Rolex was founded by Hans Wilsdorf in 1905.The company ,Wilsdorf & Davies,  Born in Kulmbach, Germany in 1881 ,was based in London. By 1908 it had become one of the leading watch companies in the UK. It was in this year that he coined the name Rolex.

In 1910, a major milestone in the successful evolution of Rolex was achieved when Rolex received the world’s first wristwatch chronometer rating for its movement from the Aegler's company. After being awarded the "Class A" Certificate of Precision from the famous Kew Observatory in England in 1914, Rolex decided to accept movements from Aegler only after they successfully had passed Rolex’s own series of rigorous tests. This decision began a new qualitative standard of accurate and reliable watches in the industry. People started to recognize the brand "W & D" and notice its focus on true quality.

In 1926 the Rolex Oyster was released. It was the first wristwatch to be considered waterproof, proven a year later when the watch was worn by the swimmer Mercedes Gleitze in his successful bid to cross the English Channel. This was beneficial to Wilsdorf whom had sponsored the event and gained considerable exposure for his new Oyster Watch. Wilsdorf recognised the importance of advertising and marketing his creation in order to gain publicity and prestige.

Andre Heiniger took over the company following the death of Hans Wildorf on 06 July 1960. Rolex continued to invent and innovate in terms of technical skill and style throughout the 2nd half of the century. The Sea-dweller (1967) was certified as reaching depths of up to 1,220 metres making it the choice for Professional Divers - a point that was quickly adopted in advertising the model. The Explorer II (1978) and Cosmograph Daytona (1988) were also released to international waiting lists securing Rolex as one of the worlds most prestigious watch brands.

Even to this very day, with the world watch market flooded with cheaper quartz watches and second-rate imitations, Rolex continues to manufacture its highly accurate, chronometer certified mechanical watches. In fact, with the beginning of the 21st century, it has created an institute called the "Watch Technicum" in the small town of Lititz, Pennsylvania where 12 students are trained every year in the art of mechanical watch repair. The supreme engineering of Rolex in making quality watches places it among the top 100 companies in the world. Today, it is the single largest luxury watch brand! Producing about 2000 watches per day, it has been ranked #71 on the 2007 annual list of the top 100 global companies by Business Week magazine and at the top slot amongst all watch companies. Rolex has continuously improved the functionality and look of different Rolex models under all of the three major categories: Oyster Perpetual, Professional, and Cellini. In the future, you may hope to come across even better versions of the current models and be able to lay your eyes on altogether new models offering never-before-seen features. It is rightly said that tradition meets innovation at Rolex. Perhaps no other company in the world has such a tradition and consistent legacy of both innovation and high qualitative standards. Without question, Rolex is the place where luxury and precision are one.