1. Hans Wilsdorf was a German businessman, best known as the founder of Rolex and Tudor.
22 Facts About Hans Wilsdorf
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Hans Wilsdorf was born in Kulmbach, Bavaria, to Protestant parents, Anna and Johan Daniel Ferdinand Wilsdorf and was the second son of a family of three children.
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Hans Wilsdorf's mother died when he was a boy and he became an orphan when his father died soon after when Hans was twelve years old.
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Hans Wilsdorf's fate was placed in the hands of his uncles who sold the prosperous family iron tools business which had belonged to his grandfather, and later to his father.
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Hans Wilsdorf published his autobiography in 1946 as part of a four-volume set of books named Rolex Jubilee Vade Mecum.
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Hans Wilsdorf had an interest in mathematics and languages, which inspired him to travel and work in foreign countries.
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Hans Wilsdorf began his career as an apprentice with an international pearl-exporting company.
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The experience Hans Wilsdorf gained during this apprenticeship was applied to his future dealings.
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In 1900 Hans Wilsdorf began his career in Swiss watchmaking when he moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds to work as an English correspondent and clerk with the watch firm of Messrs.
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Hans Wilsdorf was responsible for winding hundreds of pocket watches daily in his role with Cuno Korten, as well as verifying that all watches were accurate.
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Hans Wilsdorf learned a majority of his fundamental watchmaking skills during his time with Cuno Korten.
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In 1903 Hans Wilsdorf moved to London, England where he went to work for another high-quality watchmaking company.
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On Rolex's 50th anniversary, in 1958, Hans Wilsdorf shared the story of how he originally conceived the 'Rolex' name in 1908:.
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Hans Wilsdorf was an early believer in the potential of the wrist watch, and made it his mission in life to popularize them.
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In 1905, Hans Wilsdorf travelled to Bienne, Switzerland and placed an order with Hermann Aegler, resulting in the largest order ever made for wristlet watches.
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Hans Wilsdorf realized the advent of the Rolex Oyster was a major potential of growing income, and invested heavily in advertising.
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When Hans Wilsdorf heard of this, he offered to replace all watches that had been confiscated and not require payment until the end of the war, if the officers would write to Rolex and explain the circumstances of their loss and where they were being held.
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Hans Wilsdorf had been a POW in Stalag Luft III and had taken Rolex up on the offer to order a replacement for the watch confiscated by the Germans.
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Hans Wilsdorf established the high-quality lower-priced watch brand Tudor, a subsidiary company of Rolex, in 1946.
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On March 6,1946, Hans Wilsdorf made the following statement regarding Tudor:.
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Hans Wilsdorf was buried in Kings Cemetery in Geneva beside his first and second wives.
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The Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, established in 1945, still owns and controls Rolex.