On TV around here, lately they’ve been advertising that it takes a year to make a Rolex. Is this true?
From their website, it takes three weeks just to test each one. Reading through the tons of info reveals that some parts take two weeks, and then might be redone if anything might be in question. The have an elaborate tracking mechanism via comp to match all parts and follow the watch and parts through their life cycle at the factory.
They don’t explain piece by piece, but every time they mention a part, like a bezel, a hand, etc, each takes a week, two weeks, etc, etc.
Lot’s of parts in a watch.
But isn’t the real question here:
Does it effin matter?
Does a Rolex produce a consistently longer or more accurate watch than any other watch produced to reasonably high standards of consistency in production that retails for the under $300 range compared to a Rolex that runs what, $10,000?
My one indulgence in this life (all right then, one of them) was to buy a Rolex many years ago. It’s a beautiful watch, and it’s never looked dated in over 40 years. It has been tested when made and I have the certificate to prove it, but it is not as accurate as a tuppenny halfpenny watch I could buy in a market. If it takes a year to make then that is certainly reflected in the price.
V
Actually, automatic watches (such as the Rolex) tend to be less accurate than quartz watches that you can buy for under $50.
The lowest-priced Rolex (last time I looked) was the Air King, which retailed for about $2,500. Stainless steel chronometres are in the $3,500-$4,500 range.
Three points.
-
Rolex watches are not considered to be status symbols, as their relatively low price reflects. They’re definitely “middle class”.
-
What cachet they possess is (in my, and other people’s opinion) overblown and perhaps two or three decades out of date.
-
When it comes down to it, you buy what you want. If you want an expensive watch, save up and get one. But in my opinion you should never buy a watch to gain status. Just get what you like, and status be damned.
If I were concerned with status I would be looking at other, more exclusive, watches than a Rolex. But I just like the looks of my GMT II and Subs. They’re chunky and old-tech. That’s what I like. I could have gotten a Breitling or an Omega; either one a fine and attractive watch, and significantly less expensive than a Rolex. I’d love to pick up an Omega Speedmaster one day. But in the end, I bought the watches I found most attractive on me. And I have no problem swapping the GMT II for the cheap 1974 Seiko Bell-Matic or my mid-1980s Seiko quartz Chronosport.
If one assumes that you can buy a new stainless for about $4000 US, then it obviously doesn’t take a year’s work to make a Rolex. You certainly don’t pay any of the employees who make them only $4000/year.
That might be like saying it takes a year to make a bottle of a good Cabernet.
…and, boy, there has to be a great pun in there along the lines of
“We will sell no wine before it’s time.”
“We will sell no (auto)wind, before it’s timed.”
etc.
go for it.
Next to DeBeers, Rolex is IMO the all time master brand marketer. Rolex is a more or less mass produced watch with dated innards (even by mechanical watch standards) and a nice, classic (and still somewhat unique) case, that is marketed and marketed as the pinnacle of exclusivity to the middle class.
Rolex can drag out their manfacturing process as long as they wish, but as Johnny LA so neatly summarized, Rolex is a “middle class” watch. Taken on it’s own terms Rolex is a perfectly fine watch that is about 400% overpriced relative to the craft involved in it’s manufacture vs other competitive watches, and it is one of the marvels of marketing that they have managed their brand image so exquisitely, that they have maintained demand even at their wildly inflated price levels.
In the world of truly fine mechanical watches Rolex is a perfectly servicable and rugged “Chevy” with a long and proud history priced like a low end Mercedes. There is no question, however, that Rolex is living on past glory.
This is an excellent site for background. If you want to see what truly fine watches are all about check out A. Lange & Söhne and Patek Philippe.
I can’t imagine it takes a year to * assemble * a Rolex, especially it takes just about a day to assemble an entire automobile.
However, maybe if you line up the entire times it takes to make each component, then it may add up to a year.
This is misleading, because the majority of those components are not dependent on each other for construction- i.e. you can make the bezel at the same time as several parts of the action, the entire bezel, band, crystal, etc…
I’d guess that it probably takes something on the order of a few weeks to make a Rolex, if you were to start the assembly lines for the components from zero.
According to the democrats, I’m upper middle class (I’m not, though), and all I have to show for it is a $14 fake Rolex. The idea of paying $2,000 for any watch just seems ridiculous. I’m rough on watches, though, and can’t see paying more than $50.
Really, I didn’t even know my fake Rolex was a fake Rolex when I bought it. It was simply the most attractive watch in the display at the Mexican flea market, and MX$140 seemed like a good price. Someone else later pointed out to me that it was a “Rolex.” Because it was only a $14 watch, it only lasted me a year. Bummer. I have now what I really think is an authentic Seiko Automatic I got for $35. I probably contributed to further corruption at the shipping yard in the town where I bought it (“fell off the ship”), but hey, it’s not my country.
Let’s sum it up like this: ROLEX advertises heavily on the local sports radio show in Philly. Wedged in between lunatics shouting at eachother about the Eagles and drunken eating stunts broadcast on radio, you’ll find Rolex commercials and the host spewing them out. That defines their market: middle class men who think they are all that for owning a Rolex.
A fine watch. Really nice. The kind of thing people aspire to, especially when they don’t know any better.
But no one blinks at a Rolex.
I thought it was Harley Davidson…
Thank you all for responding. Just to clear a few things up, though. I do not plan on buying a Rolex, or think that they are a good deal, etc. I just saw the ad on TV, thought a year to make a watch might be a little off, and decided to post. I’ve never wanted a Rolex, but all the info that’s been posted has been interesting!
“Rolex: A Year to Last a Lifetime: A Minute to Lose Forever.”
I prefer my vintage Patek Phillipe.
OK. That was a cheap plug for your time piece, KidC.
“Rolex: A Year to Last a Lifetime: A Minute to Lose Forever.”
For some reason, mine runs 5 minutes fast. I’ve never had a watch run fast before.
Man, you were robbed **Balthisar **!
I only paid (Singapore)$10 each for the Rolex and the Cartier Tank (with the sapphire on the stem!) watches that I bought for my parents as joke souvenirs. My dad’s “Rolex” is still keeping good time.
Since they make over a million pieces a year, you could say that each one takes less than 31 seconds to make.
Well BLOODY HELL! $2500 US is “middle class” for a watch. What the hell kind of neighbourhoods do YOU live in? The definition of “middle class” must vary greatly.
I consider a “middle class” watch to be something in the area of maybe $300 - $500 US. And that’s if you’re LUCKY. Because let’s face it, a Timex takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’. Anything over $40, and you’re showing off.
I definitely agree that “high class” watches can cost a sick amount of money. But I feel that “low class” and “middle class” are closer together than “middle class” and “high class”. Seems to me that “middle” goes according to what the average family pulls in, in a year/is worth.
What kind of watches do poor people wear in your areas?
Upon further contemplation, it is said that “two months’ salary” is the rule of thumb one should use to buy an engagement ring. What is the “middle class” monthly salary? After taxes, I’m assuming about $2000? Then again, we’re in the most taxed region of North America, so I could be completely off here. But I’m thinking, paying 1 ¼ month’s salary for a WATCH to be exorbitant. Furthermore, you think that your WATCH should be worth 60.25% of an ENGAGEMENT RING?
I don’t care if it takes a decade to make that watch. There’s no way I’ll swallow that paying THAT much for a watch is middle class.