Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: When was Rolex founded?
Rolex SA (/ˈroʊlɛks/) is a Swiss luxury watchmaker. Originally founded as Wilsdorf and Davis by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London in 1905, the company registered Rolex as the brand name of its watches in 1908.[3][4][5] In 1919, the company moved its base of operations to Geneva, Switzerland in order to avoid heavy taxation from a recovering post-war Britain, and "Montres Rolex S.A." was registered as the new company name by Hans Wilsdorf in Geneva in 1920.[4][6][7] Since 1960, the company has been owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private family trust.[5][8][9]
Blood Money Entertainment is an American independent record label. In December 2012, The Game founded a new record label, Rolex Records, along with rapper Stat Quo. Following its founding, he bought his entire team at the record label Rolex watches. After a six-month legal battle with Rolex, he changed the name and logo of the record label to The Firm, which then became Blood Money Entertainment. The label has signed West Coast rappers Skeme, King Marie, Pharaoh Jackson and Dubb.Game has two sons and one daughter, Harlem Caron Taylor (born 2003), King Justice Taylor (born 2007) and California "Cali" Dream Taylor (born 2010).
"Wearing My Rolex" is a 2008 single from British grime artist Wiley, who is a founding member of the Roll Deep crew. Described as "grime-meets-electro" on BBC Radio 1Xtra, the song samples DSK's song "What Would We Do" and its lyrics "usually, bubble." and was released on 5 May 2008 by Asylum/Atlantic Records. The track was produced by Bow producer Bless Beats. "Wearing My Rolex" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart.
After Mercedes Gleitze, Hans Wilsdorf turned to land speed king, Sir Malcolm Campbell to represent Rolex as a brand ambassador. Malcolm Campbell shattered land-speed records 9 times between 1924 and 1935.
In 1931, four years after Rolex shocked the world with the Rolex Oyster which was the first waterproof watch, they launched the worlds first wristwatch with an automatic mechanical movement, which they dubbed "The Rolex Perpetual". The Rolex Perpetual would automatically wind its movement by harnessing energy captured from a bi-directional rotor that would pivot on a center axis inside the Rolex watch. Just like the Rolex Oyster, the Rolex Perpetual was another horological game-changer.
By the start of World War II Royal Air Force pilots were buying Rolex watches to replace their inferior standard-issue watches. However, when captured and sent to POW camps, their watches were confiscated. When 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. Wilsdorf personally oversaw this effort.
Hans Wildorf's first wife, "Florence Frances May Wilsdorf—Crotty" never had any children, and passed away from an illness during World War II in 1944. In 1945 Hans Wilsdorf setup the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, to which he handed over his 100% ownership stake. The Hans Wilsdorf Foundation owns and controls Rolex to this day, and donates a great deal of its income to charity and social causes in Geneva, Switzerland. 
In 1945 Rolex set another horological precedent when they introduced the first wrist watch to feature an aperture window that automatically showed the date by using a date-wheel. The Rolex Datejust was another game-changing first in the world of horology, and ended up on the wrist of many famous world leaders including Sir Winston Churchill and U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Wilsdorf also established the high quality, lower-priced watch brand "Tudor", a subsidiary company of Rolex, in 1946. On March 6, 1946 Hans Wilsdorf made the following statement regarding the Tudor brand"
Rolex mostly produced mechanical watches, but it has also participated in the development of the original quartz watch movements. Although Rolex has made very few quartz models for its Oyster line, the company's engineers were instrumental in design and implementation of the technology during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1968, Rolex collaborated with a consortium of 16 Swiss watch manufacturers to develop the Beta 21 quartz movement used in their Rolex Quartz Date 5100 alongside other manufactures including the Omega Electroquartz watches.[35] Within about five years of research, design, and development, Rolex created the "clean-slate" 5035/5055 movement that would eventually power the Rolex Oysterquartz.[36]
In 2017, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion won the FIA Founding Members' Heritage Cup for Motorsport Event of the Year, the first event at an American venue to receive the prestigious award.
Due to the series' affiliation with NASCAR, many Sprint Cup Series drivers occasionally participated in Rolex Series races, particularly the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Speed Channel was the near-exclusive broadcaster of the Rolex Sports Car Series and included coverage of the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen and the 24 Hours of Daytona. On August 17, 2013, Fox Sports 1 became the new near-exclusive broadcaster for the Rolex Sports Car Series until 2014 when both Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series form United Sports Car Racing.
The original Daytona watches were not in demand when produced, and were relatively inexpensive ($210 + tax when introduced), but later became highly collectible and fetched high prices at auction. In 1988, a stainless "Paul Newman" Daytona (Ref. 6241) was listed in an auction catalog with an estimated closing price of $3,000 to $3,500. In 2013, during a special Rolex Daytona-themed auction held in Geneva on 10 November, Christie's sold a rare Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263 in steel, manufactured in 1969, for (well over one million US dollars).
