why general public think that Rolex watch is the best watch ever made.

[Pix]

Because you can find them at Costco!

[KarlFr]

Think my old AP’s, PPs and GO’s had better finishing chamfers and all that, and Omega & Grand Seiko have very accurate watches also. Old Rolex develop great patina though, and takes a good beating well looked after

[Rolex addict]

Marketing and brand recognition.

[Raku]

First of all I think you need to define ''best'' in order to answer this kind of question. What might be best for one person, might be average for another.
They are definetly very good watches, very accurate and long lasting.
Are they haute horology, certainly not, but they don't claim to be either.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by spoilsofwar01

Thanks for this, and this has lead to another post, that's titled First watch on the Mount Everest, arguments have it that the first Rolex on the summit of Mount Everest was in 1953, and that it was a gold Date Just.... I'm interested to find out more,

i think Norgay had a Rolex. Hillary summited first (maybe but we may never know) and i have no idea what model Norgay was wearing.

However the fact remains is that the Rolex OP (since the explorer didn't come out until later) has become the "everest watch" to most people. History is written by the winners and Smiths clearly didn't win and Rolex has a PR machine behind it. There is a lot of conflicting info out there, so it may not even be provable either way.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by broken_link

How many other mechanical watch producers even advertise their watch precision? Much less can they match the +-2sec/d of a cased Rolex.

On their best days my Rolexs can't match my Seikos' accuracy.

[bearjere21]

would history of those who wear rolex be considered part of the marketing?

The vintage sales of recent rolex put everything in perspective. Then you have the crowd it caters to. How many rolex commercial do you see for NBA or NFL players compared to PGA and Tennis? Those who play golf and tennis are more of the affluent and country club crowd. Everything rolex does is pure strategic marketing and they've done a great great job.

I love my vintage rolex. It's not gaudy. It's not eye sparkling. Most people think it looks plain but there's a level of class and charisma and that's how rolex marketing wants you to think.

[Finslayer83]

James Bond.

[DTNSS]

Steve McQueen

[10klakes]

Rappers


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[Nikrnic]

Of course the "general public" believes Rolex is the best brand. The "general public" doesn't know any better. To me it's my favorite brand, so l guess that makes it the best to me.

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[rmlovett1]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

marketing and brand awareness. My family back in the states knows nothing about watches. They could care less about my Pateks or AP. All they ever say anything about it the Rolex. They also assume its my most expensive, and thus best watch. They know the Rolex brand and know its expensive, thats it.


The general public equates price with being the best (which i disagree with), but you would be surprised at how many people think the luxury watch world stops at Rolex and assume its one of the most expensive watches there is.

Originally Posted by tyler1980

you have to know watches to know anything different. Ask a random stranger what the best, most expensive watch is. Rolex will be the answer more often than not. The info is out there, but people are not randomly researching watches.

Rolex attracts WIS and non WIS alike in huge numbers. You need to be a WIS already to have any clue about ALS.

Originally Posted by Rolex addict

Marketing and brand recognition.

⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ Agree with these gentlemen.

I’d say most people, caring about watches, or not caring....will know Rolex vs anything else. Same with people who eat fast food or not, or people who’s drink soda, or not... ie: McDonald’s, Coke, etc...... it’s brand recognition and general perception. (IMO)

[DTNSS]

I think Rolex simply managed to become the standard of precision, quality, and durability. It managed to become an icon. Holds value well, so for the money, it may well be the best watch ever made (outside a digital Casio, of course).

[dmash]

Originally Posted by Carrera_2

Though Rolex marketing never said their watch is the best or anything like that. But general public always perceived Rolex is the best watch out there. To me, Rolex watch is the watch that can take beating and it just keep on ticking, simply the strongest watch.

Have you ever seen their ads or the wording on their website? They certainly try to make you think so

[Rebel]

In one word: marketing
In two words: Rolex marketing

[codecow]

I learned abou the Rolex brand from Yngwie Malmsteen and Tupac Shakur.

[LINVS]

Folks see the price of Rolex and assume it’s the best.

Very few people know of JLC, VC, PP, AP, etc and all their respective specs.

