Rolex

Hans Wilsdorf founded his watch firm in London in 1905 and moved it to Geneva, building through invention after invention the most successful watch brand in history: the Oyster of 1926, the first waterproof wristwatch case, proven when Mercedes Gleitze swam the Channel wearing one; the Perpetual self-winding rotor of 1931; and from 1953 the tool-watch canon — Submariner for divers, GMT-Master for Pan Am pilots, Explorer for Everest, Daytona for racing — that defines the category to this day. The company, owned by the Wilsdorf foundation, manufactures with vertical obsession in Switzerland, from its own gold foundry to in-house movements. Geneva is the home city and its boutiques the source. The steel sports models carry waiting lists as a permanent condition; the Datejust and Oyster Perpetual remain the attainable center of the canon — the watch as institution.

In Geneva, visit an official dealer with patience rather than expectation for steel sports models; the Datejust, tried in several dials, is the purchase that actually happens.