Rolex
Swiss watch designer and manufacturer
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| 2025 | Rolex revealed a white gold variation of the green and black bezel model with a green ceramic dial, marking the first ceramic dial ever featured on a Rolex. |
| 2024 | Rolex announced a new color configuration with a black-and-gray Cerachrom bezel. |
| 2024 | Rolex began construction of a new headquarters on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. |
| 2024 | Rolex introduced a solid yellow gold version of the Deepsea (reference 136668LB) with a blue dial and blue bezel, weighing 322 grams. |
| 2023 | Rolex agreed to acquire its longtime retail partner Bucherer. |
| 2023 | Rolex Awards for Enterprise recognized five laureates for innovative environmental and social projects across different countries. |
| 2023 | Liu Shaochuang from Mongolia and China was honored for using satellite technology to monitor critically-endangered wild camel herds in the Gobi Desert. |
| 2023 | Constantino Aucca Chutas from Peru was awarded for leading community-driven reforestation efforts in the High Andes. |
| 2023 | Beth Koigi from Kenya was awarded for developing atmospheric water generators to address drinking water shortages. |
| 2023 | Denica Riadini-Flesch from Indonesia was recognized for creating traditionally crafted clothing using materials from regenerative agriculture. |
| 2023 | Inza Koné from Côte d'Ivoire received recognition for establishing community-managed natural reserves to protect African forests. |
| 2022 | Rolex released a new green and black bezel model, which was also the first to feature a 'destro' configuration with the crown on the left-hand side of the case. |
| 2022 | Rolex launched the third-generation Deepsea model (reference 136660), continuing to use the Calibre 3235 movement, with a redesigned folding clasp, enlarged date wheel, and slimmer bezel ring. |
| November 2022 | Rolex introduced the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge Sea-Dweller (reference 126067), a commercial watch capable of withstanding full ocean depth with the most water-resistant mechanical watch in serial production at the time of its launch. |
| 2021 | Rolex re-issued the Oyster bracelet as an option for both the 'Pepsi' and 'Batman' models. |
| 2021 | Luiz Rocha received a Rolex Award for Enterprise for exploring and working to protect the deep coral reefs of the Indian Ocean. |
| 2021 | Rinzin Phunjok Lama from Nepal was honored with a Rolex Award for Enterprise for promoting local initiatives for biodiversity conservation in Nepal's trans-Himalaya region. |
| 2021 | Gina Moseley was awarded a Rolex Award for Enterprise for exploring and studying the world's northern-most caves to gain new insights into Arctic climate change. |
| 2021 | Felix Brooks-church from Tanzania was awarded a Rolex Award for Enterprise for developing a 'dosifier' to add micronutrients and eradicate malnutrition by fortifying staple foods. |
| 2021 | Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim from Chad received a Rolex Award for Enterprise for using indigenous knowledge to map resources and prevent conflict around climate in the Sahel region. |
| 2020 | Rolex concludes a significant production milestone, having produced approximately 4 million Submariner watches since the model's inception in 1953. |
| 2020 | Rolex retired the 'Super Case' design, introducing a new Submariner with a slimmer case more reminiscent of earlier models. The new models featured caliber 3230 (No-Date) and caliber 3235 (Date) movements, both COSC certified. |
| 2019 | Marlon Brando's GMT Master watch from Apocalypse Now, with the bezel removed, was auctioned for $1.61 million. |
| 2019 | Rolex issued a new version of the 'Batman' with an upgraded Caliber 3285 movement and changed the bracelet to a Jubilee style. |
| 2019 | Pablo García Borboroglu from Argentina was awarded a Rolex Associate Laureate for conducting research, education, and management activities to advance penguin conservation. |
| 2019 | João Campos-Silva from Brazil was awarded a Rolex Laureate for his work to recover giant arapaima populations and ensure sustainable development in the Amazon. |
| 2019 | Topher White from Ecuador was awarded a Rolex Associate Laureate for using mobile technology to protect rainforests and combat climate change. |
| 2019 | Yves Moussallam from Melanesia was awarded a Rolex Associate Laureate for exploring how remote Pacific volcanoes affect global climate. |
