Rolex watches history

The First Rolex President

President Dwight Eisenhower's Rolex

[1951 Yellow Gold Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee Bracelet]

The 150, 000th Officially Certified Rolex Swiss Chronometer

This is the inside story of how, in many ways, Rolex became Rolex. In the history of Rolex no historian has ever been able to take you behind the scenes, inside the mind of Rolex and give you an inside-out-view of Rolex–until now.

There has never been a book or magazine that has given the reader an uncanny look at Rolex through first-hand accounting, with many never before seen Rolex Documents as well as Letters to Rolex from General Henri Guisan, Sir Winston Churchill, General and then U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as official correspondence from the extremely talented, creative and passionate Director of Rolex, Rene Paul Jeanneret.

In Part 5 of The Complete History of The Rolex President you will see for the first time in history, current photos of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Yellow Gold Rolex Datejust, including photos of the never seen in history verso that has General Eisenhower's 5 Stars, DDE initials and date he assumed the position of Supreme Commander of NATO.

Part 1: Genesis

The reason I started Jake's Rolex Watch Blog is because I have been extremely passionate about Rolex watch design for over a quarter century. As I have mentioned before, I bought my first Rolex Submariner over a quarter century ago when I was 16. When I was 14 I started trying to understand what made Rolex tick–literally and figuratively.

My first conscious experience with Rolex was when I was 14 years old, when a family friend showed me his Rolex "El Presidente" as he called it. He told me the Rolex "El Presidente" was almost a $10, 000 watch (In 1981) and he exclaimed, that the Rolex "El Presidente" was not only one of the most expensive watches money could buy, but that it was "The International Mark of Success."

He went on to say, the basic message a person conveys when they can afford to wear such a watch is that "You must be doing something right if you can afford to wear a $10, 000 Rolex watch on your wrist. You are clearly perceived as a highly successful man with many options." One day in the future, probably in a podcast, I will share more of this story with you in detail, but for now we will stay focused on the history of the watch dubbed "The Rolex President."

I decided to publish my online Rolex Magazine and create the largest online Rolex research library, so I could share all the insight and knowledge I gained in my lifetime with the world. Also, I kept hearing many different and conflicting stories about the history of Rolex.

To the best of my knowledge, Rolex is typically very quiet about their wonderful history so I decided to dig deeper and answer all the unanswered Rolex History questions. In doing so I unearthed what is probably the greatest piece of untold Rolex History, which is the story of the Rolex Moon Watches, and in particular, the story of how NASA Apollo 14 Astronaut, Edward Mitchell wore his Rolex GMT on the longest Moonwalk in recorded history. To learn more about The Rolex Moon Watches click here.

In my mind, another one of the great untold Rolex history stories is the story of the Rolex President. But wait a minute!!! Is there even such a watch as the Rolex President, or Presidential, or is it the El Presidente, or is it the Day-Date, or is the Rolex President just a bracelet? Or is the Rolex President a Datejust with a Jubilee Bracelet? Is The Rolex President named after a President, or is it perhaps simply a state of mind?

Then there are the people who get angry if you say "Rolex President." They will immediately correct you and say "there is no such thing as a Rolex President!!!" It is called the Day-Date." These of course are likely the same people who will get upset if you call San Francisco, "Frisco."

Once I was wearing my Yellow Gold Yachtmaster and a girl who had known me for many, many years said "Oh!! Nice watch!!! Rolex Presidential. Very Nice!!!" So maybe if you wear any Yellow Gold Rolex you are wearing a Rolex Presidential!?!?

I intend to definitively answer once and for all these questions in a way Rolex likely could not. Instead of writing the story and publishing it all at once, I have elected to do it as a multi part story, and this is part 1. I will roll-out the next parts as soon as I can finish them.

Before, I start sharing the story of the Rolex President with you I need to share a few things:

First I want to point out that this story as well as everything I have written on my blog to date is not authorized by Rolex. Jake's Rolex Watch Blog is not affiliated with Rolex Geneva, or Rolex U.S.A. in any way shape or form, except that I have been a loyal patron of their product for many, many years.

I would also like to thank the kind folks at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library for all their gracious assistance as well as the National Archives of the United States of America. I would also like to thank the NATO Archives, The JFK Presidential Library, and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, as well as the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Archives.

I would also like to thank my great pal, Leo (The Idle Swede) for sharing all of his kind insight and wisdom with me, and being a superb friend and fellow Rolex enthusiast. I would like to also thank my great pal, Michael McClure for his profound help in keeping me on track as well as Raleigh DeGeer Amyx for sharing photos of President Eisenhower's Rolex Watch as well as other great Presidential historical material.

One thing, I can share with you about this fantastic story is that when it is done being written, you will learn that it is a beautiful story about much more than a watch or even a company. It is a story about human strength, and human frailty. It is a story about kindness, and humility. It is a story about some of the finest gentlemen that ever walked planet earth.

Young Hans Wilsdorf

In order to tell the story of "The Rolex President" we must begin with the first President of Rolex, who was also the founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf. This is one our first clues, because in the United States, Hans Wilsdorf would have the title of President or CEO, but in Europe his title was Director General.

Hans Eberhard Wilhelm Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex was born in a small village in Bavaria (now part of Germany) on March 22, 1881. When he was young man, he moved to Geneva, Switzerland, then to London England in 1903, where in 1905 he started a watch company named Wilsdorf & Davis, which was changed to Rolex in 1908.

In 1919 Hans Wilsdorf moved to Geneva, Switzerland and made Geneva the official headquarters for Rolex, with its center of operations in Bienne. Rolex prospered and made tremendous technological progress with introducing the worlds first waterproof watch in 1927, named the Rolex Oyster, and a short year later Rolex introduced the Rolex Prince.

The Oyster was the perfect sport watch and the Prince was the perfect dress watch.

Today, the idea of a water and element proof watch is something we take for granted, but in the late 1920s it was a huge technological and horological triumph. In the early 1930s Rolex was moving along and growing by leaps and bounds, then all hell broke loose in the late 1930s when Adolf Hitler started annexing parts of Europe and started talking about his 1000 year Reich which would be taking over the entire plant. This of course made everybody very uncomfortable, the same way in which Napoleon Bonaparte did the exact same thing less than 150 years prior.

The Nazi regime at one point had taken over all of Europe with the exception of five countries; Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain, Spain and Portugal, thus Switzerland was completely surrounded by territory controlled by the Axis Powers from 1940 to 1945.

The vast majority of the Swiss people were adamantly opposed to Hitler's annexation of Europe and resolved that there was not a chance in Hell the Führer would take over and enslave Switzerland. As a matter of historical fact many in the Swiss government were resolved to fight to the last man if that was what it took.

Switzerland has always been renowned for being neutral, but like any people, they did not wish to be dictated to by a foreign power. The Swiss in general are very precise thinkers and they also tend to be stubborn at times.