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This is lifted from watch mag Revolution issue #17. Just sharing on my part and hope you enjoy reading
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ROLEX commands center stage in the theater of time
Think back to the very first time you heard the word ROLEX. Not the first time you looked at a ROLEX watch or considered buying one, but the first time you simply heard the name. As the undisputed world leader in brand recognition for fine luxury watches, chances are that you've known the name for the better part of your life. You may have read about them in Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, or you may simply have heard it mentioned in a movie somewhere or on TV.
Like Ferrari in the world of motor sports, ROLEX is a brand with enough equity to make Bernard Arnault so green with envy that he may have to lock himself in his Louis Vuitton trunk to alleviate an uncomfortable sense of inferiority. In fact, those are two other brands in the world of luxury that rival ROLEX for sheer star power. In describing Ferrari, its president Luca di Montezemolo has said, "We're not in the business of selling cars; we're selling dreams." The same is true of Louis Vuitton and ROLEX.
While Ferrari sells the dream of speed, ROLEX sells the dream of time harnessed to the will of man. ROLEX is by no means alone in peddling this nifty deal, but it is unique in its ability to overcome the inherent limitations of a product to exist as a rarefied ideal in the minds of the contemporary consumer of luxury goods. Impressively, it does this while still creating the best and most reliable products possible, with the most up-to-date industrial production methods. As we've reported previously, the stories about robots and the automated production facilities are true.
Nevertheless, the importance of human capital as an indispensable and irreplaceable part of ROLEX cannot be taken lightly. To understand this better, it is necessary to address the enigmatic brand's storied history.
A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma
Perhaps one of the most compelling of ROLEX's virtues is its old-fashioned mystique. While many watch brands today are part of publicly traded luxury conglomerates, ROLEX remains a [very] private company, owned and controlled by the secretive Hans Wilsdorf Foundation. Watch collectors have been known to call their headquarters the "Death Star" ... While there's nothing particularly dark about this organization, it does not adopt the usual conventions of the watch industry, up to and including not engaging in the sort of handholding and coddling that many collectors expect.
This brand does not trot out a Thierry Nataf, Jean-Claude Biver or Frank Muller to address and captivate the public. It does not engage watchmaking stars such as Vianney Halter and Philippe Dufour, nor does it use the services of elder statesmen of the industry such as Dr Franco Cologni and Nicolas Hayek Sr. In fact, ROLEX says very little about itself compared with the prodigious output of most other brands eager to establish themselves or to stamp their authority on the industry. Likewise, it holds itself apart from the public relations exercises that other brands revel in.
This extends right down to the origins of its name [still unconfirmed] and how long it has been in business. First of all, ROLEX does have a fascinating history that has been told in fits and starts. Most ROLEX aficionados know the tale well and may even know parts that are completely unauthorized and possibly fictional. Let us set the record straight by going back to the beginning. Then again, this is a bit more difficult than you might imagine, so some crosscutting is to be expected as the narratives of several companies intertwine.
The tale of ROLEX begins in 1905
That was the year the firm Wilsdorf & Davis was founded by the German entrepreneur Hans Wilhelm Wilsdorf and Englishman Alfred James Davis. But wait... perhaps it should be 1908, the year the company coined the word "ROLEX"? Or perhaps 1919, with the founding of Montres Rolex SA in Geneva? Better yet, why not 1878, when Jean Aegler founded Aegler SA? Confused?
The history of the watch company that would become an anthropomorphized myth begins with the vision of Hans Wildorf. After all, it was Wilsdorf who came up with the word "ROLEX", which, according to legend, is an abbreviation of the French phrase "horlogerie exquise". Supposedly, Wilsdorf also liked that ROLEX could be pronounced easily in a variety of languages.
Though neither a watchmaker by training nor Swiss, Wilsdorf found himself employed by a Swiss watch exporter in La Chaux-de-Fonds at age 19. His successes at this company led him to start his own watch company in 1905. Wilsdorf chose London as his headquarters as he believed the wealth and reach of the British Empire would best suit his business plans. Like some sort of horogical Bismarck, he sought to conquer the world. Almost prescient, Wilsdorf decided quickly that the future of personal timekeeping was in the emerging wristwatch and proceeded accordingly.
Seen with 21st-century eyes, this seems like a no-brainer, but it's certain that many storied Swiss firms then would have been amused. One firm that took Wilsdorf seriously. however, was Aegler, which agreed to allow Wilsdorf & Davis to sell Aegler watches in Great Britain and, later, throughout the Empire. Aegler had just pioneered an 11-ligne movement for its own wristwatches and found a true believer in Wilsdorf. Thus, the foundations for the future partnership and union were laid.
In 1910, this partnership led to the world's first chronomete-rated wristwatch. Wilsdorf insisted on this accreditation as a mark of quality, and by 1915, sealed the deal with Hermann Aegler that made Aegler the sole supplier of the brand's movements. Eventually, ROLEX watches would take up the entire production of Aegler, and by 1944, no fewer than 48,347 of the 54,799 chronometer certificates issued were for ROLEX movements. The firm celebrated its 10millionth officially certified chronometer in 1990 and, though official figures are not available, it is quite likely that they'd have passed the 20-million mark by this time. ROLEX's domination of COSC certificates (in 2007, it earned 728,256 COSC certificates - just under 50 percent of all COSC certificates issued that year) may be one reason why brands today sometimes go out of their way to point out the shortcomings of the rating and their own efforts to go beyond what is required. Indeed, ROLEX's most serious competitors make the loudest claims.
