Hans Wilsdorf

Switzerland and Britain, watches. Wilsdorf founded the business that became Rolex in London in 1905, moved it to Geneva after the First World War, and pushed wristwatches when pocket watches still dominated. The waterproof Oyster case of 1926 and constant marketing, such as a watch worn on a Channel swim, built international demand for a precise, durable luxury product. He died in 1960.