Rolex: how the queen of the watch industry keeps its secrets

How did Rolex conquer the world? It was all primarily down to skilful marketing, says a new book. The author, Swiss historian Pierre-Yves Donzé, says his task of charting this success story was not made any easier by the company’s traditionally tight-lipped policy on its own inner workings. In 1977, in the middle of a crisis in the watchmaking industry, Rolex bought a building in downtown New York for $15 million (CHF13.7 million). As competitors like Longines and Omega struggled, Rolex held fast to its vision of the future. In fact, the brand emerged almost unscathed from that crisis. Its survival was due to the Oyster, the legendary automatic watch model on which the Rolex saga was built. This timepiece served to anchor the company in stormy weather. Other producers fared poorly because their ranges were not suited to mass production. Rolex was also very skilful at launching advertising campaigns that associated the product with personal success. Against the backdrop of the Cold ...