The History of Rolex | The Classroom: EP04, S01

[@Dr_LK]

0:22 photo shows only Hans twice, not his collaborator. 1:55 wasn’t glycine that produced a gmt watch before Rolex, in 1953?

[@spencerfarrow2963]

Jon, I’m man enough to say that your voice is silky smooth and built for jazz. Great vid.

[@the1916company]

Thanks for being big enough to admit it Spencer! We could listed to Jon speak all day! - Marketing Team

[@halebopp5332]

Excellent video. Keep up the great work guys.♛

[@UXXV]

Another awesome video - and even though it was 4 minutes long I picked up a ton I didnt know before!

[@the1916company]

That’s the goal! Thanks for your support across all of our channels!

[@aaron2709]

Rolex's shinning moment was ignoring the George Daniels escapement in the 1970s. He was the greatest watch maker on the planet at that time but Rolex didn't know or didn't care. Not sure which is worse.

[@Kostja81]

But someone else did have a minute of their time to listen to the man ;-)

[@shodemmainman9871]

You did a very good job in presenting the elegance of Rolex.

[@LeaFrydman]

Thanks again I love your information channel Simple and to the point

[@thumperjdm]

One legend about the name of "Rolex" is that Hans Wilsdorf saw the success of "Kodak"...a name that was easy to say in many languages, recognized worldwide, and totally made-up by George Eastman.

[@the1916company]

Nice addition! Both have a similar ring to them, but Rolex has stood the test of time better than Kodak! Thanks for watching and commenting! -- Marketing Team

[@ultrapogi]

correction: the person in the photo you showed is not Alfred Davis. that's Hans Wilsdorf, only at an older age!

[@emadb8380]

Keep up the good work...

[@matslundgren1632]

I think at 1:38 there is a mistake as Rolex invented and patented the second automatic movement, what they brought to the table was the use of a rotor, which obviously was better than previous tech. The first automatic movement was patented by John Harwood in 1925 and produced by Fortis. It was presented at Baselworld in 1926.

[@fpoynton1604]

Well done. Thank you.

[@the1916company]

Thanks, as always, for watching and commenting! See you next week! -- Marketing Team

[@SaverGC3]

Very good video of the Rolex story.

[@the1916company]

Thank you!

[@allans7281]

Great video! When did Rolex start using precious materials like gold? Is this what makes Rolex so expensive?

[@antg.3846]

Sup Jon! Thanks for the BLNR, I love it 😍 👍

[@the1916company]

Thanks for your support Ant! Glad you love your Batman!! -- Marketing Team

[@simoncrawford350]

Awesome overview, thanks! Still hope you can make a more “in-depth” version for us un-educated? (Or does Oystersteel, just refer to the grade of stainless steel used?)

[@the1916company]

Hi Simon - Oystersteel refers to the 904L steel used by Rolex in their modern steel watches. Thanks for watching!

[@simoncrawford350]

WatchBox Reviews Thanks Tim👍

[@simoncrawford350]

For the last 8or so years I have been selling a product that was a semi spring steel without the brittleness, but still very flexible (patented), so I have an idea of custom made steel for certain applications. (I guess then Rolex have used or done a similar thing?) Regards Simon

[@planetdee3587]

So were all Rolexes after 1985 (which is the date mentioned in the video) made of 904L or just certain ones?

[@charlesgonne7600]

Rolex (i) is not the first one to have created a water resistant watch, (ii) Rolex was not the first watch to display the date, but was the first one to display ONLY the date... Some of the facts here could use some nuance, if I'm not mistaken

[@kendrickmelendez8185]

Hoodtrophy. I love it for the class, the gentlemen like, heaving feeling on my wrist typa thing. Let’s keep manifesting our dreams🙏🏽

[@98xaviera]

Wasn't the Glycine Airman the first watch do display multiple timezones?

[@aeolus1982]

this is probably the acronym for Rolex --> Horologie Exclusive

[@the1916company]

Love it! --WatchBox Team

[@shughes911]

Amazing

[@the1916company]

Thanks for watching Shane, we appreciate your support 👍 - WatchBox

[@tbd1613]

Great video Jon! No wonder why Rolex's is a crown. Its still the best company in the world.

[@the1916company]

Thanks for watching and commenting George!

[@vorticwatchcompany]

It's just nice to hear that one of the most famous brands in the world created its name from nothing. There's hope for everyone!

[@BianicEpicVideos]

just because he doesn’t know the names origin doesn't mean it came out of nowhere.

[@2024-s2n]

Rolex is king the end

[@the1916company]

Rolex is Royalty 👑 Thanks for watching Kevin! - WatchBox Team

[@algorithm007ify]

King of marketing and mass production.

[@dithopradipta]

History of sinn please

[@Wooooosaaaaaa]

Isn’t day/date and president the same watch?

[@the1916company]

The term "President" came about when Rolex released the Day-Date on a new bracelet (the President bracelet vs. the old Oyster bracelet). While the terms are more interchangeable now, the President is usually in reference to a Day-Date with the President bracelet, which only comes in precious metals! Hope this helps!

