British intelligence suspected the German founder of the luxury watch company Rolex of being a Nazi spy, the Telegraph reported based on declassified documents.
The documents, which are now available at the National Archives, show that MI5 suspected Hans Wilsdorf had “strong” sympathies for the Nazi regime.
Dated between 1941 and 1943, the secret service stated that Wilsdorf was “most objectionable” and “suspected of espionage.”
While the Rolex founder had offered British prisoners of war free watches, tobacco, and food packages, the agents believed he may have been hiding his true intentions.
Adding to the suspicion, Wildorf’s brother Karl was reportedly an active member of Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda ministry. Authorities noted that Karl may “make use of Hans Wilsdorf in Geneva to put out Nazi propaganda all over the world, and we heard that Hans is, in consequence, being watched by the Swiss federal police.”
Born in 1881 in Bavaria, Wilsdorf migrated to London in 1903, where he began making watches in Hatton Garden. He would go on to register the company name Rolex and, in 1919, base the company in Geneva, Switzerland.
The British consul in Geneva would go on to report that Wilsdorf was “well known for his strong Nazi sympathies.”
Investigating the claims
“MI5’s interest in Rolex and Wilsdorf may have stemmed from the company’s supply of dive watches to the Italian navy’s frogmen,” Tom Bolt, the horological expert of Watchguru.com, told the Telegraph. “These newly unearthed papers show the level of concern within the British authorities about the company’s founder.
“If Wilsdorf had been blacklisted, it would have been severely damaging for Rolex.”
“Given the sensitivity of these allegations, we have already commissioned an independent, authoritative team of historians who are carrying out research into the exact role of Hans Wilsdorf during this period,” a spokesperson for Rolex told the British paper. “This research has been entrusted to Dr Marc Perrenoud, a Swiss historian renowned for his work on contemporary history, especially regarding Switzerland during the Second World War.
“For this assignment, Dr Perrenoud has assembled a scientific committee comprising distinguished historians from the various countries concerned.
“In the interest of transparency, we will publish Dr Perrenoud’s findings once he has completed his work.”