Founder of Rolex luxury watch empire may have been a Nazi spy: report

New York Post

10 hours ago

Secret British intelligence files have revealed that MI5 once suspected the German-born founder of the iconic Rolex luxury watch empire of holding strong Nazi sympathies and possibly acting as a spy during the Second World War.
The declassified records, held at the National Archives, describe Hans Wilsdorf as 'most objectionable' and allege he may have used his position to spread propaganda for Adolf Hitler's regime, according to The Telegraph.
The documents, written between 1941 and 1943 and many stamped with 'Box 500' — a wartime nickname for MI5's headquarters — outline fears among British authorities that Wilsdorf posed a security risk despite being a naturalized British citizen.
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5 An undated portrait of Hans Wilsdorf, the German-born founder of Rolex, who British intelligence described in wartime documents as 'well known' for his Nazi sympathies.
Rolex.org
Born in Bavaria in 1881, Wilsdorf moved to London in 1903, where he began making watches in Hatton Garden and later founded Rolex. He married a British woman, Florence Crotty, before relocating the company's headquarters to Geneva in 1919.
By the early 1940s, British officials had become increasingly wary of Wilsdorf's loyalties, the Telegraph reported.
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A 1941 report from the British consul in Geneva said he was 'well known for his strong Nazi sympathies,' pointing to claims that his brother, Karl, was working in Joseph Goebbels's propaganda ministry.
According to the file, Swiss federal police were already monitoring Wilsdorf over concerns he might be involved in spreading Nazi messaging worldwide.
An MI5 report from 1943 stated that the agency had been keeping tabs on Rolex's British operations in Bexleyheath and suspected Wilsdorf of 'espionage on behalf of the enemy.'
5 Hans Wilsdorf in his office at Rolex, whom wartime British officials suspected of espionage on behalf of Nazi Germany.
Rolex.org
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The papers repeatedly described him as 'well known' for his political leanings toward the Nazi regime.
Tom Bolt, a horology specialist who owns a Rolex once sent to a POW in Stalag Luft III, said the newly uncovered documents 'show the level of concern within the British authorities about the company's founder' and that blacklisting him would have been 'severely damaging for Rolex.'
Rolex has acknowledged knowing about the archive file and says it is taking the allegations seriously.
A company spokesperson told The Telegraph that an independent review is underway, led by Swiss historian Dr. Marc Perrenoud, who specializes in Switzerland's role during the Second World War.
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Perrenoud has assembled a committee of historians from multiple countries to assist with the research.
5 Rolex watches on display in London, as the company investigates archival claims that its founder may have had ties to Nazi sympathizers.
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'In the interest of transparency, we will publish Dr. Perrenoud's findings once he has completed his work,' the spokesperson said.
The Post has sought comment from Rolex.
The MI5's World War II era report also questioned the true motive behind one of Wilsdorf's most celebrated wartime gestures: sending free Rolex watches to British prisoners of war.
In 1940, after German officers confiscated timepieces from captured servicemen, Corporal Clive Nutting — held at the infamous Stalag Luft III camp in Poland — wrote to Wilsdorf asking for replacements.
Wilsdorf agreed, telling Nutting he should 'not even think' about paying until after the war. He also sent food parcels and tobacco to some prisoners.
5 A golden Rolex once owned by former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer is displayed in Geneva.
AP
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While the gesture boosted Rolex's public image, British officials at the time speculated whether it was genuine generosity or part of a calculated effort to win favor.
Jose Pereztroika, a historian of watchmaking who discovered the MI5 file and alerted The Telegraph, believes the evidence supports the view that Wilsdorf sympathized with the Nazis.
While the company's gifts to Allied prisoners could be seen as a sign of solidarity, Pereztroika argued it might also have been 'a stunt to gain favor with the British government' at a time when Swiss watch imports to the UK were largely banned.
He suggested the move allowed Rolex to cultivate goodwill while positioning itself for postwar business, even if payment for the watches was deferred.
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A 1941 letter from the Ministry of Economic Warfare's Blacklist Section recommended reviewing whether Wilsdorf should be placed on a trade blacklist, a move that could have crippled Rolex's overseas sales.
5 The 1908 registration of the Rolex name, decades before its founder came under suspicion by MI5 during the Second World War.
Rolex.org
However, the ministry concluded that blacklisting him 'may not be entirely in our interests' because much of the company's trade was with countries in the British Empire.
Officials also noted they had not found direct evidence of harmful activity by the Swiss company. Even so, they flagged that Wilsdorf's financial ties to German bankers could allow enemy interests to influence both the Swiss and British arms of Rolex.
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By 1943, MI5 decided against blacklisting Wilsdorf, despite maintaining he was 'most objectionable.'
The British consul at the time said there was 'no doubt whatever' about his political views and voiced skepticism about his aid to prisoners of war, noting that if earlier intelligence was correct, his motives 'hardly seem likely' to have been purely charitable.
Experts say the suspicions may also have been fuelled by Rolex's role in supplying dive watches to the Italian navy's frogmen, an elite unit aligned with the Axis powers.