[ to be continued... ]
.ROLEX commands center stage in the theater of time
Think back to the very first time you heard the word ROLEX. Not the first time you looked at a ROLEX watch or considered buying one, but the first time you simply heard the name. As the undisputed world leader in brand recognition for fine luxury watches, chances are that you've known the name for the better part of your life. You may have read about them in Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, or you may simply have heard it mentioned in a movie somewhere or on TV.
Like Ferrari in the world of motor sports, ROLEX is a brand with enough equity to make Bernard Arnault so green with envy that he may have to lock himself in his Louis Vuitton trunk to alleviate an uncomfortable sense of inferiority. In fact, those are two other brands in the world of luxury that rival ROLEX for sheer star power. In describing Ferrari, its president Luca di Montezemolo has said, "We're not in the business of selling cars; we're selling dreams." The same is true of Louis Vuitton and ROLEX.
While Ferrari sells the dream of speed, ROLEX sells the dream of time harnessed to the will of man. ROLEX is by no means alone in peddling this nifty deal, but it is unique in its ability to overcome the inherent limitations of a product to exist as a rarefied ideal in the minds of the contemporary consumer of luxury goods. Impressively, it does this while still creating the best and most reliable products possible, with the most up-to-date industrial production methods. As we've reported previously, the stories about robots and the automated production facilities are true.
Nevertheless, the importance of human capital as an indispensable and irreplaceable part of ROLEX cannot be taken lightly. To understand this better, it is necessary to address the enigmatic brand's storied history.
A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma
Perhaps one of the most compelling of ROLEX's virtues is its old-fashioned mystique. While many watch brands today are part of publicly traded luxury conglomerates, ROLEX remains a [very] private company, owned and controlled by the secretive Hans Wilsdorf Foundation. Watch collectors have been known to call their headquarters the "Death Star" ... While there's nothing particularly dark about this organization, it does not adopt the usual conventions of the watch industry, up to and including not engaging in the sort of handholding and coddling that many collectors expect.
This brand does not trot out a Thierry Nataf, Jean-Claude Biver or Frank Muller to address and captivate the public. It does not engage watchmaking stars such as Vianney Halter and Philippe Dufour, nor does it use the services of elder statesmen of the industry such as Dr Franco Cologni and Nicolas Hayek Sr. In fact, ROLEX says very little about itself compared with the prodigious output of most other brands eager to establish themselves or to stamp their authority on the industry. Likewise, it holds itself apart from the public relations exercises that other brands revel in.
This extends right down to the origins of its name [still unconfirmed] and how long it has been in business. First of all, ROLEX does have a fascinating history that has been told in fits and starts. Most ROLEX aficionados know the tale well and may even know parts that are completely unauthorized and possibly fictional. Let us set the record straight by going back to the beginning. Then again, this is a bit more difficult than you might imagine, so some crosscutting is to be expected as the narratives of several companies intertwine.
The tale of ROLEX begins in 1905
That was the year the firm Wilsdorf & Davis was founded by the German entrepreneur Hans Wilhelm Wilsdorf and Englishman Alfred James Davis. But wait... perhaps it should be 1908, the year the company coined the word "ROLEX"? Or perhaps 1919, with the founding of Montres Rolex SA in Geneva? Better yet, why not 1878, when Jean Aegler founded Aegler SA? Confused?
The history of the watch company that would become an anthropomorphized myth begins with the vision of Hans Wildorf. After all, it was Wilsdorf who came up with the word "ROLEX", which, according to legend, is an abbreviation of the French phrase "horlogerie exquise". Supposedly, Wilsdorf also liked that ROLEX could be pronounced easily in a variety of languages.
Though neither a watchmaker by training nor Swiss, Wilsdorf found himself employed by a Swiss watch exporter in La Chaux-de-Fonds at age 19. His successes at this company led him to start his own watch company in 1905. Wilsdorf chose London as his headquarters as he believed the wealth and reach of the British Empire would best suit his business plans. Like some sort of horogical Bismarck, he sought to conquer the world. Almost prescient, Wilsdorf decided quickly that the future of personal timekeeping was in the emerging wristwatch and proceeded accordingly.
Seen with 21st-century eyes, this seems like a no-brainer, but it's certain that many storied Swiss firms then would have been amused. One firm that took Wilsdorf seriously. however, was Aegler, which agreed to allow Wilsdorf & Davis to sell Aegler watches in Great Britain and, later, throughout the Empire. Aegler had just pioneered an 11-ligne movement for its own wristwatches and found a true believer in Wilsdorf. Thus, the foundations for the future partnership and union were laid.
In 1910, this partnership led to the world's first chronomete-rated wristwatch. Wilsdorf insisted on this accreditation as a mark of quality, and by 1915, sealed the deal with Hermann Aegler that made Aegler the sole supplier of the brand's movements. Eventually, ROLEX watches would take up the entire production of Aegler, and by 1944, no fewer than 48,347 of the 54,799 chronometer certificates issued were for ROLEX movements. The firm celebrated its 10millionth officially certified chronometer in 1990 and, though official figures are not available, it is quite likely that they'd have passed the 20-million mark by this time. ROLEX's domination of COSC certificates (in 2007, it earned 728,256 COSC certificates - just under 50 percent of all COSC certificates issued that year) may be one reason why brands today sometimes go out of their way to point out the shortcomings of the rating and their own efforts to go beyond what is required. Indeed, ROLEX's most serious competitors make the loudest claims.
[ to be continued... ]
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