Rolex Marconi Watches
MARCONI 1911 Hans Wilsdorf ‘s vision to register the Marconi name in January 1911— before he officially patented the Rolex name on the 15 November 1915 — was the gem of Rolex marketing brilliance.
In 1901 Gugliemo Marconi successfully demonstrated the first use of radio waves as a means of communication. In 1909, Marconi was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics and his business became a great commercial success. Radio communication was ” state-of-the-art technology” and this was very exciting to the general public.
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Hans Wilsdorf believed that by registering the name MARCONI for Rolex watches he would immediately associate his groundbreaking watch technology and engineering with the groundbreaking innovation and progress of MARCONI’s Radio Waves. The Rolex Marconi was thus born, and production took off in the 1920s.
This brand was the first of the alternative names to be utilized for an extended period. At that time, Wilsdorf was not engaged in the manufacturing of watches; rather, he procured the finest components from various watchmakers and assembled them into a single case. He was determined to maintain a clear distinction between his trade names. Consequently, Marconi watches were not distributed through Rolex's agents, and it is believed the Marconi watches did not bear the Rolex name anywhere, including on the dial or the movement. The movement was often the sole differentiating factor between the two brands.
Rolex models utilized calibers produced by the esteemed Aegler ébauche manufacturer, while the movements in Marconi watches primarily originated from either Beguelin or The General Watch Co., a company founded in 1848 to create movements for the more affordable market, established by the Brandt brothers, who later founded Omega.
Rolex was not marketing the Marconi name on standard Rolex models but actually on the more expensive dress lines; I believe the line evolved much later to become the Rolex Cellinis Watches today, but that is unclear. The Marconi watches were limited in production, and the majority of these Marconi watches were sold through a very small group of Fine London Jewelers whose customers could afford the high prices. In addition, Rolex made signature Marconi models for other unique World Renown Fine Jewelry and Watch Dealers such as Quervo Y Sobrinos Habana in Cuba.
However, Wilsdorf encountered two significant challenges with his first subsidiary company, which ultimately proved insurmountable.
The first issue was the name itself. By the time Wilsdorf adopted it, Marconi was already a well-respected provider of wireless equipment, meaning that every advertisement released by Wilsdorf inadvertently promoted a different entity.
The second issue was that it was widely recognized that Marconi watches were essentially the more expensive Rolex watches, albeit with a different movement. Since the movement was of little concern to most consumers, sales of the less expensive brand surged at the expense of the pricier one. After all, if one could acquire a ‘Rolex’ watch for a significantly lower price, what would deter them from doing so?
Picture below has only the Marconi name on the movement but has the RWC on the case back, which stands for Rolex Watch Co.
Although the MARCONI Watches were handcrafted and assembled with movements and fine attention to detail, this was short-lived. For Rolex Serial Number Lookup or Turdor Serial Number Lookup look under our Guide section.
Names associated with MARCONI Watches and Registered to Rolex SA:
Marconi - The Rolex Watch Co. / Rolex SA / Tudor SA / Oyster Watch Co. Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Biel, Switzerland
Marconi Aqua - The Rolex Watch Co. / Rolex SA / Tudor SA / Oyster Watch Co. - Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Biel, Switzerland
Marconi Lever - Wilsdorf & Davis / The Rolex Watch Co. / Rolex SA / Tudor SA / Oyster Watch Co. - Watches, watch parts; Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Biel, Switzerland; registered on 24.1.1911
Marconi Prima - The Rolex Watch Co. / Rolex SA / Tudor SA / Oyster Watch Co. - Watches, watch parts; Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Biel, Switzerland; registered on 31.8.1923
Marconi Standard - The Rolex Watch Co. / Rolex SA / Tudor SA / Oyster Watch Co. - Watches, watch parts; Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Biel, Switzerland; registered on 31.8.1923
Marconi Verifiat - Hans Wilsdorf / The Rolex Watch Co. / Rolex SA / Tudor SA / Oyster Watch Co. - Watches, watch parts; Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Biel, Switzerland; registered on 15.4.1925
Marconi Special - Hans Wilsdorf / Rolex Watch Co. SA - Uhren, Uhrenteile; Biel und Genf, Schweiz; registriert am 31.8.1923
Marconi Verifiat - Hans Wilsdorf / The Rolex Watch Co. / Rolex SA / Tudor SA / Oyster Watch Co. - Uhren, Uhrenteile; Genf, La Chaux-de-Fonds und Biel, Schweiz; registriert am 15.4.1925
Marconi Watch - Hans Wilsdorf / The Rolex Watch Co. / Rolex SA / Tudor SA / Oyster Watch Co. - Uhren, Uhrenteile; Genf, La Chaux-de-Fonds und Biel, Schweiz; registriert am 20.11.1923
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