The first result of this decision was the founding, in 1905, of the firm styled Wilsdorf & Davis, 83 Hatton Gardens, London E.C., with a modest capital at its disposal. "
As we just learned, in 1905, Hans started his first business with a much older business partner named Alfred James Davis, who was Hans Wilsdorf's brother-in-law. Their company was named Wilsdorf & Davis and they specialized in selling watches and watch parts. The photo below is of the placard sign that was placed on the outside of the front door of Wilsdorf & Davis headquarters in London, England.
In 1908, Hans Wilsdorf registered the name of Rolex as a trademark for Wilsdorf & Davis Ltd., and the image below is the official registration from July 2nd of 1908.
In the next photo below, we see Hans Wilsdorf commuting on a horse driven bus through London, England in 1908. It has been speculated Hans Wilsdorf came up with the name "Rolex" while riding the bus in this photo.
It has also been suggested Hans Wilsdorf came up with "Rolex" since that is the sound a watch makes when you wind it, but another theory is that Hans Wilsdorf came up with the name "Rolex" as a contraction of the term "Horological Excellence."
I don't know we will ever know for certain what the genesis was for the word "Rolex" but these two theories are the most believable put forth to date.
Al, who goes by "Alcan" on RolexForums.com, sent in the next two photos of his 1908 Wildsdorf & Davis pendant watch, that he recently had restored. It was made the same year that Hans Wilsdorf registered the Rolex trademark.