The Rolex Yacht-Master is a sport watch made by Rolex, first introduced in 1992 with the model 16628 in 18-carat yellow gold. In 1994, Rolex released a lady's model (69628) and a mid-size man's model (68628), which was the first time Rolex had ever issued a smaller professional size watch. In 1996, Rolex introduced two-tone (stainless steel and 18-carat yellow gold) to the lady's and mid-size line.
Rolex SA and its subsidiary Montres Tudor SA design, manufacture, distribute and service wristwatches sold under the Rolex and Tudor brands. In 2018, Forbes ranked Rolex SA as the world's 71st most valuable brand.[10] As of 2018, among the world's top ten most expensive watches ever sold at auctions, three are Rolex watches. In particular, Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona currently holds the title of the most expensive wristwatch and the second most expensive watch ever sold at auction, reaching a final price of 17.75 million US dollars in New York on October 26th, 2017.[11][12][13]
In a famous murder case, the Rolex on Ronald Platt's wrist eventually led to the arrest of his murderer, Albert Johnson Walker—a financial planner who had fled from Canada when he was charged with 18 counts of fraud, theft, and money laundering. When the body was found in the English Channel in 1996 by a fisherman named John Coprik,[80] a Rolex wristwatch was the only identifiable object on the body.[80] Since the Rolex movement had a serial number and was engraved with special markings every time it was serviced, British police traced the service records from Rolex and identified the owner of the watch as Ronald Platt. In addition, British police were able to determine the date of death by examining the date on the watch calendar. Since the Rolex movement was fully waterproof and had a reserve of two to three days of operation when inactive, they were able to determine the time of death within a small margin of error.[80][81]
In December 2012, The Game founded a new record label, Rolex Records along with rapper Stat Quo. Following its founding, he bought his entire team at the record label Rolex watches. After a six-month legal battle with Rolex, he was forced to change the name and logo of the record label. He officially would then change the name of the label to The Firm, which then became Blood Money Entertainment. The label signed West Coast rappers Skeme and Dubb as its first two artists.
The series had previously been broadcast by the Seven Network, from 1963 to 1996 and from 2007 to 2014, Network Ten and Fox Sports from 1997 to 2006 and from 2015 onwards, During the years of Network Ten and Fox Sports continued to broadcast the series once a year for the Melbourne 400 championship races, which are a support category at the Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix, which was broadcast by Ten and Fox Sports. Previously when the Nine Network held the Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix broadcast rights in Australia, they would broadcast the Supercars support races at the Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix. All support category races were tied up with the Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix broadcast rights as a package.
The Datejust is offered with two classic Rolex bracelets: the Jubilee and the Oyster. The original Datejust was launched with a case size of 36mm. Later, however, ladies' and mid-sized versions became available. The Turn-O-Graph model was introduced in 1955 as an award given to US Air Force pilots returning from combat missions. It featured a rotating bezel marked to 60 minutes, which can be used to measure time intervals. Datejusts of this type have been nicknamed "Thunderbirds". Chuck Yeager wore one of these models when he broke the sound barrier. This would be the basis for the Rolex Explorer (designed for Sir Edmund Hillary's Mount Everest expedition), the Rolex Submariner, and the Rolex Sea Dweller.
By the start of World War II Royal Air Force pilots were buying Rolex watches to replace their inferior standard-issue watches. However, when captured and sent to POW camps, their watches were confiscated.[17] 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. Wilsdorf was in personal charge of the scheme.[73][74] As a result of this, an estimated 3,000 Rolex watches were ordered by British officers in the Oflag (prison camp for officers) VII B POW camp in Bavaria alone.[73] This had the effect of raising the morale among the allied POWs because it indicated that Wilsdorf did not believe that the Axis powers would win the war.[73][75] American servicemen heard about this when stationed in Europe during WWII and this helped open up the American market to Rolex after the war.[17]
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date is a COSC certified, self-winding chronometer manufactured by Rolex. Initially presented in 1956, the Day-Date was the first watch to display the date, as well as the day, in its entirety. The Day-Date is one of Rolex's watches that is made only in solid 18k yellow gold, 18k white gold, 18k everose gold (Rolex's version of 18k rose gold) and platinum (PT950). Additionally Rolex manufactures a specific bracelet only available for the Day-Date line, the President bracelet. Due to the name of this bracelet, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date is commonly referred to as "Rolex president" or "presidential Rolex".
The conception of the Datejust Oysterquartz dates to the beginning of the 1970s. The design of the watch is far removed from the classic Rolex line and carved characteristics of the period: a completely angular case, an integrated band with a polished finish and sapphire glass. Regarding the materials used to make this watch, the whole range consisted of three versions: gold, steel with white gold bezel and steel and yellow gold. At the start, the Datejust Oysterquartz was somewhat overlooked in Europe; however, it was much sought after on the Asian and American markets. A renewed interest in the watch was sparked when Rolex decided to take the Oysterquartz out of its catalogue and thus out of production. The era of the Rolex quartz watch ended in 2001, having lasted less than three decades. The Rolex Datejust Oysterquartz began to appear in the most important auction houses’ catalogues, becoming a highly valued object on the collector's market.
