On This Day in 1976, Rolex launched the Rolex Awards.

On This Day in 1976, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Oyster, Rolex launched the Rolex Awards. One of the world’s very first corporate philanthropic programmes, its aim was to help lay the foundation for a better future.

For more than four decades, through the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, Rolex has supported exceptional individuals who have the courage and conviction to take on major challenges; men and women who have a spirit of enterprise, initiating extraordinary projects that make the world a better place.

Created in 1976 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster, the first waterproof watch and an important milestone in watchmaking, the Rolex Awards foster the values that underpin Rolex: quality, ingenuity, determination and, above all, the enterprising spirit that has driven the company since its beginning. From the start, the Awards were designed to fill a void in corporate philanthropy by supporting exceptional individuals around the world, pioneers who had no or little access to traditional funding and were responding to major challenges with original and innovative projects that advance human knowledge and well-being.

The support given by Rolex to 150 Award winners since 1976 has had a catalytic impact and has in many cases transformed lives and communities. It has also stimulated new ways of thinking about common problems in areas as diverse as creating technologies that improved lives, saving endangered ecosystems, protecting the oceans, exploring new frontiers on the planet, or pioneering advances in science and health. Read more...