Rolex is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, with the company later relocating its headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland in 1919. Rolex SA is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private charitable trust, making it one of the few major luxury watch brands that is neither publicly traded nor owned by a luxury conglomerate.
The company is known for its Oyster Perpetual line, which includes iconic models such as the Submariner, Daytona, GMT-Master II, Datejust, Day-Date, Explorer, and Sea-Dweller. Rolex introduced the first waterproof wristwatch case (the Oyster) in 1926 and the first self-winding mechanism with a Perpetual rotor in 1931. The brand also developed the first wristwatch to display two time zones simultaneously with the GMT-Master in 1955.
Rolex manufactures virtually all components of its watches in-house, including cases, dials, movements, and bracelets, across four facilities in Switzerland. The company produces an estimated 800,000 to one million watches per year. All Rolex watches are certified as Superlative Chronometers, meeting the brand's internal standards that exceed the official COSC chronometer certification.
Rolex does not sell directly online. Watches are available through a global network of authorized dealers. Retail prices for new Rolex watches generally range from approximately $5,000 for entry-level Oyster Perpetual models to over $75,000 for precious metal and gem-set configurations. Secondary market prices for in-demand models frequently exceed retail.