| 2019 | Krithi Karanth from India was awarded a Rolex Laureate for her work to improve human-wildlife interactions by engaging communities and mitigating threats from wildlife. |
| 2019 | Sara Saeed from Pakistan was awarded a Rolex Associate Laureate for developing a digital platform to empower female doctors to deliver healthcare to impoverished communities. |
| 2019 | Emma Camp from Australia was awarded a Rolex Associate Laureate for pioneering new approaches to coral reef recovery in response to rapidly vanishing coral ecosystems. |
| 2019 | Miranda Wang from the United States was awarded a Rolex Laureate for developing innovative methods to recycle unrecyclable plastic waste into useful by-products. |
| 2019 | Brian Gitta from Uganda was awarded a Rolex Laureate for developing a low-cost diagnostic test for malaria that does not require a blood sample. |
| 2019 | Grégoire Courtine from France was awarded a Rolex Laureate for developing technology to potentially reverse paralysis by re-establishing communication across spinal cord injuries using an electronic bridge. |
| 2019 | Rolex expanded the Sea-Dweller line, making models available in steel and steel with yellow gold configurations, and standardizing the case size to 43 mm. |
| 2018 | Rolex released the red-and-blue 'Pepsi' in steel with a Jubilee bracelet, and introduced two new GMT-Master II models with a brown and black 'Root Beer' bezel, featuring the new Caliber 3285 movement. |
| 2018 | Rolex introduced the second-generation Deepsea model (reference 126660) at Baselworld, updating the watch with the Calibre 3235 movement and a broader lug width bracelet with improved extension systems. |
| May 28 2018 | A Rolex Daytona 'Unicorn' Ref. 6265 was sold by Phillips in Geneva for US$5.937 million, making it the second most expensive Rolex timepiece ever sold at auction. |
| 2017 | Rolex introduced reference number 126600, which was the first Sea-Dweller model to feature a date magnifying lens (cyclops), a significant design change from previous models where such a lens was impossible due to pressure constraints. |
| October 26 2017 | A Rolex Daytona (Ref. 6239) wristwatch from 1968, originally purchased by Joanne Woodward for Paul Newman, was sold by Phillips in New York for a record-breaking US$17.75 million, becoming the most expensive wristwatch sold at auction at the time. |
| 2015 | A special edition Rolex GMT Master II commissioned by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, featuring his signature on the dial, was auctioned for $171,000. |
| 2014 | Rolex successfully created a red color on the ceramic bezel, initially releasing the red-and-blue 'Pepsi' version only in white gold. |
| 2014 | Rolex released the D-Blue variant of the Sea-Dweller Deepsea, honoring James Cameron's 2012 journey to the deepest area of Earth's oceans, with a blue/black dial and green 'DEEPSEA' label. |
| 2014 | Rolex re-introduced the Sea-Dweller with a new reference 116600 (SD4K), featuring a cerachrom ceramic bezel, 'Maxi dial', and new 'glidelock extension' bracelet system. |
| 2013 | Rolex created the first two-tone ceramic bezel in blue and black for the steel GMT-Master II, nicknamed 'Batman'. |
| 2013 | Became the official timekeeper for Formula 1, a role they maintained until 2024. |
| 2012 | At BaselWorld, Rolex launched an updated steel Submariner (ref 114060), replacing the 14060M. This model featured a 'Super Case' with wider lugs, enlarged crown guards, larger 'Chromalight' markers, ceramic bezel, blue Parachrom hairspring, and a 'Glidelock' extension system. |
| March 26 2012 | Rolex's experimental Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA CHALLENGE prototype watch was carried by the DSV Deepsea Challenger to the bottom of the Challenger Deep, reaching a depth of 10,898 meters. The watch was strapped to the submersible's manipulator arm and remained functional throughout the unprecedented deep-sea dive, piloted by James Cameron. |
| 2010 | Rolex introduced the stainless steel Submariner-Date model (reference 116610) at the Basel show, which included an anti-reflective coating on the inner side of the sapphire crystal. |
| 2010 | Added the Young Laureates award of 50,000 Swiss francs to the Rolex Awards for Enterprise program. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Rolex Awards for Enterprise, Rolex, Rolex Sea-Dweller, Rolex GMT Master II & Rolex Submariner, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.