Rolex, the highly-esteemed name in luxury watch-making industry, celebrates its 100 years' anniversary in business this year. Rolex has been considered the Rolls-Royce in field of watch industry and had a special position in the hearts of luxury watch lovers around the globe. The brand positioning in the market has Tag Heuer definitely been successful as its watches stand for the merits of elegance, reliability, ruggedness and supreme luxury in its own unique way. Its popularity is wildly recognized through the world. The Rolex brand, owned by the company of German Hans Wildorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis, was registered in the UK in 1908. Their company, Wilsdorf & Davis, was founded in London in 1905 and later moved to Geneva in 1919. So, the origin or root of Rolex is not exactly in Switzerland. Much has been known about the Rolex brand but there's a certain mystery on how Wilsdorf and Davis got this name up to this day. It is said that Wilsdorf & Davis, coined the name after the brands “Rolls-Royce” and watch brand “Timex” (Timex was a watch brand in the UK since 1879 but was only registered in 1950). Some believe Wilsdorf thought about the name while travelling in London on a bus. Thereafter, a passion for watch making excellence unfolds. Rolex introduced the first waterproof watch in the world by patenting the 'screw down crown'. In 1927, Mercedes Gleitze became the first British woman to swim the English Channel wearing a Rolex. A month later, the legendary brand “Oyster” was born. 80 years thereafter, Oyster continues to be Rolex's single biggest umbrella brand. This is a remarkable history not replicated by any other watch brand in the world. 1931 witnessed the introduction of the world's first Automatic Rotary Winding Mechanism named 'Oyster Perpetual'. Soon thereafter, in 1935, Sir Malcolm Campbell set a world speed record wearing a 'Rolex Oyster Perpetual'. Rolex was the first wrist watch in the world (1910) to carry 'Swiss chronometer rating' which defines highest standards of accuracy and reliability. Not surprisingly, every Replica Rolex gets handcrafted and about two hundred craftsmen and technicians work on every single piece before it acquires the Rolex name. In 1953, when Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing were climbing Mount Everest, both wore Rolex watches; Hillary wore a Rolex Oyster and Tenzing, with a Bubble back. Tenzing got his Bubble back as a gift from his longtime friend and fellow climber Raymond Lambert and it is now exhibited in the Geneva headquarter of Rolex. One of the quaintest watches Rolex has ever made is the Cellini Prince, which was developed in the year 1928, and became a bestseller in its time. Prince, being a watch with a rectangular case and dual dial, was a complete departure from Rolex's traditional design philosophy. There were so few Prince Watches, which made an old Prince become precious dream of a watch collector. In the centenary year of this brand, Rolex has introduced a new 'Prince'. This version, rectangular in an 18ct gold case however is not for everyone – it is only for those who are extremely in love with and who will cherish Rolex!

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