...ROLEX 1908...
A TRADEMARK
PROVIDES A CLUE
By Danny Crivello
Rolex quietly filed on March 14, a trademark, which would go undetected by all: Perpetual 1908.
1908 is an important date in Rolex history. It is the year the trademark "Rolex" was registered.
Decades later, in 1946, Hans Wilsdorf added the following remarks regarding the registration of today's most prestigious brand in the world.
"I, H. Wilsdorf, hereby declare and certify that I have personally coined the word ROLEX in London, in the year 1908, as a trademark for our watches. Its first registration appeared on July 2nd, 1908, in the Official Swiss Register of Trade, as reproduced below."
Trademarks are not like patents. To be sure, a company like Rolex can file trademarks it has no plan to use. But it won't help the watchmaker much in a way of defending them. Some jurisdictions in Switzerland even require the filer to provide proof of use upon registration. So what to make of "Perpetual 1908"?
We expect a collection that taps into the roots of Rolex. When Jean-Frederic Dufour took the reins of LVMH-owned brand Zenith, in 2011, he helped move the company away from the flamboyant, modernist designs for which Zenith had become known prior to Mr. Dufour's arrival and returned the brand to its historic roots with the rerelease of its highly complicated flagship collection based on the El Primero chronograph and the Montre d'Aéronef Type 20.
"He was able to reconnect the brand to its roots," said Jean-Claude Biver when summarizing Mr. Dufour's tenure as a CEO of Zenith.
The recent trademark filing of "1908" is telling us something historic, classic is coming. Something Mr. Dufour is really good at: celebrating and honoring the history of a legendary brand like century-old Rolex. And for us, this trademark filing is a lot more exciting than fake photochopped pictures on Instagram!
