Rolex has made an innovation in watches with unique features. Rolex Datejust was introduced in 1945 when Rolex celebrated its 40 year birthday. It’s a significant invention because it was the very first automatic chronometer certified wristwatch with a date window. Yes, it was Rolex that invented the date function in wristwatches. This was an innovation the Swiss watchmaker introduced which was taken up by just about every other watchmaker in the world. In 1955, the GMT-Master was created at Pan-Am’s request for its pilots, who were experiencing a new phenomenon called jet-lag. They wanted a watch that told time for two time zones at once. And GMT-Master is the world’s first wristwatch with a GMT function. This was unheard of until that time, and although it didn’t do so well as much as it was anticipated, it was well received at the time.

Rolex has also made excellent watches suitable for deep-sea diving, mountain climbing and racing. Early sports models included the Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 2000 (in 1971). This watch featured a helium release valve, co-invented with Swiss watchmaker Doxa, to release helium gas build-up during decompression. In 1953, the first people to climb Mount Everest– Tenzig Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, were wearing Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches. The same year, Rolex launched the Rolex Explorer, which was designed for explorations. The modern version of this watch, is called Rolex Explorer II. Both models are very suitable for the lifestyle of adventurers, extreme sports and mountaineering. In 1963, the Rolex launched the Rolex daytona replica which was specially designed for racing driver, and it can calculate the speed of racing. The watch recorded the brilliant achievements of racing track, and it has achieved iconic status, and become the world's most famous and most respected timing wrist watch.