Does Rolex still hold the crown in the world of watches?
By Nathan Devlin
Rolex has always been classed as the king in the empire of watches. But there’s a huge market that’s getting bigger every year, with new and existing brands becoming more popular.
During Watches and Wonders (the annual watch show held in Geneva), the Land Dweller model received a very mixed reception. This was because of the bracelet integration and honeycomb dial.
The dial was criticised as many felt like it resembled something that was created by AI. Whereas the integrated bracelet was mocked as it closely resembled the widely popular, and cheaper, Tissot PRX.
The PRX costs £360 and the land dwellers retail being £13,050. These comparisons however show a clear lack of knowledge and understanding of watches as the Land Dwellers inspiration is from a model from the company's history with the Oyster Quartz.
So, where is Rolex going wrong? To buy a Rolex you must go to an AD (authorised dealer) or the grey market. The issues with the AD’s are they won’t sell you anything, or at least they won’t sell you anything you want. Instead, they make you buy thousands in jewellery that you don’t want or need, then you will be ‘invited’ to buy certain pieces. It should always be a customer’s choice who they want to spend their money with.
This must change if Rolex wants to keep their top spot.
Rolex need to do what Audemars Piguet (AP) has done, taking the authorised dealers back from the franchise’s and running it themselves.
Don’t get me wrong there are still issues with the AP, but they are better run than the current situation with Rolex.
Things could have changed in August 2023 when Rolex bought the retail brand Bucherer which has other brands like Omega, Chopard, IWC and Cartier. Even after loyal customers have bought hundreds of thousands worth of watches, it’s no guarantee they will get what they want, with many examples of people not getting allocations for their desired models. This in fact has led to a few lawsuits against ADs due to their failed promises.
Who has risen to try and challenge them? Every year we see the emergence of new brands and continuing resurgence of others. Maen from the Netherlands and the revival of Ulysse Nardin are among them.
Another brand that has only existed for about 24 years and is making big moves is Richard Mille, with their retail prices being around £150,000. They were the top of the luxury chain for a few years with all of them hitting the mark with watch snobs and collectors alike.
But they have dropped behind in the recent years, with their big release being a second collab with Ferrari, the RM 43-01 with 75 in quartz TPT and 75 in titanium. Retail prices for these models being £1.3 million for the titanium and £1.5 million for the TPT version.
AP have been constantly doing good things over the past few years with some new releases. From the Black Panther, to the Blue Ceramic Perpetual Calendar and even the more recent introduction of both the Travis Scott collaboration models.
Rolex has been, and remains, the king of the luxury watches. But others are catching up. AP with the models such as the Royal Oak, Patek Calatrava and their selection of Perpetual Calendars are greatly increasing amongst customers favourites.
The attitude of AD’s is something that must be looked at and changed to save credibility. Most people nowadays are going for the retail journey altogether as most must spend £60,000 plus to be invited to buy a Royal Oak. It's easier and less hassle to go to grey market dealers, yes it may be more expensive, but it eliminates hassle and headaches of going through authorised channels for such luxury accessories.