Production Time

[President]

How many man-hours does it take to make a GMT II?


President

[colemanitis]

I don't know how many "actual hours" it takes to make a GMT, but Rolex advertises that each watch takes a year to create.

[padi56]

How long is a bit of string,most watch manufacturing today is nearly all fully automated Rolex as well.How else could Rolex make around 850,000 plus watches yearly

[C.J.]

Rolex is producing nearly one million watches per year. If each watch takes a year to make, that would mean that they have one million little machines making one watch each per year. Somehow, I think Rolex' claim of each watch taking a year to make might be, well,

[montecristo]

Including coffee breaks?

[mikey]

The thing that I don't understand is usually a limited production costs so much, but if Rolex is cranking out a million a year then the price for each watch should reflect the prices from the early 70s today. Basically, a rich guy set the standard of how much he was willing to pay regardless of supply of a particular Rolex.

[roadcarver]

Plus Rolex's marketing team is very good.

[colemanitis]

You guys are assuming Rolex spends 8 hrs/day on each watch - this obviously isn't the case. Also, doesn't Rolex mine their own gold, or something like that? I can understand it taking a year from the mining of the gold to the shipping of a watch. Maybe I'm just gullible?

Originally Posted by colemanitis

You guys are assuming Rolex spends 8 hrs/day on each watch - this obviously isn't the case. Also, doesn't Rolex mine their own gold, or something like that? I can understand it taking a year from the mining of the gold to the shipping of a watch. Maybe I'm just gullible?

Maybe!

Actually there is no evidence that Rolex mines or refines their own gold. They buy gold from suppliers like most places do, but do have the facilities to cast gold into rough shapes before machining. This is very different than mining and refining.

No doubt that in some manner their claim that "It takes a year to make a Rolex" is true, or it would be false advertising. If you count the time the raw materials sit before being processed, or the delays between each step, it may in fact add up to a year (which means their manufacturing is incredibly inefficient). However, what they imply it means is very different from the reality IMO.

I would guess that production time for one watch would be about 30 minutes per copy. This is taking into consideration the time to mould and machine all the parts, paint the dial assemble and install the movement, etc. Since they are constantly sourcing and manufacturing parts, it would be an ongoing cycle. I am certain you could calculate the time to manufacture each part as well as the assembly, but it wouldnt likely add much more than 15-30 minutes more.

Its all mechanized, and they have to be pumping out way more than 1,000 units a day.

[tonyp]

Originally Posted by mikey

The thing that I don't understand is usually a limited production costs so much, but if Rolex is cranking out a million a year then the price for each watch should reflect the prices from the early 70s today. Basically, a rich guy set the standard of how much he was willing to pay regardless of supply of a particular Rolex.

I wish ROLEX would go back to the prices in the 70s. Back then the average person could buy one with 1 weeks salary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry the average weekly pay in 1972 was $129.01. At that rate it would almost take 2 weeks worth of checks to buy a 6263 $241 !

[ohlins]

it's a bit vague but if a company were to time the production from the making of the ingot....plus the case machining...plus the making of the various parts...plus the assembly of the movement.....plus the cosc testing.....plus the assembly of the hands, crystal, case etc....plus further testing......it could add up to one year....

rolex is not saying they spend one entire year's man effort on one watch....so all in all....it sounds possible...

[Welshwatchman]

Originally Posted by ohlins

it's a bit vague but if a company were to time the production from the making of the ingot....plus the case machining...plus the making of the various parts...plus the assembly of the movement.....plus the cosc testing.....plus the assembly of the hands, crystal, case etc....plus further testing......it could add up to one year....

rolex is not saying they spend one entire year's man effort on one watch....so all in all....it sounds possible...

I would guess :

Case / Bracelet machining - 1 day
Production of parts (total) 4 days
Assembly of watch 1 day
Finishing - 1 day
Cosc testing - 30 mintues (bearing in mind that the actual handling time per watch is limited)

One week, more like.

[colemanitis]

Originally Posted by Welshwatchman

I would guess :

Case / Bracelet machining - 1 day
Production of parts (total) 4 days
Assembly of watch 1 day
Finishing - 1 day
Cosc testing - 30 mintues (bearing in mind that the actual handling time per watch is limited)

One week, more like.

I was going to argue with you, but then I read your signature.

[ohlins]

Originally Posted by colemanitis

I was going to argue with you, but then I read your signature.

[JJ Irani]

Hey guys,

We could all be sitting around this table discussing how long it takes to make a Rolex until we all turn blue in the face!!

What really matters is the end product!! And if it looks anything like this, who gives a rat's ass how long it takes to make a Rolex!!

[Welshwatchman]

Originally Posted by Welshwatchman

I would guess :

Case / Bracelet machining - 1 day
Production of parts (total) 4 days
Assembly of watch 1 day
Finishing - 1 day
Cosc testing - 30 mintues (bearing in mind that the actual handling time per watch is limited)

One week, more like.

Originally Posted by ohlins

I was going to argue with you, but then I read your signature.

I forgot one vital ingredient,

Bake for 2 hours on gas mark 8.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by ohlins

it's a bit vague but if a company were to time the production from the making of the ingot....plus the case machining...plus the making of the various parts...plus the assembly of the movement.....plus the cosc testing.....plus the assembly of the hands, crystal, case etc....plus further testing......it could add up to one year....

rolex is not saying they spend one entire year's man effort on one watch....so all in all....it sounds possible...