[mjclark32]

Marketing, brilliant marketing from the start.

I feel now it's more tennis and golf tournaments, but back in the day the magazine ads showing real life scenarios of real hard working men and women pushing the limits. Awesome stuff

Some cool ads:

[MinMay]

spend huge $ in marketing...

[jon_jon]

The general public knows that a Rolex is an "expensive" watch, that sells for thousands of dollars. To them, it doesn't matter if it is $5k or $50K. They think it is expensive, so it must be the best.

What they don't know is that there are watches that cost $100k or $1mil, sold by other more exclusive watch brands.

As we know, price doesn't always equate quality, although they is usually a strong correlation.

[singe89]

Marketing and size. At a conference I attended they were talking about the value of brand awareness. They pulled a random person up on stage and asked them to say the first brand that come to mind.

Soda....Coke
Cell phone...iphone/apple
Luxury bags...LV
Luxury watch...Rolex

Rolex has done a HUGELY successful job of marketing itself from tool watch to the best known luxury watch brand when in fact they are really only entry level when it comes to luxury/haute horology watches.

Rolex is pretty amazing. They market so well that the masses think the brand is the best and strive to own one. Then on the other end you have the WIS world that appreciates them for their history, classic looks, quality and precision. To appeal to both is a winning combination.

[singe89]

Originally Posted by mjclark32

Marketing, brilliant marketing from the start.

I feel now it's more tennis and golf tournaments, but back in the day the magazine ads showing real life scenarios of real hard working men and women pushing the limits. Awesome stuff

Some cool ads:

Totally agree. If you were at the top of your profession you would wear a rolex. This made people want to strive to own one and then translated into the business world in the 80s when yuppies started making $$$ they wanted a rolex to show they made it. Also took off in hollywood movies and music videos as well. Perfect storm of marketing genius.

[russ86]

History, Brand Name, Good Marketing and Superb Quality. And also hype.

[marcopolo05]

Originally Posted by Krash

It’s not just marketing. It’s uncles and dads telling their nephews and kids that Rolex makes the best watches. Plus, unless you’re a tennis fan, you would never see any sort of marketing or advertising from Rolex anyway. It’s all by word of mouth.


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They are everywhere in "luxury" sports
Golf, Car Racing, Tennis, ...

Longines obviously for horsebackriding.


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[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by singe89

Totally agree. If you were at the top of your profession you would wear a rolex. This made people want to strive to own one and then translated into the business world in the 80s when yuppies started making $$$ they wanted a rolex to show they made it. Also took off in hollywood movies and music videos as well. Perfect storm of marketing genius.

This is the second best advertising campaign in the history of watches... i have to say the Patek one is better as it pulls on the emotional and sentimental feelings. Which IMO works better.

Both are absolutely brilliant though.

[tudorbaja27]

"Best" is subjective :) Also, this is a Rolex forum.

[marc12]

Rolex is like BMW. Recognized easily and often, has models in the "attainable" price range but still makes some in the "stratosphere" price range.

Plus the vintage models are always going up in value.

[Mystro]

Rolex has entered the modern vocabulary as a superlative. Much the same as Rolls Royce. Once you get that, the competition can’t buy enough advertisements to change that way of thinking. Brands like PP or AP can never touch that kind of street credit. Even if you tell the average person it’s a more exclusive watch, they will still pick a Rolex given the choice.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by Mystro

Rolex has entered the modern vocabulary as a superlative. Much the same as Rolls Royce.

and if you forget all you have to do is look at the dial

[run23]

Originally Posted by nikesupremedunk

Very true. My “average” non watch co workers asked me how much my sub cost the other day. I didn’t tell them exactly how much but he thought $2-3000 which is still insane to a non watch person. I remember being the same way before I got sucked into rolexes. I almost fainted when I found out an entry level model like a dj cost 7-8k when I thought they would be 4-5k for a more expensive model. So to the general public who think a $1000 watch is expensive, yes they will think Rolex is the best. Also they definitely never heard of AP, PP, etc.

Yeah - in law school (before I knew anything about watches) I remember thinking to myself that I didn't understand why lawyers were so status conscious that they had to spend $1,500 on a super-expensive watch.