Deluxe timepieces - Collectors eyeball waiting lists for upcoming Rolex factory creations with anticipation
Do you think there'll be a time similar to ten years ago where you can buy a Rolex watch without a waiting list? This dilemma has been bugging Rolex buyers from all over the world lately. Before 2015, and even before the pandemic started, it was possible to purchase certain Rolex models directly from jewelers without any wait times and sometimes even with a bit of a discount. However, this completely changed in the last few years, especially for Rolex models costing over 40,000 euros. These watches are now sold out at all dealers, leaving fans with yearly waiting lists.
Rolex is not fond of the accusation that they're artificially limiting supply. They claim that even though their factories in Switzerland, where they're rumored to produce over a million watches annually, are running at full capacity, it's still not enough. This might be true, but who knows for sure.
However, there's a hint that Rolex could be attempting to reduce the long waiting times of prospective buyers. In March, Rolex announced plans to build a fifth factory in Bulle, in addition to the temporary locations already set to start working this year.
Initial designs of the new Rolex super-factory
As per Watchpro magazine, Rolex is about to start constructing this factory soon. Currently, there's just an enormous green field on the site, which Rolex bought for 31 million Swiss francs, covering over 15 football fields. The plan is to establish a complex containing four production halls and an office building at this place. Rolex estimates their investment to be around one billion Swiss francs.
Rolex has stated they want to meet the requirements of the British Quality Seal Breeam for sustainable construction - making it the first industrial building in Switzerland that has been certified according to this standard. Breeam is a strict evaluation system for buildings. By receiving such a certificate, it proves that the construction method and location concept are particularly eco-friendly.
The initial construction didn't come without surprises for Rolex. On the site, archaeologists found remnants of a 200-meter-long ancient Roman road complete with graves. Indications of this discovery had been there before, but only now was the extent of the road revealed. It's speculated that it could have served as the access road to a Roman villa.
Swissinfo reported that coins, arrows, shoes, and broken wheels were discovered. The excavation didn't halt the construction work for long. By the end of April, the archaeologists had cleared and excavated the road and its finds. Then, they moved on. Eventually, there will be an exhibition of the artifacts.
Joël Monnier from the Freiburg Office for Archaeology talked to the public-law news and information platform: "It's normal for construction sites to unearth archaeological treasures."
Until the Bulle super-factory opens at the end of the decade, temporary locations will help out. In Romont, 250-300 workers are expected to start working at the site of a Tetrapak factory that shut down in 2015. Some of these workers will be trained here to ensure there are enough knowledgeable employees in the area when the Bulle factory opens. In total, Watchpro reports that there will be approximately 2,000 workers and "hundreds of apprentices" in Bulle.
How many watches will be available after the opening of the new and fifth factory is likely to remain secret, as well as the total number of Rolex models currently in production. Since Rolex is controlled by a foundation, they don't have to reveal their financial statements - and they don't.
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Despite Rolex's expansion plans with a new factory in Bulle, Switzerland, the demand for their high-end watches, such as Rolex Watches from Fribourg, continues to outpace supply. Rolex buyers worldwide are still faced with waitlists for popular models, even as the company invests over a billion Swiss francs in their eco-friendly Breeam-certified factory.