IF such a small word but with a big meaning,afraid the days when little old watchmakers assembled the watches by hand is long gone.Now a almost fully automated production line,and to make the sums add up over 2000 watch units a day.

[ohlins]

Originally Posted by padi56

IF such a small word but with a big meaning,afraid the days when little old watchmakers assembled the watches by hand is long gone.Now a almost fully automated production line,and to make the sums add up over 2000 watch units a day.

well talk about assembly....this is from a rolex catalog.....



and the particular sentence...

Originally Posted by ohlins

I have no doubt that human hands are programming the robots that fully assemble the watches.

Dman told me his AD toured the Rolex factory last year and said it looked like a scene out of I-Robot. The only time a human hand directly touches the watch during assembly is to install the crown, from what I understand.

[ohlins]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Dman told me his AD toured the Rolex factory last year and said it looked like a scene out of I-Robot. The only time a human hand directly touches the watch during assembly is to install the crown, from what I understand.

most of the time....i rather take with a pinch of salt of what ADs tell me....most often than not, they are not the most reliable sources of information.....

[padi56]

Originally Posted by ohlins

well talk about assembly....this is from a rolex catalog.....



and the particular sentence...

And I have India marked on my car tyres but I am not going there.I did have some pictures of inside the Rolex factory.And like Atomic said something like out of IRobot.And if they hand assembled 220 parts on every watch,Rolex must have a huge workforce to make almost a million watch units a year.

[ohlins]

Originally Posted by padi56

And if they hand assembled 220 parts on every watch,Rolex must have a huge workforce to make almost a million watch units a year.

i guess they probably have......

[President]

Thanks everyone, but what about multiple people and robotic arm thingys all on one watch? Let's say one watch goes through 100 different people or robots, total time = 1 year in man/robot-hours ???

[colemanitis]

From Rolex.com...

"To guarantee the quality of a Rolex movement, our team of expert craftsmen assembles each component by hand, piecing together its tiny parts according to exacting standards of excellence."

Originally Posted by colemanitis

From Rolex.com...

"To guarantee the quality of a Rolex movement, our team of expert craftsmen assembles each component by hand, piecing together its tiny parts according to exacting standards of excellence."

Not to beat a dead horse here, but Rolex marketing is well known for making claims that push the edge of the envelope regarding facts. As I said above, there is no doubt human hands manuipulate the machines that assemble the tiny parts, according to exacting standards of excellence. As a professional spin doctor, I can smell out spin from a mile away and Rolexs claims to how they assemble their units is about as stinky as it gets.

If it takes a year to make each watch, and each watch is hand assembled, then every citizen in Switzerland and then some would be employed by Rolex assembling watches. Since that isnt true, their assembly line is mostly automated. It has to be. Its impossible to pump out a million units a year and claim they are all hand assembled because the workforce would be impossibly big.

[colemanitis]

I think maybe you're reading this wrong. There's a difference between machining and assembling. I'm sure that robots and machines are used to fabricate all parts of the watch, however Rolex claims that these parts are then assembled (put together) by hand. There's not a doubt in my mind that every Rolex movement is assembled by hand. I also wouldn't be suprised if all finishing and polishing of the band and case are also done by hand.

[Welshwatchman]

Who to believe ?

Rolex advertising bods or Padi.

Only took me a nanosecond to decide.



BTW - Is this a genuine pic of the last Rolex staff meeting ?

[Goldsplinter]

Originally Posted by Welshwatchman

Who to believe ?

Rolex advertising bods or Padi.

Only took me a nanosecond to decide.



BTW - Is this a genuine pic of the last Rolex staff meeting ?

lol, looks like a retarded model for the robots of the movie "I, Robot" with Will Smith.

[Goodwatch]

Yes, I also have thought long about that infamous statement. Is it from delving the ore to make the steel or from carting the trolleys with steel billets into the factory? 30 minutes to make a complete watch seems a bit too optimistic. Heating the billets, stamping out the 5 shapes at a time to make the roughs, transporting these forms to CNC machines to mill out the final cases, taking them out of the CNC machine, doing a rinse to remove the oil, bringing the yet unfinished cases in crates to the next stage? I don’t know guys. This alone would take more than 30 minutes per case.
Well adjusted industrial robots are almost tolerant free. They can do the same pre-programmed movement over and over again without taking a break. In that respect, robots are much better at their job in certain circumstances than humans are. Perhaps the final assembly of the movements and the complete watches is done by humans. A recent documentary about watches (a Seiko plant by ‘How It’s Made?’) showed that about 15% of the work was still done by humans. Yes, the old fashioned tweezers and eyeglass work. Even in a highly mechanized plant like Seiko’s. So perhaps this must be the same for the Rolex factory.
But this is not the point here. The point is that Rolex go about their way to convince the average punter that all watches are made more or less by hand. By skilled watchmakers, piecing together the watches as this was done over a century ago. Does it matter? The final product, although far from perfect, can stand most, if not any test. Would you take a handmade Calatrava through a Paris-Dakar rally? Of course not, that’s what a Rolex is for!