rolex had some complicated origin such as being derived from hoROLogie EXcellence, but in the Vade Mecum Wilsdorf says that Rolex was chosen because it was a short yet significant word, not cumbersome on the dial (thus leaving room enough for the inscription of the English trader's name) and, above all, a word easy to memorise. It has a pleasant sound and its pronunciation remains unvaried in whatever European language it is spoken. He doesn't reveal where the name came from, but it sounds like he simply made it up. His description of the way the word is short, easy to remember and pronounce echoes the words of George Eastman, who registered the trademark Kodak on 4 September 1888. Eastman said his criteria for creating the name were that it should be short, one cannot mispronounce it, and it could not resemble anything or be associated with anything but Kodak. Wilsdorf surely had the same considerations in mind when he decided on the name Rolex for his leading brand.

Wilsdorf & Davis registered Rolex as a brand name in Switzerland using the La Chaux-de-Fonds office address on 2 July 1908 as shown in the registration details reproduced here. This shows that Rolex was a trademark of Wilsdorf and Davis, manufacturers of watches, parts of watches and boxes. Wilsdorf requested Aegler use the new trademark on all of his watches. Aegler wanted their own name to appear on the watches they manufactured, but reluctantly agreed to Wilsdorf's request. Wilsdorf wanted to create a brand that would distinguish his product from other watches, which may even have contained the same parts - Aegler was not an exclusive supplier to Wilsdorf at that time, also supplying movements to Gruen in America and others. Aegler registered Rolex as a trademark in Switzerland in 1913 for the manufacture of watches and watch parts.

At the time, Wilsdorf and Davis was a British company based in London, so it is rather strange that the first date of entry of Rolex as a trademark in the British trade marks register is dated 6 July 1912. This was published in the official trade marks journal on 14 August 1912. The current trade mark register shows that the registration was renewed until 6 July 2006 but is now officially ‘dead.’

Wilsdorf was an alien in Britain until he applied for and was granted British citizenship. He took the Oath of Allegiance on 20 November 1911 and was granted a certificate of Naturalization by the Secretary of State. His address was ‘The Mansion, Sundridge Park, Kent’, a magnificent mansion house, now Grade I listed, designed by the architect John Nash in the 18th century, with its surrounding estate and gardens planned by the landscape designer Humphry Repton. Wilsdorf was evidently doing pretty well by 1911, although he wouldn't have owned the whole of The Mansion, just an apartment within it. But still very impressive for a 30-year old. Not many 30 year olds live in a mansion designed by Nash looking out over gardens designed by Repton, then or now.

First British Rolex Advert

In the early twentieth century, British retailers usually refused to have a brand name on the watches they sold, and did not use brand names in advertisements. If any name appeared on a watch, it was that of the retailer. Their idea was that when one of their customers was asked about a watch they were wearing, instead of mentioning a brand name, the person would say the name of the shop where they had bought it. Someone wanting to buy a similar watch would have to go to that shop instead of finding a rival shop that stocked the same brand, possibly at a lower price. This attitude of British retailers is discussed at Names on Dials.

This means that advertisements before the mid-1920s with the brand name of a watch are rare. However, two early adverts with the Rolex name have been found.

The advertisement reproduced here from October 1911 by Steiert & Son, jewellers and watchmakers (watch retailers) in Bromley, a prosperous town on the southeast side of Greater London, is the earliest I have found for Rolex watches - if you know of an earlier one, please let me know.

The advert is very unusual for 1911 in mentioning the Rolex brand. Perhaps the company was given the impression by Wilsdorf or his representative that the Rolex name was already well known and attractive to clients. It is notable that although Steiert & Son ran many adverts in local newspapers between the 1880s and 1918, this is the only one that has been found which mentions Rolex.

The watch is a ladies' fob watch rather than a wristwatch. Unfortunately, the quality of the scan of the newspaper is poor, and no further details of the watch can be seen.

The reference to a Class A certificate for timekeeping does not mean a Kew Class A certificate. An Aegler 11-ligne watch was awarded a First Class certificate by the Bienne watch rating office in 1910, which must be what this statement refers to, but the standard was lower than required for a Kew Class A certificate.

