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The Rolex Innovation Timeline: Celebrating 100-years of the Rolex Oyster Case
The early portion of the 20th century saw Rolex give the world of watchmaking two new innovations, without which the horology industry would be very different indeed.
We could argue all day whether it was the Oyster case or the Perpetual self-winding movement that was the most significant—and people often do. However, it is hard to deny that it was the former, Rolex’s hermetically sealed waterproof housing, which did the most to transform the image of the wristwatch away from being a purely feminine piece of jewelry and towards the one indispensable item of men’s fashion that we know today.
This year marks the centenary of the Oyster case’s introduction and so, as part of our series on the litany of Rolex’s innovations, we have dedicated this article to the invention which shaped modern watch manufacturing.
How it Started
Hans Wilsdorf founded the company that would go on to become Rolex in London in 1905. Together with his brother-in-law, Alfred Davis, the fledgling brand of Wilsdorf & Davis set up shop in Hatton Garden, the city’s jewelry quarter, and started out as importers; sourcing the best components from around Europe and combining them into fine watches that were sold through independent retailers.
Yet Wilsdorf’s ambitions were far grander. As early as 1910, he submitted a timepiece to the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland, where it won a ‘Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision’, the first wristwatch to ever win.
That success alone altered the public’s perception of the wristwatch, and it would shift even more in its favor following WWI where soldiers in the trenches realized the utility of wearing a watch on your arm over one kept in the pocket. When the troops returned home still sporting their wristwatches, suddenly they gained a reputation as masculine accessories.
The problem was, they were still delicate. Lacking the protective cover of a pocket watch, the initial wristwatch models were highly susceptible to the ingress of dust, sweat and water inside the case which fouled the movements.
But there were those already working on the challenge. Geneva-based Borgel, whose trench watches were greatly admired by WWI officers, patented a waterproof case in 1881, far ahead of its time. The one-piece design featured the movement mounted onto a threaded ring with the bezel and crystal attached which was then screwed into the case.
Rolex actually released their first ever water-resistant watch using the one-piece case in 1911 then, later, used Borgel’s improved three-piece design from 1903 for a series of models which are considered a vital step towards the Oyster. The three-piece had a case back and bezel with crystal which each screwed into the mid case, better sealing it from moisture.
The Oyster Case Arrives
Further variations on the theme materialized in the 1920s when Rolex launched their ‘Hermetic’ system, which would go on to form the Rolex Submarine. The rudimentary arrangement featured a three-piece case (this time made by casemaker Francis Baumgartner) which was then enclosed inside a larger case with a lid. As such, it certainly provided hitherto unheard of levels of protection, but with the downside of having to unscrew the whole thing to wind or set the time.
Wilsdorf recognized the utility of the Borgel three-piece case, but there was still one obstacle to a commercially viable waterproof watch; the crown. Notoriously the most susceptible part of any design, Rolex acquired the patent to a threaded crown system in 1925 from Perret and Perregaux. However, it was not included in the pending Oyster case as the design was flawed. As the crown was reverse threaded and did not have a clutch, it meant it could not be screwed back into the case if the movement was fully wound. Which meant the watch was not sealed. But it did form as the inspiration for the screw down crown arrangement that Wilsdorf patented, complete with internal clutch, in 1926. He also patented his own three-piece case design, tasking casemaker C.R. Spillman & Co. SA with developing it. Spillman produced an unusual octagonal case for Wilsdorf specifically, as experts think, to get around the Borgel trademark, which was for a round case.
Finally, on July 26, 1926, Wilsdorf patented the name ‘Oyster’ for his new invention, naming it after the hardy shellfish.
The Most Significant Rolex Watch in History
If there is one thing Hans Walsdorf knew better than watchmaking, it was marketing.
With the launch of his Rolex Oyster models, he had changed the face of both watchmaking in general and wristwatches in particular. All he needed was to get it in front of the general public.
Enter Mercedes Gleitze. The professional swimmer and future philanthropist became the first British woman to successfully swim the English Channel, on the 7th October 1927, at her eighth attempt. However, the record was thrown into doubt within days when another woman, Dr. Dorothy Cochrane Logan, claimed to have done it faster. Even though it was later proven to be a hoax, Gleitze was put under pressure to undertake the task again, in what the media termed a ‘vindication swim’.
Unfortunately, because the water was much colder than it had been for her initial attempt, Gleitze was unable to complete the challenge. But, she did stay in the water for more than 10-hours. And worn around her neck, performing faultlessly the entire time, was one of Rolex’s original, octagonal Oyster watches.
The resulting publicity cemented both Gleitze’s and Rolex’s name in the public consciousness and set the watchmaker on its way, with the swimmer becoming the first in a long line of Testimonees for the company; Rolex’s own word for an ambassador. Over the years, the brand has selected only those in the very highest echelons of their fields, whether they be explorers or athletes or musicians, to represent the peak of human achievement and so, by extension, promoting Rolex as the ultimate watchmaker. Pretty soon, Rolex watches were being displayed submerged in fishtanks in jewelers’ windows and the concept of the wristwatch as a manly accessory was just about complete.
It has been said by none other than Eric Wind, founder of Wind Vintage and possibly the world’s foremost authority on vintage watches, that the model worn by Gleitze on her swim is the most significant Rolex watch in history.
From it has stemmed the behemoth that we know today, the most famous watchmaker in history, and its success can be traced back to that icy swim in 1927.
But the genius of Wilsdorf still had one more industry-shattering reveal up his sleeve, something which would make his watches not only the sturdiest but also the most convenient. And we will cover the Perpetual movement in the next article.
Featured Photo: Mixed art by Oriol Mendivil for BKT Archive.
