The secret behind the Rolex brand.

In a time of world hunger, falling economies and general trouble, this brand stands apart selling over $8 billion. How is this possible? what's the magic formula for staying ahead while others are trying to stay afloat?.

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Early Years:

This swiss powerhouse has been around since 1905, founded in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis, the name "Rolex" was registered on 15 November 1915. The year before (1914), rolex was awarded a Class A precision certificate by the Kew Observatory a distinction normally granted exclusively to marine chronometers.

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Rolex came to America due to a very interesting story, in WWII, Royal Air Force pilots were buying Rolex watches to replace their inferior standard-issue watches but these were being confiscated when captured.
When Wilsdorf hears of this he offered to replace them at no cost. Officers would not require payment until the end of the war.
American soldiers heard of this when stationed in Europe and this helped open up the American market after the war.

Amongst the company's innovations are:

The first waterproof wristwatch "Oyster", 1926
The first wristwatch with an automatically changing date on the dial (Rolex Datejust ref.4467, 1945)[7]
The first wristwatch case waterproof to 100 m (330 ft) (Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner ref.6204, 1953)[13]
The first wristwatch to show two time zones at once (Rolex GMT Master ref.6542, 1954)
The first wristwatch with an automatically changing day and date on the dial (Rolex Day-Date, 1956)
The first watchmaker to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch (1910)
Source Wikipedia

So what's the secret behind the Rolex brand?

Perseverance
Innovation
Quality
Generosity