The prices are in British shillings. The solid silver case would be sterling silver, 92.5% pure. Twenty seven shillings is one pound and seven shillings, or one pound and 35 pence in decimal currency. In 1911, that would have represented about four days wages for a skilled tradesman. Prices for gold versions start at 55 shillings, two pounds and 15 shillings, which is just over twice the price of the silver version. The were probably gold plated, or possibly 9 carat gold.

After 1911, the next British advert found is from December 1914 by E. Polland Ltd of Belfast. Polland was one of the leading jewellers in Ireland, with a prominent shop in the centre of the shopping district of Belfast.

The watches in this advert were more expensive at £4 to £10 10s, which suggests that E. Polland was only offering them in gold cases. The expanding bangle referred to is almost certainly a Britannic bracelet made by the company Edwin Harrop.

The advert is in error in saying that Rolex watches obtained ‘first place’ at Kew Observatory during 1913 and 1914. Two Rolex watches were awarded Class B certificates in 1913, one of which was endorsed ‘especially good’, and a Rolex watch obtained a Class A certificate in the 1914 trials, but none of these can be described as first place.

The 1914 Kew trials began in April. A Rolex watch was awarded a Kew Class A certificate in July 1914, but it did not achieve the highest marks of all the watches entered for trial in 1914, so it was not ‘first’. It achieved a very creditable 77.3 marks out of 100, just short of the 80 marks required for an endorsement of ‘especially good’. The watch that scored the highest number of marks in the 1914 trial was entered by Paul Ditisheim and achieved 94.0 marks. The lowest scoring of the top 50 watches entered was by Vacheron & Constantin, scoring 85.7 marks. However, although it was not first, the award of a Class A certificate to such a small watch was a remarkable achievement.

First Australian and New Zealand Adverts

In the Rolex Jubilee Vade Mecum, Wilsdorf writes,

The new fashion in [bracelet] watches became extremely popular, in Australia and New Zealand especially

The earliest advert for Rolex watches in Australia and New Zealand currently known was placed in the Wairarapa Daily Times in November 1912 by the retailers Stewart Dawson & Company in Wellington, New Zealand.

Stewart Dawson & Company was established in London as a jewellery wholesale and retail business in about 1869 by David Stewart Dawson, later opening branches in Australia and New Zealand. The business was incorporated in London as Stewart Dawson & Co. Ltd. in 1907.

The earliest advert for Rolex watches in Australia currently known was placed in Table Talk, published in Melbourne, Victoria, in November 1913 by Stewart Dawson & Company. The address is ‘On the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, Melbourne’.

This advert simply states ‘The Celebrated ROLEX LEVER WATCH BRACELET, with expanding gold-filled Bracelet, £3 5/-’ (three pounds and five shillings).

A subsequent advert by Stewart Dawson & Company in January 1914, part of which is reproduced here, goes into more detail, saying, ‘The Rolex Lever Gold-filled Expanding Watch Bangle, in a variety of patterns. All at one price, £3/5/. We can strongly recommend this class of Watch as being sure to give greater satisfaction and longer wear than many of the cheap all-gold ones now offered to the public.’

To the right of the advert is a very similar watch, with the caption ‘We hold an immense stock of the most dependable Gold Expanding Watch Bangles’. The prices for these range from £5/10 (five pounds and ten shillings) to £22/10/ (twenty two pounds and ten shillings), with Sterling Silver at £2/7/6 (two pounds, seven shillings and sixpence). The gold-filled Rolex, at three pounds and five shillings, sits between sterling silver and the cheapest gold watch.

It is not clear whether the gold watch to the right of the Australian advert is also a Rolex, but the New Zealand advert lists a similar wide variety of styles and prices, and it is clear that these are Rolex wristwatches. The fact that the same company placed both adverts suggests that Stewart Dawson & Company were most likely selling Rolex watches in Australia as well as New Zealand in 1912, and possibly earlier, even if they weren't advertising them in newspapers.

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Rolex Trench Watches

British military officers began wearing wristwatches in the early 1880s, and subsequently a wristwatch was required as part of an officer's outfit. Ladies had soon taken up the idea and ladies wristwatches became fashionable and very popular by the end of the nineteenth century. However, civilian men did not wear wristwatches, preferring to carry a pocket watch.

