Rolex and switzerland

[timedate]

do people think that rolex will always be hand made in switzerland?

as they have been for so many years, or do you think that they could end up being manufactured elsewhere by machine?

i was shocked to learn that volvo is made in china nowadays,

i tried to buy a u.k. marshall amp recently, no chance, its all vietnam and china so i had to buy old, to get the uk made one i wanted, yet the original factory is just a few miles from me and it is just offices now,

at least with my fender strat i get a choice, mexico or usa,

i hope rolex always stays swiss.

[Boaters]

Anything could always happen but I would think they would stay swiss.

[zengineer]

What make you think they are "hand made" today?

The automotive industry has been a global business for decades. BMW vas plants all over the world and many US sold 3 series come from South Africa. Volvo is hardly unique.

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[timedate]

Originally Posted by zengineer

What make you think they are "hand made" today?

The automotive industry has been a global business for decades. BMW vas plants all over the world and many US sold 3 series come from South Africa. Volvo is hardly unique.

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really the subject was rolex, am i wrong in thinking they are hand made primarily?

[zengineer]

Originally Posted by timedate

really the subject was rolex, am i wrong in thinking they are hand made primarily?

Hand assembled yes, but I couldn't afford a hand made Rolex. It depends on how we define hand made. They arent carving every cog and wheel from a sheet of metal using tiny files or anything that old school.



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[Tools]

Originally Posted by timedate

really the subject was rolex, am i wrong in thinking they are hand made primarily?

Hand-made would imply that there is somebody in a shop cutting gears, painting dials, polishing jewels, and fitting things up.

Today all the gears, pinions, and parts are made on modern computer aided machines for uniformity and the close tolerances demanded.

Rolex is known for it's unique robots that do much of the fitting, polishing, machining and other work that is the same over and over.

[RJRJRJ]

They will always been "swiss made" unless somewhere else can convince us that it's more prestigious to be made there.

Originally Posted by zengineer

What make you think they are "hand made" today?

The automotive industry has been a global business for decades. BMW vas plants all over the world and many US sold 3 series come from South Africa. Volvo is hardly unique.

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They are largely machine made parts, but the entire watch and movement are completely hand assembled.

[singe89]

Originally Posted by RJRJRJ

They will always been "swiss made" unless somewhere else can convince us that it's more prestigious to be made there.

They were London England made from 1905 to 1919 but doubt they would ever leave Switzerland now. They have huge margin in their watches and don’t need to outsource to cheap labor to increase profit.

Hate when I get my wife an LV bag that is made in Spain or the USA instead of France.

[Seaotter]

YES !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQSIr5zS9Sw

[schoolboy]

Originally Posted by Seaotter

YES !



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQSIr5zS9Sw

Hasn’t seen that before.

Pretty cool but extremely short!

Thanks for sharing


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[Seaotter]

Originally Posted by schoolboy

Hasn’t seen that before.

Pretty cool but extremely short!

Thanks for sharing


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You're welcome,

https://www.youtube.com/user/WorldOfRolex

[jlovda]

What is the real world difference between Rolex and PP? PP makes less than 1/10th the number of watches as Rolex.

I have very little watch knowledge. Sutter in Chicago (Mr. Sutter Kajita) told me 40 years ago that the Rolex movements basically fall together and start running. I do not think it would be a stretch to have skilled Chinese workers assembling the movements that are then shipped back to Switzerland for adjustment, testing, casing etc. I really don't think it will happen. Because of consumer demand Rolex will increase production 5% a year and raise prices accordingly to match internal profit targets and inflation.

[904VT]

Originally Posted by jlovda

What is the real world difference between Rolex and PP? PP makes less than 1/10th the number of watches as Rolex.

I have very little watch knowledge. Sutter in Chicago (Mr. Sutter Kajita) told me 40 years ago that the Rolex movements basically fall together and start running. I do not think it would be a stretch to have skilled Chinese workers assembling the movements that are then shipped back to Switzerland for adjustment, testing, casing etc. I really don't think it will happen. Because of consumer demand Rolex will increase production 5% a year and raise prices accordingly to match internal profit targets and inflation.

I would never touch Rolex branded or any other watch movement or component ever made in China. That's the day Rolex officially becomes no better than Apple Watch. No thank you

[R G]

Originally Posted by jlovda

What is the real world difference between Rolex and PP? PP makes less than 1/10th the number of watches as Rolex.

I have very little watch knowledge. Sutter in Chicago (Mr. Sutter Kajita) told me 40 years ago that the Rolex movements basically fall together and start running. I do not think it would be a stretch to have skilled Chinese workers assembling the movements that are then shipped back to Switzerland for adjustment, testing, casing etc. I really don't think it will happen. Because of consumer demand Rolex will increase production 5% a year and raise prices accordingly to match internal profit targets and inflation.

I just came back from a paid Patek trip to Geneva for 2 days. Amongst many other things we did with Patek, we visited both their sites and trust me, they are in a different class to Rolex.

You suddenly realise just how ‘standard’ Rolex is comparatively.

The build, the way they are built, and the tolerance, are worlds apart.

[lenfried29]

Originally Posted by schoolboy

Hasn’t seen that before.

Pretty cool but extremely short!

