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r/rolex •Posted by
u/powerfunk
9 hours ago
An overview of every watch brand ever made by Rolex Watch Co. (They tried a lot of crap before Tudor caught on and also made watches for a few other brands)
While most Rolex collectors know that Hans Wilsdorf registered a hodgepodge of trademarks, I hadn't seen a coherent list of brands that he actually used. Here's my attempt at a list of every brand of watch that was ever been made by Rolex/Rolex Watch Co. I am not counting co-brandings like
this "Dunklings Rolex" as separate brands; see
this thread for co-branded dials. Most of the dates listed here are estimates and many were gotten from
Mikrolisk. For most of these brands I'm going off of very little info; if anyone has any corrections or additional knowledge I'd love to hear it!
Rolex (1908 - Present)
Always a flagship brand, Rolex almost always used Aegler movements. Aegler even registered at least one Rolex trademark on Wilsdorf's behalf, bailed out Rolex with a loan during the Depression, and has pretty much been indistinguishable from Rolex for 80 years, although Rolex didn't formally buy Aegler S.A. until 2004.
Marconi (1909 - 1920's)
Many people assume this was Wilsdorf's first attempt at a downmarket brand, but I'm not convinced it was a downmarket brand. While many Marconi watches have "Rolex" improperly painted on later,
some Rolex Marconi watches are totally legit. The fact that he'd put Rolex and Marconi on the same dial, and in some cases
even on the same movement, indicates to me that Marconi was on a higher plane than some of these other brands. I don't believe I've ever seen a Rolex-signed movement on any other Rolex-owned brand. I've heard Marconi was the "Tudor of South America" before, but I don't buy it because some Marconis exist that are
co-branded by British retailers like James Walker. I don't think the standalone Marconi brand lasted past the 1920's, but there are some
"Oyster Marconi" watches from the 1930's that I believe are the last Marconis. But are they really Marconi Oysters, or are they Oyster Marconis?
Unicorn (1919 - 1933)
Unicorn is probably the most common early Rolex Watch Co. brand besides Rolex itself. I've seen it described as a replacement for the Marconi brand, but I don't agree with that. First of all, the brands overlapped for at least a few years, and as I mentioned I don’t believe Marconi was a downmarket brand. We do know that Unicorn and Rolco were always designed as cheaper options, however, as evidenced by
this old ad stating that the Rolex Oyster was "also made in Unicorn and Rolco quality in Snowite metal at £5." The Unicorn Watch brand must have had some value because watch company and movement maker A. Schild bought the brand from Rolex in 1933. You will often see post-1933 Unicorns on eBay incorrectly linking them to a Rolex history, but anything with
this logo has nothing to do with Rolex. That logo is an A. Schild trademark, not a Rolex trademark. The brand name "Unicorn" was too generic to trademark on its own, which is why Wilsdorf had to register "Unicorn Lever" in 1919, and then "Unicorn Watch" in 1923.
Rolco (1927 - 1930's)
Comparable brand to Unicorn.
Rolwatco (1922 - Mid-1920's)
I have never seen a men's Rolwatco watch, so I suspect it was specifically a brand for ladies' watches. Wilsdorf & Davis used Rolwatco branding
on some cases as well as
movements of watches with
sanitized (unbranded) dials. But, there are also a few watches with Rolwatco on the dial. Most of these, if not all, seem to have cases made of 9k gold. Note that Rolwatco was registered before Rolco; don't forget Wilsdorf started as a ladies' watch specialist! According to vintage-watches-collection.com, "as far forward as the late 1920s, the vast majority of the watches offered for sale in Rolex advertising of the time were intended for female use."
Genex (1920-1933)
Genex was registered in 1920 but I'm not sure it was used until the first Oysters came out, like the one above. It didn't seem to last long. It is my opinion that the Genex brand was sold to A. Schild in 1933 along with Unicorn. Genex watches exist from the 1950's that clearly look like A. Schild products.
Admiralty / To The Admiralty (1914 - 1923)
This is one of the toughest RWC brands to figure out. Several watchmakers have been writing "to the admiralty" and "for the admiralty" on watches since
Dent made the Standard Astronomical Clock for the Admiralty 200 years ago. I've found many "Admiralty" or "To/For the Admiralty" pocket watches
co-branded by Northern Goldsmiths or
James Walker. I believe most of the Admiralty watches out there have nothing to do with Rolex, but I'm 98% sure the one pictured above is an RWC product (based on the numeral font, its half-hunter movement, and the fact that James Walker was a Rolex retailer). The "Admiralty" brand may have been used most often by Rolex
on movements of watches with sanitized dials. Sometimes
the movement says "Admiralty 2" for some reason. I wonder if Wilsdorf had trouble keeping "Admiralty" as a trademark because he wasn't the first/only one to use it, so he tried using "Admiralty 2" before giving up on it altogether? Just a hunch. Keep in mind Wilsdorf was the kinda guy who registered the trademark "Omigra" because it sounds like Omega (he never released watches under that name, though).
Lonex (1915-1920)
Short-lived pocket watch brand.
Viceroy (Mid-1920's)
We know that
by 1934 Rolex was using Viceroy as a model name. But before that, there were some trench-style watches like the one above, with RWC on the caseback and Viceroy as the brand.
Hans Wilsdorf Geneva (1935-1940):
Not much is known about this brand, but it seems ol' Hans only used his name on watches with Oyster cases.
Aqua (1927 - 1959)
In 1922, "Aqua" was an
alternative model name for Rolex's first attempt at a waterproof watch in 1922, the "Submarine." The Oyster case truly got it right in 1926. Shortly thereafter Rolex begin to use "Aqua" as a brand.
"Solar Aqua" watches made for Eaton's department stores in Canada are the most common, but there are also
watches simply branded "Aqua" as well as some that say
"Lund & Blockley Aqua." There are some rare
"Aqua Patent" crowns equivalent to the old "Oyster Patent" crowns, too.