One morning in 1908, “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.” The ear into which that supernatural being whispered belonged to the 27-year-old Hans Wilsdorf, a German émigré with a business importing and distributing timepieces. On July 2 of that year he registered that strange five-letter word as a trademark in Switzerland.
The derivation and meaning of the word continue to be debated: some believe it to be acronymic and to come from “hoROLogical EXcellence,” or, even more prosaically, “ROLling EXport.” Lost in time, or buried deep in the archives of Rolex, the exact origins of the name are now irrelevant. Meaning was destined to come with time. That word, which, 115 years ago, was equally meaningless in all languages, is now known around the world, and Wilsdorf’s fanciful explanation brings a pleasing touch of magic realism to the otherwise pragmatic life of a young entrepreneur in Edwardian London.
