Mercedes Gleitze
The first British woman to swim the English Channel, 1900–1981
One watch, on one documented occasion. More about Mercedes Gleitze
Rolex
Oyster Perpetual 36
36 mm · €6,450
1927
In competitionThe English Channel
21 October 1927
Gleitze swam with a Rolex Oyster hung at her throat to prove the case was watertight. She was pulled out short of the French coast in freezing water; the watch came out working, and Rolex bought the front page of the Daily Mail a month later.
On the wrist: An early Oyster, on a ribbon around her neck
This was her 'vindication swim', mounted after a rival's claim cast doubt on her crossing of 7 October 1927, and she did not finish it. The advertisement ran on 24 November 1927.
Documented· checked September 2026en.wikipedia.orgrondeau.watchbobswatches.com
The watches above are the closest references in the bezelga catalogue, not the pieces that were on the wrist — those are named in each entry. Nothing here implies that Mercedes Gleitze endorsed anything, and no photographs of anyone are reproduced: every page on bezelga uses our own drawings of the watches.