Never Before Seen Photo
Hans Wilsdorf
Founder Of Rolex
Pictured 1942 in Geneva, Switzerland
Ever since I started publishing Jake's Rolex World eight years ago, one of my primary goals was to unearth what gave Rolex its magic. The deeper I dug, the more I realized how much of Rolex's successful mojo can from its founder, Hans Wilsdorf.
The challenge was that at the time, there was almost zero information available about his career achievements. It was almost like history had forgot him, thus I made it my goal to research and share everything I could find on what made him tick. Today, I am extremely proud to add this image to my story titled, The Complete History Of Rolex Leadership, Part 1: The Hans Wilsdorf, The Ghost In The Machine.
This never before seen photo comes straight from the Rolex archives in Geneva, Switzerland, and shows Hans Wildsdorf in Geneva, Switzerland in his office at Rolex headquarters located at 18 Rue du Marché (pictured below), During World War II. Notice the framed magazine ads on the wall behind Hans Wilsdorf...
Despite having founded Rolex in London England in 1905, Hans Wilsdorf, moved Rolex World Headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland in 1919. Rolex moved to 18 Rue du Marché, which was located below the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre in Old Geneva. Rolex remained at this location for forty years.
The photo above shows Rolex's Geneva Worldwide headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland in 1928. If you look closely you can see the ROLEX signs on the upper floor of the building, and also notice the unlocked bicycles standing-up next to the sidewalk. It's hard to imagine a world where people would just leave their unlocked bicycles parked next to the sidewalk, but this was the world of Geneva in the late 1920s.