The World of Wristwatches

There is a stigma related to a man that wears a fine timepiece. He is considered to be sophisticated, fashionable and at times prominent. One may ask, how is it that a simple timepiece can say so much? The short answer is that a simple timepiece may not say much at all, but a finely crafted mechanical wristwatch shouts to the rafters that you have sophisticated taste.

There are many great watch brands such as Patek Philippe, Breguet, or Vacheron Constantin just to name a few. These are very high-end watch brands and may be virtually unknown in most common circles due to the high cost associated with owning one of these fine gems. There is however a watch brand that has been and still remains to be a staple in the world of wristwatches. The brand is known as Rolex. Long lasting and for the most part affordable, Rolex has become the watch of choice for many throughout the world. Some have said that mechanical watches cost too much money but once an understanding of how these fine timepieces are created the cost becomes justifiable. For example what many people may not know is that all Rolex watches have gold hands and indicators even if the watch was created in a stainless steel case.

Rolex officially became a watch house when its founder Hans Wilsdorf decided to move the company from London to Geneva in 1919. Rolex was known as a very innovative watch house receiving numerous innovation awards dating back to the 1930’s. The self-winding mechanism, known as the Perpetual and the waterproof casing known as the Oyster are two of Rolex’s most prestigious and widely recognized innovations.

Several presidents have been known to wear the Rolex “Day Date Perpetual,” a common watch in the Rolex line. Rumor has it that the Day Date Perpetual received its nickname (President) after several presidents had been known to wear this watch. The Rolex President is now a staple of the brand.

Rolex is currently one of the world’s largest luxury watch brands around. Selling roughly three-quarter of a million watches per year. Bringing in close to 2 billion Swiss Francs.

Rolex recently built a new facility that is reportedly the size of five football fields. The building is jet-black and has all of the newest innovations one can imagine, including a robot system that will retrieve anything from any shelf and deliver it to any workstation with the click of a mouse.

The next time you see someone wearing a fine timepiece such as a Rolex, try to forget about the expense associated with brand. Instead focus your attention on the innovation and history that these brands have brought to the world.