Before the First World War, the British Army was a small, professional, force deployed around the Empire. When on leave, officers out of uniform followed the civilian male fashion of carrying a pocket watch. The sight of a British officer in uniform wearing a wristwatch was well-known to soldiers, but a rare sight for civilians.

During the First World War, many new officers were commissioned, and every one had to buy a wristwatch. Millions of men joined the army, and witnessed officers wearing and using wristwatches every day. The nickname of ‘a proper wristwatch’ was soon coined by these new soldiers to describe a smartly turned out officer.

Because many operation were carried out at night, it soon became obvious that a luminous wristwatch was a necessity. Watch dials and hands were made luminous with radium based radioluminescent paint, which glowed brightly all the time. A wristwatch with a luminous dial and unbreakable glass was an essential part of an officer's outfit and soon termed a ‘trench watch’. Many enlisted men, seeing an officer's wristwatch glowing eerily in the dark of the trenches, decided they would like to have such a wristwatch themselves.

Before the war, Rolex sold mainly ladies' bracelet watches, which meant it was not well placed to take advantage of a sudden huge increase in demand for men's wristwatches. The demand for trench watches from newly commissioned officers and enlisted men during the war was transformational for Wilsdorf and Rolex. Aegler already made 13-ligne lever escapement movements, the perfect size for men's wristwatches. Soon, Rolex was also selling significant numbers of men's wristwatches. However, from the nature and wide variety of cases of surviving Rolex trench watches, it is evident that Rolex struggled to find suitable men's-size wristwatch cases.

Soon after the First World War had begun, the whole Swiss watch industry turned to making trench watches, but was unable to ramp up production quickly enough to satisfy the sudden huge increase in demand. Watchmakers such as Longines, who already had an established business supplying wristwatches for military officers, were better placed, having existing case suppliers they could call upon, but Aegler and Rolex had not concentrated on this area before the war, so they had to almost start from scratch.

The best watch case for the conditions of the trenches was the Borgel screw case, but, like all Swiss manufacturers, Borgel could not increase production rapidly enough to satisfy demand, and existing customers were served first. Similarly, watch cases with screw backs, or even with double backs, which have an outer back and a second inner cuvette to give extra protection against dust and damp, were in high demand.

There are no known Rolex trench watches from the First World War with Borgel cases. Although some have better quality cases, such as hunter cases with screw backs, many Rolex trench watches have cases with only a single back. This is the most basic type of case, which gives the lowest level of protection against dust and damp. It is also the least expensive type of case, but it seems unlikely that Wilsdorf was being economical when there was such a huge demand for wristwatches. It therefore appears, from the evidence, that Rolex had difficulty in obtaining adequate supplies of higher-quality cases.

The difficulty Rolex had in obtaining supplies of cases for trench watches is evident in the cases of those that survive. From a sample, 57% have single backs, 36% have screw backs (all hunter cases), and 7% have snap backs.

The photos here show a Rolex centre seconds trench watch with a single jointed back case.

The case has London Assay Office import hallmarks for sterling silver with the date letter ‘t’ for the hallmarking year from May 1914 to May 1915. The sponsor's mark is the W&D mark entered by Wilsdorf and Davis at the London Assay Office. The case back is also stamped ‘Rolex’. The movement is a 13-ligne, 15 jewel, Aegler Rebberg with ‘Rolex - 15 Jewels’ engraved on the ratchet wheel.

The watch is mounted on an F-Type strap in brown oiled leather, which has the perfect aged look for an original trench watch.

Before the First World War, Wilsdorf and Rolex had concentrated on ladies' bracelet watches. This left them, at the start of the war, unprepared to supply large numbers of men's wristwatches. However, the First World War was the event that transformed men's wristwatches from something confined strictly to military officers in uniform into something that millions of civilian men were prepared to, indeed wanted to, wear. Wilsdorf quickly picked up on this trend, and men's wristwatches became not just a second line, but an increasingly important part of Rolex's range.

Hunter Cases

Some Wilsdorf and Davis trench watches have hunter cases, with a metal lid covering the dial that has to be opened to read the time. These usually carry the legend ‘Brevet 71363’. Brevet means patent in French and the Swiss federal cross shows that this refers to a Swiss patent granted to Charles Zurbrügg on 23 June 1915 for a ‘Boîte-savonnette pour montres-bracelet’, or hunter case for wristwatches.

