3 Things You Should Know Before You Buy A Rolex | Watchfinder & Co.

being the best-known and most popular luxury watch brand in the world Rolex watches have little trouble selling themselves many many people are quite happy to buy one just because it says Rolex on it paying little mind to what the name really stands for well before you buy Rolex here are three things you should know [Music] when you think of the mighty Rolex you think of the numerous different inventions the brand brought to watch making the water-resistant watch for example in 1926 the automatic self-winding movement in 1931 the first self-changing date in 1945 every single one of those developments changed watchmaking forever and not just in the hyperbolic sensationalist marketing sense they actually forced other brands much bigger brands to change the way they operated before the 1926 oyster for example watchmakers considered light dustproof nests to be perfectly adequate for a wristwatch Rolex changed that before the 1931 perpetual watchmakers were happy to let customers wind their watches by hand before 1945 watchmakers expected customers to buy a newspaper if they wanted to know what the date was only Rolex didn't invent any of it not one bit every single one of those groundbreaking creations already existed so how is Rolex credited with their creation by doing them properly the water-resistant watch for example sealed with screw threads like a jam jar that had been in existence since Victorian times but only as a concept other watchmakers had dabbled combining bulky solutions like push-fit seals clamping covers and locking secondary cases but Rolex simplified the idea by threading the bezel the case back and the crown the result of which was sensibly proportioned easy to use and straightforward to produce the same can be said of the perpetual rotor variations of the self-winding movement had existed since the 1770s but all of them were clunky and complex requiring bulky elaborate mechanisms to accommodate for the fact that their rotor weights couldn't complete a 360 degree rotation rolex again simplified the situation developing a rotor weight that could spin and spin and spin without interference and the self changing date the perpetual calendar had been in existence for decades in wristwatches and centuries in pocket watches the first known otama smudge from 1762 and those all had a self-changing date in them but once again rolex saw an opportunity to refine and simplify this hallowed complication taking away all the complexity to be left with just the date and one that needed manual adjustment every month at that for rolex it's never been about the originality of the idea more the execution the simplicity the way it just works reminds you of any other industry leading tech manufacturers Rolex came to the watch making game pretty late in life by the time found a hands whilst of got into it in 1905 Omega had already got a 57 year head start patek philippe 66 years there was no chance for 24-year old hands Wilsdorf with no watch making training whatsoever to start making watches that would come anywhere close to competing all by himself he needed help he needed someone to make his watches for him that's fine plenty of watchmakers get their start by outsourcing construction or buying in catalog parts Rolex however didn't get around to bring in construction fully in-house until 2004 for 99 years most of the company's existence its parts have not been made in-house a few components like the hands still aren't so what gives back when Rolex first started practically no one was making wristwatches here presented an opportunity for Wilsdorf to head his competitors off at the pass or rather the passing of an old format the pocket watch the only wristwatches that existed at the time were ladies pendant watches powered by inferior cylinder escapements first whilst off identified a company that could make movements with Swiss lever escapement small enough to fit inside a wristwatch a glove and then a company that could supply the hardware to fit them in Denison and set about making a watch a wristwatch that was actually pretty decent the practicality of his wristwatch has made them a necessity during the Great War and so willsdorf up scaled the output of his manufacturers and continued to work and develop his watches identifying more opportunities to put Rolex on the front page of every newspaper in the world because that's what Wilsdorf was a businessman a marketing man not a watchmaker he had an uncanny sense for knowing what the public wanted and how best to deliver it but not how to put a watch together but there was one nagging doubt in Wilsdorf spined about the use of outsourcing and that was quality without sourcing the brand was vulnerable to anything from inconsistencies to outright defects and with a reputation for tool like precision it was something Rolex could do without so one by one the brand absorbed its suppliers bought them outright piece by piece Rolex an inch towards autonomy and independence finally purchasing the family business that had so faithfully manufactured its movements egg ler in 2004 and what about the hands still produced elsewhere truth be told is incredibly rare for watchmakers to produce specialist parts like balance Springs synthetic crystals and rubies and even hands and dials after very small very expensive independence and Seiko Rolex is now one of the most self-sustaining watchmakers out there if you're buying rolex you're buying into the idea of proper Swiss watchmaking straight from the foothills of the Jura mountains assembled by wizened Swiss watchmaker sustains solely with Swiss cheese and Swiss chocolate here's some news for you Rolex isn't Swiss Rolex founder has willsdorf isn't Swiss the brand wasn't founded in Switzerland and the first watches weren't made in Switzerland either some background to color in the picture willsdorf was a big fan of England at the turn of the century he found himself looking for any excuse to up sticks from his then job in Switzerland as a watch distributor and head across the channel and when an opening came up to become an international representative in London he took it without a moment's hesitation there he was presented with a golden opportunity watch imports were expensive and with English watch making having long since been on the downturn there was a lucrative chance to import high-quality Swiss movements fit them into English cases and sell them at an affordable price point his business contacts with Swiss movement manufacturer AG ler got him set up with a powertrain while English company Dennison supplied pretty much everything else the plan worked and Wilsdorf scum Peniche showed promise but it needed a name one that was easy to pronounce in any language that felt instantly recognizable and it came to him in 1908 on a coach ride to his jewelers in Hatton Garden Rolex the Rolex name was bestowed upon his watches as they won accuracy award after accuracy award but doors love affair with London wasn't to last the great war was brewing and with it hostility willsdorf was natively German and his thick accent and German name alienated him from the city he loved so much with that and rising import taxes he was forced to move back to Switzerland taking his company with him and leaving his beloved country behind in 1920 Rolex was officially registered in Geneva the English heritage of his brand no more so if you're thinking of buying a Rolex now you know it's different to most other brands founded under challenging circumstances and forged by clever thinking and a generous dollop of creativity it might not be quite what you thought it was but its trials and tribulations only make its success all the more impressive discover more exceptional watches at watch finder co dot UK if you enjoyed this video please like and subscribe if there are any other watches you'd like to see reviewed please let us know in the comments below

Channel: Watchfinder & Co.

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Keywords: swiss watches, watches, watch, watchmaking, watch review, luxury, lifestyle, review, rolex, breitling, omega, before buying a rolex, buying a rolex, you should know, rolex buying tips, rolex buying guide, buy rolex, watch collection, audemars piguet, watch expert, rolex datejust, patek philippe, rolex submariner, rolex daytona, breitling navitimer, watch collector, watchfinder, watch finder, law owe pin, rolex watch, andrew morgan watches, tim mosso, watchbox, casioak, g shock, casio

Id: flM67s7ONPQ

Length: 10min 5sec (605 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 12 2019