Monday, December 17, 2018

Hans Wilsdorf in Hong Kong and Bahrain



Hans Wilsdorf

in Hong Kong

Do You Remember The Time?


Last week when Rolex launched Rolex.org, I wrote extensively about thier coverage of  Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf. I also published a story about a reader of Jake's Rolex World in Hong Kong named Alan who somehow keeps unearthing never before seen photos of Hans Wilsdorf, and yesterday in my inbox I found this image from Alan that shows Hans Wilsdorf in Honk Kong with his wife enjoying Chinese food with the owners of Lane Crawford, which was one of seven Rolex Authorized Dealers in Hong Kong at the time.

Hans Wilsdorf in Hong Kong


I am trying to figure out who all the people are in this photo, and I know that we see Hans Wilsdorf, second from the left on the bottom row, sitting next to his second wife, Betty Wilsdorf-Mettler. I can't help but wonder if the bald man in the center of the photo is Rolex Director, Rene-Paul Jeanneret?

Alan also discovered this next image of Hans Wilsdorf which was taken in 1949 in the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain, which shows Hans Wilsdorf with Naj Murad, who founded Modern Art Studio in Bahrain, which remains a successful Rolex Authorized Dealer today. One thing is for sure and that is the fact Hans Wilsdorf loved traveling the world and kept in seemingly constant communication with the Rolex dealer network he built over more than half a century...


I would like to thank Alan for his invaluable contribution and photographic research on Hans Wilsdorf. Alan, you are amazing and I don't know how you do it, but please keep going!

Also, I had a nice conversation today with David Boettcher who is a horological expert located in the U.K. and we spoke about Hans Wilsdorf. David was one of the first researchers I am aware of to write a definitive biography of Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf which he originally published in 2006

In 2010 I reached out to David when I was preparing my definitive story on Hans Wilsdorf named, The Complete History Of Rolex Leadership: Part 1-The Hans Wilsdorf Years. Just a few days before I was preparing to publish my story, David sent me scans of The Vade Mecum Rolex story, which was published by Rolex in 1946, which provided an invaluable contribution. David is an accomplished horological researcher and he maintains VintageWatchStraps.com which is filled with fascinating information. On his website, David tells the story about how he became interested in vintage watches in 2004 when he inherited his grandfather (1918) and grandmother's (1917) Rolex watches which are pictured below.



David is a member of the Antiquarian Horological Society, and The British Horological Institute, as well as The National Association of Watch and Collectors (NAWCC).