Zurbrügg hunter cases have screw backs, which give good protection against dust and damp.

Reference to Zurbrügg's patent in hunter cased wristwatches with Wilsdorf and Davis' sponsor's mark and / or Rolex branding has led some people to claim that Hans Wilsdorf bought the rights to the patent. This would have been a bit pointless, because Rolex didn't make watch cases and therefore would have needed to find a watch case manufacturer to make them, something that Zurbrügg, a watch case manufacturer, was already doing. In fact, the story is much simpler; Rolex bought cases made by Zurbrügg's company.

Huguenin Frères trademark, shown here, is sometimes seen in Rolex hunter wristwatches. The case is also usually stamped with “BREVET DEM”, the DEM indicating that a request for a patent (brevet) had been “demanded”, that is an application for a patent had been submitted but the patent had not been granted, so its eventual patent number was not known.

In September 1916, Huguenin Frères were granted Swiss patent number 72290 for a spring for a wristwatch hunter case, ‘Secret de boîte-savonnette de montre-bracelet’. The lid of a hunter case is normally held closed by a catch. When the catch is released, usually by pressing a button, a concealed spring causes the lid to open. Huguenin Frères invention was a small lever next to the crown, instead of a button, to release the catch. The application for the patent was registered on 20 August 1915.

Huguenin Frères' hunter cases have single jointed backs, which give poor protection against dust and damp.

The presence of Huguenin Frères trademark in the cases of Rolex hunter wristwatches sometimes leads people to assume that Wilsdorf acquired the rights to the patent from Huguenin Frères. However, the truth is simpler. Rolex bought cases from Huguenin Frères.

A Bad Idea

The hunter cased wristwatch was one of the worst ideas in watchmaking. Although it might appear at first sight that a hunter lid protecting a wristwatch's glass was a good idea, especially in combat situations, it was in practice of no real benefit and a downright nuisance.

The principal benefit of a wristwatch is to free the hands. A mounted officer can hold the reins of his horse in one hand, and his sword or revolver in the other, whilst simultaneously reading the time from his wristwatch. In a combat situation, this can be crucial, and a hunter lid defeats it. With a hunter watch, both hands have to be brought together to open the lid and see the time. This defeats the objective of wearing a wristwatch. A pocket watch is more accessible.

Although the dangers of breaking a watch glass were much smaller than the popular imagination conceived, in 1915, trench watches began to be fitted with unbreakable glass. The need for a hunter lid disappeared overnight. This meant that hunter wristwatch cases became easier to get hold of, which may be why so many Rolex trench watches have hunter cases.

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Rolex Watch Company Limited

London was the export centre for Wilsdorf & Davis watches for overseas markets as well as Britain. Every watch was examined in London before being sent to the retailers, whether British or abroad. By 1914 the London company had grown to such an extent that it was occupying a large suite of offices and had a payroll of more than 60 employees.

As shown by the certificate of incorporation reproduced here, the Rolex Watch Company Limited was incorporated as a limited company in London on 18 November 1915 under the Companies Acts, 1908 and 1913. The registration cost Wilsdorf £11 10s for the fees and stamp duty on the deed and £62 10s for the stamp duty on the registered capital, a total of £74. Not a bad investment as it turned out.

If nothing had subsequently happened to change things, there would have been no reason why Rolex should not have continued to be a British registered company with its headquarters in London.

In September 1915, as part of the war effort, the British Government, in the form of Reginald McKenna, Chancellor of the Exchequer, imposed an ad valorem duty of 33⅓% on imported luxuries, which included clocks and watches, to conserve foreign currency reserves. Rather interestingly, was initially intended to charge the duty on hats, but it proved too difficult to formulate a precise definition of a hat. If only it had been so difficult to define a watch! The duty meant that any watches imported into London, even if only for checking before subsequent export abroad, would be subject to this high rate of tax.

In December 1916 the restrictions on imports of precious metals were further extended. The import of all gold and silver items, including gold watches or watch cases but specifically excluding silver watches or watch cases, was prohibited. For the remainder of the war, no gold watches or gold watch cases were imported. For more details about this, see First World War and Gold Cases.

As a result of British import duties and the prohibition on importing gold watches and gold watch cases, the function of the Bienne office was expanded to include the checking of all the watches purchased from Aegler. Watches destined for countries other than Britain no longer needed to pass through London and could be dispatched from Bienne.

