Rolex is the most recognizable watch in the world. With unsurpassed quality and craftsmanship, Rolex's timepieces personify luxury and are coveted by the well-to-do the world over. Rolex produces over 2,000 watches daily, and earns a reported $3-billion in annual revenue.

BusinessWeek consistently ranks Rolex in the top 100 of its list of most important global brands, always topping all other watchmakers. With brilliantly designed pieces such as the Vintage Daytona and the Yacht-Master, it's easy to see why Rolex is atop the leader boards. But this powerhouse didn't start out the most popular; Rolex has over 100-years in the watch-making business, and any success they have now is hard-fought.

In 1905, Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis founded a small company, Wilsdorf and Davis, in London, England. At the time, their main business was importing Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and placing them in Dennison-made quality cases.

The culmination was a quality wristwatch. The watches were then sold to jewelers who would then put their names on the dial and pawn them off as their own brand. Early watches from the Wilsdorf and Davis collection were usually hallmarked with “W&D” on the inside of the caseback.

In 1908, the story of Rolex began. Wilsdorf trademarked the name and opened an office in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. On November 15, 1915 the name “Rolex” was officially registered. The exact origin of this name is a complete mystery. Some rumors state that Wilsdorf simply wanted a word that could be pronounced in any language.

Another story, however, states that the word comes from a French phrase which means “exquisite clockwork.” And another story, also unsubstantiated, claims that “Rolex” is simply the sound that a watch makes when it's wound. The story most widely accepted is from the book, The Best of Time Rolex Wrist Watches by J. Hess and J. Dowling in which the author suggests the word “Rolex” was pulled from thin air.

Wilsdorf moved the company to Geneva, Switzerland in 1919, where it was then established as the Rolex Watch Company. Years later, the name would be changed to Montres Rolex, SA, and finally Rolex, SA. In an attempt to lower to total price of a Rolex timepiece, the company moved out of the United Kingdom, due to high taxes and export duties on materials that were driving the costs up.

After the death of his wife in 1944, Wilsdorf established the Hans Wildorf Foundation in which he left all of his Rolex shares, making certain that some of the company's income would find its way to charity. To this day, the company is still owned by private trust, and shares are not traded on any stock exchange.

Rolex watches have been famously worn by celebrities such as Paul Newman, and a Rolex as the watch of choice for James Bond. Rolex was also the first company to include a date on the dial, show multiple time zones at once, and the first company to make a waterproof watch case. Some of Rolex's most popular brands include Explorer, Daytona, Masterpiece, Oyster Perpetual, Submariner, Datejust, and Yacht-Master.