Rolex

ROLEX, A STROKE OF GENIUS IN FIVE LETTERS
On 2 July 1908, Hans Wilsdorf officially filed and registered ‘Rolex’ as a brand name in Switzerland – an act
that would shape the company’s future.

A visionary entrepreneur, Hans Wilsdorf was truly ahead of his time in terms of intellectual property. Indeed, a name like ‘Rolex’, with its three strong consonants and two vowels, corresponds to criteria that still apply today in choosing a successful brand name.

SURPRISINGLY MODERN
Hans Wilsdorf’s requirements in his search for the name ‘Rolex’ were surprisingly modern. He determined that the name had to:
• be short, with no more than five letters;
• be easy to pronounce in every language;
• have a good ring to it;
• be easy to remember;
• look good on movements and dials.

THE MUSE OF INSPIRATION
Hans Wilsdorf had considered several options before arriving at his decision by chance one day. As he recounted in a speech delivered on 2 July 1958, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the brand: “I tried combining the letters of the alphabet in every possible way. This gave me hundreds of names, but none of them felt quite right. One morning, while riding on the upper deck of a horse- drawn omnibus along Cheapside in the City of London, a genie whispered ‘Rolex’ in my ear.” On 2 July 1908, Hans Wilsdorf filed and officially registered the ‘Rolex’ trademark in Switzerland. The ‘Rolex’ brand was registered internationally in 1913. Today it is registered worldwide.

INCREASED VISIBILITY
After having filed and registered the name, Hans Wilsdorf had another challenge before him: to convince the retailers to include the name ‘Rolex’ on the watches they sold.
At the time, each retailer – a jeweller or watchmaker – wanted to place their own name on the dial and not reveal the name of the supplier or manufacturer. To this end, Hans Wilsdorf proceeded a step at a time, as related in his memoirs. “At first I ventured to inscribe ‘Rolex’ on one watch in every six, hoping that this watch would get through and be sold. Gradually, I dared to put it on two out of six, and later it appeared on three.”

In 1926, the year of the launch of the Oyster, Rolex’s waterproof wristwatch, Hans Wilsdorf vowed that, from that date forth, no single watch would be delivered without the ‘Rolex’ brand name figuring on its dial, case and movement. Rolex went on to become a worldwide brand.