Image Credentials: Portrait of Hans Wilsdorf. By Unknown author – https://www.rolex.com/pl/about-rolex-watches.html, Public Domain, (Wikipedia)
By Staff Writer | Open Chronicle with Agencies
Recently declassified documents from the National Archives have shed new light on Hans Wilsdorf, the German-born founder of Rolex. According to reports, MI5 agents suspected Wilsdorf of harboring strong sympathies toward Adolf Hitler’s regime and even considered him a potential Nazi spy during the Second World War.
The papers, dated between 1941 and 1943, describe Wilsdorf as “most objectionable” and “suspected of espionage.” Despite being a naturalized British citizen, he was regarded as a possible threat to Allied security. British authorities first raised concerns in 1941 after a Geneva-based consul reported that Wilsdorf was “well known for his strong Nazi sympathies.”
Founder of Rolex luxury watch empire may have been a Nazi spy: report https://t.co/Cdlj4m2XTN pic.twitter.com/6RnxMxSJEm
— New York Post (@nypost) August 11, 2025
A letter from the Ministry of Economic Warfare’s Blacklist Section that same year noted it was “desirable” to review whether Wilsdorf should be blacklisted. However, officials hesitated to take action, fearing it might damage Rolex’s overseas trade, especially with Empire countries. By 1943, a follow-up report went further, stating: “Wilsdorf and his wife are majority shareholders, and he is suspected of espionage on behalf of the enemy.”
One aspect of Wilsdorf’s legacy, long seen as positive, his gesture of sending free Rolex watches to Allied prisoners of war in German camps has also been reconsidered in light of the files. Horological historian Jose Perez, who uncovered the MI5 reports, suggested the move may have been a publicity stunt aimed at improving his image with the British government rather than a genuine act of patriotism.
Rolex has since acknowledged awareness of the files and confirmed it has assembled a team of historians to investigate further.
Born in Bavaria in 1881, Wilsdorf lost both parents at a young age and later moved to England in 1903. After starting in Hatton Garden, he registered the Rolex brand and married Florence Crotty, a British-born woman. In 1919, he moved Rolex’s headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland. Wilsdorf died in 1960, leaving his shares to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, which continues to own Rolex and support charitable causes worldwide.
The revelations add a controversial new dimension to the history of one of the world’s most prestigious watchmakers, raising questions about its founder’s wartime loyalties and legacy.