[@bubbab7792]

I have never been a real Rolex fan, but I must admit they are the best at product management and distribution hands down. They control their market, thus keeping their product on top. 👍 Keep the education and history coming. Live vintage and old school.

[@the1916company]

Thanks Bubba B!

[@Adamas11]

Phirst Phistos ✊🏼 I love Rolecks

[@the1916company]

Congrats! Thanks for the speedy watching and commenting 😜

[@coronetmag]

We don’t know if the name “Rolex” was created out of nothing. We just have no evidence how it was created - so we assume it is nothing. Some believe it is a French porte-manteau of the two words “horlogerie exquise.” But again, no evidence of that. There’s a difference between asserting that the name came from nothing and saying we don’t know where it came from.

[@AbstractMan23]

On Rolex's 50th anniversary, in 1958, Hans Wilsdorf shared the story of how he originally conceived the 'Rolex' name in 1908: "I tried combining the letters of the alphabet in every possible way. This gave some hundred names, but none of them felt quite right. It was one morning when I was sitting on the upper level of a double-decker powered at that time by horses, driving along Cheapside in London, that a good genie whispered in my ear: "Rolex." A few days after this fruitful journey, the Rolex brand was filed, and then officially registered in Switzerland by Wilsdorf & Davis."

[@docgrey84]

Get your facts right!!! What about Mr. Aegler?

[@Suldra]

Hans Wilsdorf the german "Wunderkind"

[@MrJayPuff]

What about the logo?

[@tonyl7000]

1:21 ...​ a bit of a reach 😅.

[@khaledyacouboweis7174]

A retired antique dealer in Berlin once told me that he had several pre-WW1 Rolexes (I am no sure if they explicitly were branded Rolex) and some had on the inside a rolled letter ‘x’, hence the name Rolex: a rolled X.

[@the1916company]

Interesting, we had not heard that theory before. Thanks for watching! --Marketing Team

[@ingra888]

What about it’s British Heritage? The Company began in London it was not Swiss! It only moved to Switzerland in 1920 to avoid if all things Post War Tax in Britain.

[@meetseth3]

WOW. Not one mention of the Yacht-Master... how disappointing

[@levinwonderland]

No mention of the oysterquartz, come on guys

[@the1916company]

Maybe we’ll do a dedicated video about oyster-quartz? 😉

[@levinwonderland]

WatchBox Studios great idea!

[@fbernacke]

What a fantastic overview of the brand and the impact it's had to Horology. Well done!

[@ivankerr3570]

Hans Waldorf made one huge mistake naming his company Rolex. He did so because it could be pronounced easily in any language. Little did he know that the worlds biggest market was going to be China and that the ALL pronounce it as Wowex. Lol

[@GoogleUserOne]

You mention NOTHING about the original Damas?

[@bobbybox3968]

You didn’t mention that the company is a charity

[@erickpaolod.santos3719]

#Rolex #Ayo&Teo

[@algorithm007ify]

History of Rolex....come up with a meaningless name...buy patents from other companies..market them as their own invention..buy more patents..more marketing...copy fifty fathoms..more marketing..get into Hollywood...don't get selected by NASA...more marketing...start fanboy-ism....finally make a chronograph movement....more marketing...price increases..ceramic bezel..price increases..mass produce a million watches a year..more marketing....finally use silicon h/springs..more marketing..and more marketing.

[@the1916company]

Interesting take on Rolex history! What are your favorite brands? We will plan more history retrospectives for Season2 . -- Marketing Team

[@algorithm007ify]

I apologise for the cynical (I did enjoy your video) view but there is a lot of truth to it. I am sick of rolex. It is a cancer for luxury watch collecting (from a collectors perspective, not as a dealer). People are neglecting real luxury watches because of marketing and ignorance. I would personally much prefer JLC, Parmigiani, GO, Blancpain, etc., all of which can be bought for a similar price with much better finishing and quality (often hand made). Other brands on an equal footing to rolex include Zenith, Cartier, GP, Panerai, GS, etc. can also be bought for much less (for "equally" good watches). I just think there are MUCH more important and better brands that people are not paying enough attention towards (as collectors). To the credit of your great business, you sell these other brands and more...Perhaps dealers/business like yourself can make the novice buyer/collector focus on such better valued and more interesting brands, some of which also have more significant historical significance IMO.

[@the1916company]

Thanks for the detail. As a company that buys and sells watches, we are actually under-represented in the volume of Rolex that we sell versus their overall percentage in the market. We think this is because we have an audience that is interested in some of the more unique and non mainstream horology brands. Your feelings would seem to bear this out. Hopefully we will keep putting out quality content that hits the areas of the market that you are interested in! -- Marketing Team

[@Kostja81]

Great comment, nicely put into perspective. I was just going to write a similar comment and just saw yours. Other than that a nice video.

[@erickpaolod.santos3719]

#RolexChallenge

[@Caminator7377]

Why is there so many fucking camera changes like Holy fuck big rig pump the brakes and slow the fuck down there

[@jenrai9152]

Stop stealing diamonds from poor country