All gold and silver watch cases made for Rolex were stamped during manufacture with the W&D sponsor's mark, whether they were sent to London or to another country. This was easily done as the case was being made, and simplified inventory holdings since the destination of a case was not necessarily known when it was being made. However, only cases for watches that were specifically to be exported to Britain were sent to England to be hallmarked. From this time, watches with gold or silver cases that have the W&D sponsor's mark but without British hallmarks did not pass through Britain, but were sent direct from Switzerland to the destination country.

In 1919 Wilsdorf decided to relocate the headquarters of Rolex from London to Geneva. If the McKenna duties and import ban on gold watches had not been imposed during the war, Rolex might still be a British company!

Today, the British Rolex Watch Company Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rolex Holdings SA, a company incorporated in Switzerland, and operates as part of the group's distribution and watch servicing operations. The company's principal activity is the sale of Rolex products to the watch industry in the UK and Ireland.

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End of Wilsdorf & Davis

In 1919, Hans Wilsdorf established a sole proprietorship in Bienne under his own name. In 1920, a number of trademarks that had been registered by Wilsdorf & Davis were transferred to Hans Wilsdorf, Commerce, in Bienne and renewed.

It was also in 1919 that Wilsdorf and Aegler agreed that Aegler would stop making watch cases and concentrate solely on making movements. Watch cases would be bought in by Rolex from third-party case makers and watches would be assembled in Geneva.

On 1 September 1919 it was announced that the Bienne branch of the general partnership Wilsdorf & Davis, based in London, had expired after liquidation of the company had been completed. It was also announced that the joint-stock company under the name Wilsdorf & Davis Export S.A., based in Bienne, had expired after the liquidation had been completed.

In the Vade Mecum, Wilsdorf says ‘It was in 1919 that I finally founded at Geneva, in the offices we still occupy to-day, our present company, the Rolex Watch Co. Ltd., of which I am sole proprietor.’ The address was No. 18, du passage du Terraillet, which is off Rue de Marché. The offices were on the third floor of the building, with a workshop on the fifth floor.

Beginning in 1928, trademarks registered by Wilsdorf & Davis began to be struck off the public register because they had not been renewed. The first of these was were numbers 22837 to 22839, Lusitania, Mauretania and ‘The Eastern Watch’, registered by Wilsdorf & Davis, La Chaux-de-Fonds, in November 1907 and struck off in May 1928.

Montres Rolex S. A.

On 16 January 1920, a public limited company was established in Switzerland under the name Montres Rolex S. A. (Rolex Uhren A G.) (Rolex Watch Co Ltd.) with its registered office in Geneva at 18 Rue du Marché.

The board of directors was composed of: Hans Wilsdorf, Hermann Aegler and Emile Béha.

On 6 December 1935, Hermann Aegler's position was altered from president to secretary and his powers to represent the company removed. Marguerite Gagnebin and Antoinette Gagnebin were authorised to represent the company.

At an extraordinary general meeting on 21 January 1938, Misses Marguerite Gagnebin and Antoinette Gagnebin, of Sonceboz (Bern), both residing in Geneva were appointed as new members of the board of directors, with joint signing authority.

On 7 February 1941, Director Hermann Aegler (previously listed as secretary) was appointed chairman of the board, replacing Hans Wilsdorf, who remained a director. Lucie Berger, authorized signatory, was appointed secretary of the board.

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Death of Hans Wilsdorf

After his wife's death in 1944, he founded the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, into which he invested all his Rolex shares and ensured that part of the proceeds went to charitable causes. The trust ensures the continuity of the Rolex Organisation and provides annual grants to charitable institutions.

Hans Wilsdorf died on 6 July 1960 at his home on the shore of Lake Geneva. He was 79.

In 1981, a street in Geneva was named Rue Hans Wilsdorf to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. The naming ceremony was carried out by Claude Ketterer, Vice-president of the Administrative Council and later Mayor of the City of Geneva. Among those present were Mrs. Wilsdorf and Mr. Andre J. Heiniger, Managing Director and Chief Executive of Rolex. Heiniger joined Rolex in 1948 and became chief executive in 1962. He became the second chairman in the company's history and ran Rolex until his retirement in 1997.