Hardly any other brand is as closely associated with the stories of explorers, mountaineers and altitude records as Rolex. As early as 1953, Rolex supported the British expedition in which Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. At the time, Hillary wore an Oyster Perpetual on his wrist, which Rolex had provided as part of its sponsorship. Following the successful ascent, the watch was returned to Rolex, where it underwent extensive testing.
Some 70 years on, Rolex is now scaling another summit. That of the Titlis in Switzerland. This time, however, not as part of an expedition on a mountaineer’s wrist – but in the form of an integrated boutique in the newly opened Titlis Tower – the latest building by the renowned architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron.