Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2017 | Page 12

Making Time for
Parkhouse Hampshire is home to one of
the largest collections of luxury watches
outside of London, including one of
the world’s best-known and best loved
watch brands, Rolex. In fact for those
living on the Isle of Wight, Parkhouse
is the closest authorised retailer of this
much sought-after brand.
Watch specialist at Parkhouse
Hampshire, Stewart Simpson, takes
a look at one of the most recognised
and popular watches in existence, the
Rolex Oyster.
The Oyster, which was invented in 1926, and
was the first waterproof wristwatch, has played a
pioneering role in the development of the modern
wristwatch.
Above: Advertising in
the Daily Mail, 1927
Left: Sir Edmund
Hilary took an Oyster
Perpetual on the first
ascent of Everest
The founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf, believed
that the wristwatch could be as i ndispensable and
as reliable as the pocket watch. A key element to
convincing the public was ensuring that the watch
was waterproof. In 1926 Wilsdorf made history
when he invented the revolutionary, patented case
system, which included a screw-down bezel, case
back, and winding crown, allowing the case to be
hermetically sealed. A feature we now take for
granted, the world’s first waterproof wristwatch was
born.
To demonstrate and publicise this new invention,
Wilsdorf equipped a young woman on a 10 hour
swim across the English Channel, from which the
watch came out in perfect working order, and the
Oyster quickly became legendary.
Parkhouse Hampshire
96 Above Bar, Southampton, SO14 7JR
www.parkhousehampshire.com
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