The mentoring programme grew out of a desire by Rolex, the Swiss watch company, to support artists in the same way that the Rolex Awards for Enterprise were supporting scientists, conservationists and explorers. Two years of research in the 1990s led to the discovery that mentorship of individual young artists was lacking, and the international initiative was founded to nurture young dancers, musicians, theatre directors, writers, visual artists and film-makers.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner is a line of sports watches designed for diving manufactured by Rolex, known for their resistance to water and corrosion. The first Submariner was introduced to the public in 1954 at the Basel Watch Fair. The Rolex Submariner is considered "a classic among wristwatches", manufactured by one of the most widely recognized luxury brands in the world. Due to its popularity there are many homage watches by well-established watchmakers as well as illegal counterfeits. The Rolex Submariner is part of Rolex's Oyster Perpetual line.
Rolex counterfeits are illegally manufactured replicas of Rolex watches. Rolex watches have often been more susceptible to counterfeiting compared to other luxury watches, due their brand enjoying the highest worldwide awareness and ubiquity of their design trademarks (for instance, the Rolex Submariner has inspired plenty of imitations from both higher-end and lower-end legitimate watch makers). Counterfeit Rolex watches commonly retail anywhere from $5 to upwards of $1,000; the latter for high-end replicas with portions fabricated from solid karat gold (although most gold Rolex fakes utilize gold electroplating). Such watches are known by several nicknames such as "Fauxlex". The fake Rolex trade has become segmented and the products marketed using glossy color brochures and catalogues containing counterfeited wares produced in China and offered for sale to retail vendors throughout Asia.
Rolex SA offers products under the Rolex and Tudor brands. Montres Tudor (SA) has designed, manufactured and marketed Tudor watches since 6 March 1946. Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf conceived of the Tudor Watch Company to create a product for authorized Rolex dealers to sell that offered the reliability and dependability of a Rolex, but at a lower price.[28] The number of Rolex watches was limited by the rate that they could produce in-house Rolex movements, thus Tudor watches were originally equipped with off-the-shelf movements while using similar quality cases and bracelets.[29]
Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh had a specially designed experimental Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deep-Sea Special strapped to the outside of their bathyscaphe during the 1960 Challenger Deep / Mariana Trench dive to a world-record depth of 10,916 metres (35,814ft). When James Cameron conducted a similar dive in 2012, a specially designed and manufactured Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller Deep Sea Challenge watch was being "worn" by his submarine's robotic arm.[85]
List of watch manufacturers Rolex Awards for Enterprise Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative Rolex Tower
Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf created the Air-King line to honor RAF pilots of the Battle of Britain. By 2007, the 1142XX iteration of the Air-King featured a COSC-certified movement in a 34mm case, considered by some a miniaturized variant of the 39mm Rolex Explorer as both watches featured very similar styling cues; the 34mm Air-King lineup was the least expensive series of Oyster Perpetual. In 2014 the Air-King was dropped, making the Oyster Perpetual 26/31/34/36/39 the entry-level Rolex line. In 2016 Rolex reintroduced the Air-King, available as a single model (number 116900), largely similar to its predecessors but with a larger 40mm case, and a magnetic shield found on the Rolex Milgauss; indeed the new 40mm Air-King is slightly cheaper than the 39mm Explorer (the Explorer lacks the magnetic shield but its movement has Paraflex shock absorbers that are not found in the Air-King's movement).[63][64][65][66][67]
Mercedes Gleitze was the first British woman to swim the English Channel on 7 October 1927. However, as John E. Brozek (author of The Rolex Report: An Unauthorized Reference Book for the Rolex Enthusiast) points out in his article "The Vindication Swim, Mercedes Gleitze and Rolex take the plunge", some doubts were cast on her achievement when a hoaxer claimed to have made a faster swim only four days later. Hence Gleitze attempted a repeat swim with extensive publicity on 21 October, dubbed the "Vindication Swim". For promotional purposes, Hans Wilsdorf offered her one of the earliest Rolex Oysters if she would wear it during the attempt. After more than 10 hours, in water that was much colder than during her first swim, she was pulled from the sea semi-conscious seven miles short of her goal. Although she did not complete the second crossing, a journalist for The Times wrote "Having regard to the general conditions, the endurance of Miss Gleitze surprised the doctors, journalists and experts who were present, for it seemed unlikely that she would be able to withstand the cold for so long. It was a good performance". As she sat in the boat, the same journalist made a discovery and reported it as follows: "Hanging round her neck by a ribbon on this swim, Miss Gleitze carried a small gold watch, which was found this evening to have kept good time throughout". When examined closely, the watch was found to be dry inside and in perfect condition. One month later, on 24 November 1927, Wilsdorf launched the Rolex Oyster watch in the United Kingdom with a full front page Rolex advert in the Daily Mail. The Vienna Herald described the 1969 Apollo moon landing as: 'an event almost as significant as the time a woman swam most of the English Channel with a waterproof watch on.'[86]