The world creates, while Rolex hybernates!

[Robbie68]

Originally Posted by esm

Of course it is your opinion and we all respect that.

At the end of the day, I believe in - why fix it if it ain't broken. Seem like many watch companies still has not able to establish a winning formula....

I think Rolex produce a very good product but have one of if not the best brand name in the world. Their watches are good, solid all-rounders but what really makes the company successful is the name. If you could take a range of Sub type watches, unbrand them and sell them purely on features and quality Rolex would not, in my opinion have anything close to the market share it has now. Before I get shot down in flames I just want to clarify that I am not saying Rolex lack style, quality, durability etc its just that there are equally good if not better watches out there that will often be overlooked because they are not a Rolex.

[joe100]

They make billions so until that changes...

The general public, the main customer of Rolex, doesn't know an Omega from a Oris. As my watchmaker put it: "That is an Omega, THIS is a Rolex". Regardless of innovation people want a Rolex for what it is, not so much what it could be.


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[subtona]

for comprehensive reply... borrowed from another thread:

Originally Posted by The GMT Master

Hi Dino, hope you're enjoying your new job - I certainly miss being on the front line of sales!

Rolex is what is known in economics as a Veblen good - something that becomes more prestigious the more expensive it becomes. For many, a Rolex is one of the ultimate status symbols, and Rolex uses this to great effect - "A Crown for every Achievement," inferring the most powerful men in the world wear Rolex etc. It is something that goes above and beyond the sum total of its parts, and instead of getting cheaper as it is produced in larger numbers, it gets more and more expensive

One thing I have observed about the average person and Rolex is that they don't know how much one costs - they only assume it is expensive. This gives Rolex an incredibly powerful pricing tool as they can effectively charge what they want, and people will still buy the product. The power of the brand is so great, the actual product takes a secondary role - as long as its impressive, flash, and says Rolex on the dial, then your average customer is happy.

Other brands (with the exception of Patek Phillippe) don't have such great power in their brand - indeed, very few brands in the entire world carry the weight of Rolex. That means they have to be more innovative, and more competitive to gain their sales. Rolex has the crown that everyone wants to take, and it hasn't had any real competition for a long time. The vast majority of brands for the past 20 or 30 years have shied away from Rolex, making a solid product that was sometimes comparable, but usually inferior to what Rolex made - they also went to lower price points, to target another sector of the market. Rolex have reigned supreme since the quartz crisis of the seventies, and, I think, this has led to a certain degree of comfort and self-satisfaction, and I do believe this has had a negative impact on the product range they offer right now. They certainly have a few truly outstanding models still, but too much doesn't live up to their own hype

Let's face it, Rolex have not been innovative with their attainable models for a long time now - the last all-new sports model range was the Yacht-Master, and that's 20 years old now. Certainly at the top end of the spectrum with the YM II and Sky-Dweller, they've been doing some very interesting things horologically, but you're really moving into a different market with them - it's not what Rolex built its reputation upon. Historically, Rolex were always a very forward thinking company, but now it has enjoyed a period of sustained success, it has become the opposite, and become ultra-conservative. I wonder whether that will be able to sustain the brand in the long term

Back to the competition - the vast majority of Swiss watch brands have sourced their movements, IMO the most important part of a mechanical watch, from a company called ETA, which, as many of you know, is owned by the Swatch Group - they would take a base movement and "modify" it (usually involving putting their name on the rotor and calling it something different). This was always used as a way to mark other brands as inferior - despite the proven reliability and accuracy of ETA's top grade movements, they weren't in-house, and therefore they weren't as good. This was always Rolex's coup-de-grace, their ace in the hole. However, ETA is cutting their supply of these base movements (or "ebauches"), which has effectively forced high end brands to create their own movements. Breitling, Panerai, Omega, IWC and Cartier (to name a few) have started to produce their own in-house movements, with many bringing new and interesting ideas to the table, and, importantly, negating Rolex's one surefire advantage.

So, the next 10-15 years is going to be extremely interesting. Will Rolex's competitors take advantage of Rolex's lack of innovation and take market share? Will Rolex's brand presence be enough to see them through? Will Rolex be forced to introduce their own new workhorse movement to replace the ageing cal. 3135? Will Rolex's competitors price themselves out of the market? I don't know the answers to these, and anyone who claims to is a liar - all I know is that we are going to be entering a golden age of watchmaking, the likes we haven't seen since the glory days of the 1950s and 1960s. Exciting times to be a WIS

Chris

[dalip]

Originally Posted by Watchcraze007

Self explanatory Subject line ;) Shoot your opinion ;)

Oh come on Ahmed..your opinion is what really matters. Come on....I'm all ears....

[dalip]

Don't tell me you're hibernating

[masterserg]

Look at BMW for example ... same old few (and great) lineup ... every now and then something radical introduced (X6) ... mostly planned and subtle evolution. Deviate from that and disaster ensues (Bangle years).

[HRV]

[slvrbulletv6]

Why change something that works? In my opinion Rolex are well-built "tool" watches (e.g. subs, gmts, deepsea, daytona, explorer, skydweller, milgaus) or jewelry watches (with a lot of precious metals and diamonds) (e.g. datejust, daydate, cellini); they don't need fancy complications, tourbillons, skeletons, etc.

[rollerball]

Design flaws and product recalls may arises from changes made too quick. ROLEX don't change alot, but I don't really mind. I think most of us wants a really really good watch as oppose to a really really fancy innovative watch. I don't need bluetooth on my ROLEX.

[airchitect]

They don't hibernate. They just stick to their principles. There a whole lot more companies out there who would be much more successful if they did the same....imho ofcourse

[floater156]

Originally Posted by Watchcraze007

Self explanatory Subject line ;) Shoot your opinion ;)

Have you seen the YMII or Sky Dweller?

[JP Chestnut]

Originally Posted by Watchcraze007

Self explanatory Subject line ;) Shoot your opinion ;)

10 years ago you'd probably be correct, but today you're wrong. They're coming out with an annual calendar and have recently produced the very "unique" looking YM2 - they're practically avant garde compared to 2000.

[Kram]

Surely part of the appeal of Rolex is because over the years they have behaved in a particular way establishing an image and reputation which most people like.
If they now start behaving like other watch manufacturers they wouldn't be Rolex any more and people's loyalties would change which would affect their business.
They may not offer the most gimmicky watches or the newest fads but that's not what people want from them - we like them for being who they are and what they stand for and that is Quality, Reliability and (dare I say it?) Class.

[Dr. Robert]

A Rolex is a Rolex....the rest are just watches.

[toph]

Originally Posted by Speed

When does gold stop being gold? I.e. with various %'s of additives et al...

It's still 18kt gold. The technique of how they did it sounded amazing.

[toph]

Originally Posted by Zed Homme

This must be the honey gold formula they stole from Lange.

I think you will find that magic gold is still much harder than honey gold they may have have got the idea for trying it from Lange but thy have produced a much better product . To say they stole it is not correct IMHO


http://www.watchtime.com/wristwatch-...ed-magic-gold/