Rolex Oyster Date (1550)

Rolex is recognized throughout the world not only as a brand associated with luxury, but as a watch that is both luxurious and precise.  For Rolex, this hard-won and well-deserved recognition was never in doubt.  The founder, Hans Wilsdorf named the company Rolex to be pronounceable in any language, as he anticipated the acclaim his company would receive due to relentless pursuit of precision and accuracy in a wristwatch.  Soon after its founding, Rolex produced the first wristwatch to receive the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, which was followed rapidly by receipt of a certificate of precision from the Kew Observatory in Great Britain.  From those roots Rolex built a legacy of innovation.  The Oyster watch was the first waterproof and dustproof wristwatch in 1926, followed by the first self-winding Perpetual rotor.  Building once again on innovation, the Datejust became the first self-winding wrist chronometer to include a date in a window on the dial.  Adventurous women and men who strive to make history have chosen Rolex for their expedition, which both perpetuates the brand’s claim to precision and dependability as well as attests to its veracity.  Hans Wilsdorf may have anticipated the acclaim Rolex would someday achieve, but even he might have been impressed with its success.