Thanks for sharing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rolex watches are assembled by hand in Switzerland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLzE6ygoUuQ

[TickTockChuck]

Probably, but you never know for sure. They might move some of the Tudor line to start. Many western companies have invested heavily in high tech manufacturing in China. I'm a bit into Stereo equipment and British companies such as KEF, Arcam and B&W have shifted some production to China. People use to laugh at Made in Japan products prior to the early eighties and now it's considered a sign of premium quality. Ironically Nikon, Fuji, Panasoonic and other Japanese based camera companies have been progressively shifting production to China. And the list goes on. But with the current trade wars that could be possibly slowed. As long as Rolex doesn't get greedy though, I expect production to stay in our beloved Switzerland. My 2 cents. Cheers!

[breitlings]

Originally Posted by TickTockChuck

Probably, but you never know for sure. They might move some of the Tudor line to start. Many western companies have invested heavily in high tech manufacturing in China. I'm a bit into Stereo equipment and British companies such as KEF, Arcam and B&W have shifted some production to China. People use to laugh at Made in Japan products prior to the early eighties and now it's considered a sign of premium quality. Ironically Nikon, Fuji, Panasoonic and other Japanese based camera companies have been progressively shifting production to China. And the list goes on. But with the current trade wars that could be possibly slowed. As long as Rolex doesn't get greedy though, I expect production to stay in our beloved Switzerland. My 2 cents. Cheers!

higher end kef is made in uk and high end marantz is made in japan.

[breitlings]

James Dyson broke down issues of manufacturing in China and the IP transfer very well in an interview. (Just researched Dyson for my MBA).

I would highly doubt Rolex could extract the same premium as a luxury provider of timepieces if they manufactured anywhere but Switzerland.

[air_king]

I have to agree that they won’t be moving any time soon. Rolex could do many, many things right now in Switzerland to increase their profit margins ,which wouldn’t impact their image nearly as much as manufacturing watches in China. I would imagine moving manufacturing to China would be a drastic last resort type of move, and probably signal the end of the “Rolex” mystique.

[frankfrazetta]

If Rolex began making their wares in China, I would buy as many Swiss made subs as I could and sit back and watch them climb in value.

[lenfried29]

Originally Posted by timedate

i was shocked to learn that volvo is made in china nowadays,

Volvo passenger cars company was acquired from Ford by Chinese. But only small part of the Volvo cars made in China.

Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company's main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofström (Sweden).

[rallyx]

If they do manufacture in China, Trump will slap a hefty tarriff on Rolex and US retail prices will exceed current grey prices

[904VT]

Originally Posted by rallyx

If they do manufacture in China, Trump will slap a hefty tarriff on Rolex and US retail prices will exceed current grey prices

Wouldn't matter bc Rolex USA is unique vs Rolex SA

[kelv_w]

You do know that some higher end Marshall are still handmade in the UK? Most of the lower price bracket Marshall amps are now made in China/Vietnam but I can't fault the quality. I have both makes and in terms of workmanship, the asian made are actually very good. The only let down is the choice of materials used but then that's Marshall's decision to go cheap.

[yanks995]

yes you are right. Some of the high-end models are really good with point to point soldering. Rule No. 1 if buying from China: Pay peanuts, get monkeys. since we are talking about watches, the chinese seagulls are pretty good watches.

[timedate]

Originally Posted by kelv_w

You do know that some higher end Marshall are still handmade in the UK? Most of the lower price bracket Marshall amps are now made in China/Vietnam but I can't fault the quality. I have both makes and in terms of workmanship, the asian made are actually very good. The only let down is the choice of materials used but then that's Marshall's decision to go cheap.

yes i had heard, a lady who i worked for in MK worked at marshall in bletchley for 30 years, she said it was a great environment, often famous guitarists would be in there giving input,

i am not one of these people who thinks that making all of your famous and not so famous historical western products somewhere else is good,

but having said that, if we have lost the will, and the skills and the pride, i would not want homegrown if it was inferior to foreign.

i think japanese stuff is great, but really when you think about it, it's all an admission of your own countries failure, caused by people who dident give a damn.

[rominvicta]

No chances of moving out of Switzerland. That won’t be a Rolex any more if they do so.
What drives the surge partially is the premium of the brand. And that will be lost upon shifting location out of Switzerland. Additionally Rolex robust testing system always do compare itself with COSC, and COSC is all about Swiss made. So what will happen if that comparison is not possible any more? Rolex will take a major hit of sales.

[yanks995]

Rolex can afford the labor cost of Swiss. Other comapnies moved to VN or China because its much cheaper there.

[Likestheshiny]

A Rolex is largely a veblen good -- its perceived exclusivity is a significant part of its appeal and value. Rolex would never do anything to jeopardize that perception of exclusivity, and moving production out of Switzerland (especially to anywhere in Asia) would absolutely murder the prestige of the brand.

[VicLeChic]

Swiss made doesn't mean 100% made in Switzerland.

According to Swiss law ("Art. 50, para. 2, of the Trade Mark Protection Act of 28 August 1992"). a watch can be called "Swiss made" and yet have 40% of its manufacturing cost generated outside Switzerland and 50% of the components of its movement manufactured abroad.

In other words, a significant portion of our Swiss watches is potentially not Swiss but most probably Chinese.

Some top tier brands like Moser don't even quote Swiss made on their watches anymore because they consider it's no longer a guarantee of Swiss origin and would thus devalue their products.