The modern Datejust that Rolex unveiled at Baselworld 2016 scarcely differs from the Rolex Datejust II. The similar design characteristics set Rolex watches apart from other brands. Learn more details in this feature article from WatchTime’s Special Design Issue 2017 (available for download in the WatchTime Shop).
A fluted bezel, a Cyclops magnifying lens above the date window and an Oyster bracelet: the new Datejust 41 shares these elements with many other Rolex models. These design characteristics are the secrets of the brand?s success. The approximately 800,000 watches that Rolex sells each year produce estimated annual revenue of $4.39 billion and make it the most successful manufacturer of luxury watches.
The cornerstone of this singular distinction was Rolex?s founder, Hans Wilsdorf, a native of Kulmbach, Germany, who registered the brand name in 1908. He put his faith in wristwatches at an early date and set out to rectify their shortcomings: for example, wristwatches were notoriously less accurate than pocketwatches. But Wilsdorf?s Rolex wristwatches soon ticked so precisely that they earned official certification as chronometers. He patented his first watertight watches in 1926, followed by patent protection for automatic winding in 1931. With these two functional abilities, the optimal wristwatch was born ? and Rolex positioned itself as the technical leader for precise, watertight, self-winding watches. The label successfully advanced along this path with ...