MARK OF A CENTURY

The Rolex Oyster celebrates a hundred years of watchmaking excellence.

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Nineteen twenty-six will forever be known as the year the world of horology witnessed a tectonic shift in watchmaking. That was the year the Rolex Oyster was born, the brainchild of Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex founder who dreamed of adding the wristwatch to technological innovations transforming society.

Since then, the Oyster has been steadfastly robust, practical and reliable on the wrists of those facing the toughest conditions. It has been a century that saw the Oyster evolve into a family of watches that are now considered definitive references.

A VISIONARY UNDERTAKING

At the foundation of the technology are the three fundamental achievements that have forged Rolex’s unmitigated success — precision, waterproofness and self-winding. These developments transformed the way we use timepieces, and altered the face of watchmaking.

Precision, waterproofness, self-winding. Three major challenges, three fundamental achievements that would forge the success of a visionary individual and the destiny of a revolutionary watch.

Although compact in size, the Oyster could match the precision of a large marine chronometer. Most importantly, it was Rolex’s first completely waterproof and dustproof wristwatch. A few years later, the invention of the Perpetual rotor, a self-winding system with a free rotor, patented in 1931, provided the Oyster with an inexhaustible source of energy. Wilsdorf’s vision had therefore been fully realized, crowning a watchmaking revolution that was already underway.

A LIVING LABORATORY