Honoring the Woman Who Endured
On October 7, 1927, Mercedes Gleitze stepped into the frigid waters of the English Channel. The world was watching. Not only because she was a woman attempting something few had ever achieved — but because she had already done it once before, and now she was swimming again to silence the doubters.
The tides were merciless. The cold bit through every stroke. For over 15 hours, Mercedes battled exhaustion, waves, and wind. Around her neck, on a ribbon, hung a new invention — the Rolex Oyster — the world’s first truly waterproof wristwatch, sealed tight in a gold case, daring to face the sea alongside her.
Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, had given her that watch not as a publicity stunt, but because he believed in real proof. And Mercedes Gleitze was proof — of resilience, of integrity, of what it means to persist when no one expects you to.
Though this second Channel crossing was ultimately ruled unofficial due to the conditions, her legend was already sealed. She was the first British woman to swim the Channel, and she did it with grace, grit, and an unshakable spirit — the same qualities that defined the Rolex Oyster, which emerged from the icy Channel in perfect working order.
The Channel Swim Collection pays tribute to that moment in history — not just to a watch, but to a woman. To the power of belief, of endurance, of doing something bold when the world needs to see it done.
This collection is for those who swim against the current. For those who carry history not on their shoulders, but around their wrist — and swim on.
Roman Korber & Leelan Korber