Rolex Genex history

On September 24, 1920, Wilsdorf registered the brand name Genex, but it appears that this name remained unused for several years.

At a later point, the brand Genex Veriflat was used, although this particular combination does not seem to have been officially registered. In January 1929, Genex Prince was registered as a brand name. There are also instances of watches branded as Genex Oyster, featuring the waterproof Oyster case, although, once again, this specific combination does not appear to have been registered.

Most of the Genex watches that can be found are ladies' watches, such as the

one depicted in the provided image. This watch is equipped with a

Fontainemelon calibre 30 (cal. FHF 30) ébauche. Although the train bridge is

engraved with "Prima," it appears to be a standard 15-jewel movement.

The watch is housed in a gold case (not shown) with import hallmarks from the

Glasgow Assay Office, denoted by two opposed and prone letters "F" and

indicating 9-carat (0.375) gold. The date letter "f" corresponds to the

hallmarking year, spanning from July 1928 to June 1929. It's worth noting that

date letter punches were updated when new wardens of the Glasgow office were elected at the end of June, leading to their use over two calendar years.

The method of attaching the wrist strap to the case, with two closely spaced knuckles, indicates that this watch originally featured a Britannic expanding metal bracelet. In the Rolex Vade Mecum, Hans Wilsdorf mentioned the introduction of expanding bracelets, invented and launched by a notable jewelry firm around 1906. These bracelets gained popularity among Rolex's British clientele and remained in favor throughout the British Empire. The early success of Rolex was partially attributed to Harrop's Britannic bracelets, which remained highly popular until the 1960s. The ends of the Britannic bracelet were attached to the watch case using two metal lugs, featuring a very small gap into which the end of the bracelet fit. If the bracelet became damaged or could not be repaired, the only option for attaching a conventional strap was to affix two wire loops known as loop ends or lug ends to the watch case where the bracelet ends had been previously attached.