A BRIEF HISTORY ON ROLEX

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History: Hans Wilsdorf registered the trademark name "Rolex" in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1908, using the company name Rolex registered on 15 November 1915. The word was simply made up, Wilsdorf was said to want his watch brand's name to be easily pronounceable. One story, which was never confirmed by Wilsdorf, is that the word "Rolex" came from the French phrase horlogerie exquise, meaning exquisite clockwork. Another story claims that Wilsdorf was riding a bus when he realized that "rolex" was the sound a watch made while being wound, In the book The Best of Time Rolex Wrist Watches by J.Hess & J. Dowling the
authors state the name was just made up. In 2007 a Book by Mark A Cooper A Movement in Time with Breitling & Rolex an Unauthorized History claims the name was made by Wilsdorf & Alfred Davis using a combination of Rolls Royce, a maker of motor cars known for quality and perfection of engineering, and Timex, the watch brand. They put these names together to make the name Rolex. It has been claimed that, "this account is possible as Rolls Royce was a well known make, and although the Waterbury Watch company did not use the Timex name in America until 1950, but they appear to have used Timex on watches sold in the UK from 1879." Until evidence in the form of company records, advertisements, or actual examples of what would have been English market Timex pocketwatches from the late 19th century can be produced in substantiation of the claim that "Rolex" is a portmanteau of Rolls Royce and Timex, the assertion must be considered speculation. The company name was changed to the Rolex Watch Company during 1919.
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