Chapter 1630 - Many Years Ago (1/2)

Chapter 1630: Many Years Ago

“What special stories are there about these watches?” The children were ecstatic and they squeezed near Li Du, surrounding him. They looked at Li Du like a bunch of puppies looking at a bone. They were anticipating his story.

Li Du smiled. “Does everyone know about World War II?”

The children nodded. “The war waged by the Nazi Germans and Crazy Japanese.””My great-grandfather was involved, he was in the navy and he fought a Japanese ship.””I’m Chinese, my dad and mom told me that that was the worst war!”

Li Du, too, nodded. He said, “During World War II, Rolex had already been a famous brand. The British royals and the air force men were all buying Rolex to replace watches that were not as accurate.”

However, when they were captured and sent to the camp, the watches were all confiscated, but many people found ways to hold on to theirs. In the year 1942, a British pilot was attacked when he was in the air. After he was captured, he was placed in a prisoner of war camp, and then he ordered a chronograph from Rolex and expressed his dissatisfaction with the Germans’ seizure of one of his watches.”

“After hearing about this, the founder of Rolex, the German Hans Wilsdorf, offered to replace the confiscated watch for officers of the prisoner of war camp, without them paying a fee until the end of the war.”

“Do you know what this means?” Li Du asked.

Victoria said enthusiastically, “It means that Rolex would give British pilots watches for free. That was the compensation he made for pilots as a German, right?”

Li Du nodded. “That’s right. Besides, the action of this executive also encompassed a deep meaning. It meant that he did not think the Germans would be able to win the war. He felt that the allied forces would win eventually, and that was an investment from him as a businessman.”

“After that, some of the British officers wrote letters to tell Hans Wilsdorf where they were being held, which camp it was and how the Rolex was confiscated.”

“Without needing any other form of proof, the chairman expressed his trust in everything in the letters from the British officers. The words in the letter were trustworthy evidence for him, just like the bonds in Britain were trusted.”

“Just like that, every individual who sent a letter received a Rolex 3525 watch. The model was specially modified for the pilots and those were the limited edition 3525 watches.”

“However, that was during the war. By doing that, Rolex was seen as providing enemies with resources. Hence, it was not easy sending out every one of those watches. However, Rolex exhibited extraordinary spirit in treating those customers. They followed up with every order and each one had the signature of Hans Wilsdorf.”

“What made that watch truly famous around the world was that on March 10, 1943, a British pilot, Corporal Clive Nadine, ordered a stainless steel Rolex from Wilsdorf…”

Hearing that, a teacher in his fifties smiled. “Ah, I know, that was truly a huge event. The Victory Escape was about to begin!”

Li Du smiled and nodded at him. He said, “That’s right, that watch the Corporal ordered was 3525. It was because it had an exterior made from steel, which was strong and sturdy. It was equipped with the famous Valjoux23 chronograph movement. It had a radium luminous dial, and could also be used at night.”

“The price of this watch was quite high. Nadine was going to use the money earned as a shoemaker in the prisoner of war camp to pay for the purchase of his Rolex. On July 3 of the same year, a Rolex was sent to the prisoner. Chairman Wilsdorf wrote a note telling Nadine that a British gentleman like him didn’t have to bother to pay for the watch and that everything could wait until after the war.”

Some of the children whose parents were businessmen could not help but marvel, “That is a generous chairman. He’s done many impressive deeds.”

Li Du smiled and continued, “As I was saying, this watch is not a typical one. It’s more accurate and can be used at night, and is durable and strong. Corporal Nadine had already come up with an escape plan when he asked for such a watch. He was going to escape from the prisoner of war camp!”