Assignment #5 Hans Wilsdorf

Hans Wilsdorf was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1881. His parent were iron monger and they died when he was 12. He then lived with his Aunt in Uncle and they sent him to Boarding school in Coburg, Germany. There he learned English there. Eventually he got fed up with the school and left for Geneva, Switzerland and worked for a pearl merchant whole bought pearls and sold them without actually doing anything to them and still made a lot of money. He later got a job with Cuno-Korten a pocket watch company in Switzerland. He got the job because he could speak and write English to The British Empire and America.
While at this company he picked up on how the watches worked. He partnered up with Alfred Davis and the started a watch company. The contacted a company that would create watches movements that were small enough to fit on the wrist. In 1908, he registered the name Rolex. These watches were known to keep time extremely well. In 1926 he made the watch waterproof and called it the Oyster. He used convinced Mercedes Glietz to wear the Rolex Oyster on her 15 hour swim through the English Channel and said it would keep perfect time, and it did. This helped to make his watch famous around the world. Before he died, he set up a foundation that held all his share in the company and to this day it makes donations to orphanages around the world. His wife died in 1944 after a 14 day illness and he died in 1960.

https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Montres-Rolex-SA-Company-History.html
http://www.watchmasters.net/the-rolex-story-hans-wilsdorf.html