====== Wilsdorf, Hans ======
{{wst>image_r|Wilsdorf,_Hans|Hans Wilsdorf (1881-1960)}}
**Hans Wilsdorf** was a German businessman, watch entrepreneur and is best known as founder of the watch company [[Rolex]].

Hans Wilsdorf was born on 22 March [[1881]] in the Frankish Kulmbach (Northern Bavaria), where he spent his childhood and youth. With 12 years he became orphan. After a commercial training he left Germany in [[1900]] to go to [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]] in Switzerland. There he worked as an employee in an import/export business. Three years later, he went to London and there, together with the case maker [[Davis]], founded the watch wholesale [[Wilsdorf & Davis]].

Davis takes over the production cases and Wilsdorf the procurement of high-quality watch [[movement]]s. He obtains the movements from Switzerland from the company [[Aegler, Jean|Aegler]], based in [[Biel]]. [[1920]] the company is moved to [[Geneva]] and is given the name [[Rolex|Rolex Montres SA]]. Already in [[1908]] Hans Wilsdorf had registered the now world-famous brand name "Rolex" for his watches.

Hans Wilsdorf dies on July 6, [[1960]] in [[Geneva]].

===== Literature =====
  *[[Das ZEITGEFÜHL-Uhrenbuch]]; Author [[Gerd-Lothar Reschke]]; ISBN 3-938607-61-0


{{tag>Biographies Rolex}}