Ideal companion of world travellers

For over a century, Rolex has been synonymous with inventions, which include its easy-to-pronounce brand name coined by Hans Wilsdorf 12 years before he founded the prolific watchmaking empire.

“I tried combining the letters of the alphabet in every possible way. This gave me some 100 names but none of them felt quite right. One morning, while riding on the upper deck of a horse-drawn omnibus along Cheapside in the City of London, a genie whispered ‘Rolex’ in my ear,” Wilsdorf said.

After settling in Geneva, he established Montres Rolex S.A. in 1920. Starting with the Oyster waterproof wristwatch and Perpetual rotor invented in 1926 and 1931, Rolex’s list of innovations has lengthened to include patented materials and movement parts.

Multiple…