Welcome to the Gilt Trips podcast. I'm your host, Kendra Lockhart. As a goldsmith and
gemologist, I'll be speaking 24 carat on all things jewelry, metals, and gems. Join
me plus a few friends to demystify both materials and designs as your private jeweler. Let's
tune in on these topics and get golden. Rolex is one of the most immediately recognizable
luxury brands in the world. From styles to materials, carried through to colorway, font,
logo, even packaging. The word is iconic as the branding, status, and reputation. Whether
it's delivered masterpieces or simply excellent seduction storytelling is today's icon audit.
Is Rolex a good investment over innovation? Is the brilliance of the brand based on product
or promotion? I will guide you through what I recognize in today's episode. Chapter time
stamps are in the show notes. Quote, I don't wear a Rolex to tell the time, said Roger Federer,
one of the brand's top ambassadors. He went on to state his reasons. Quote, I wear a Rolex because
it's the best watch in the world. unquote, is this true? And by which standards? This is a fair
skepticism because the best can be subjective. And Federer is not unbiased. Whereas I am looking
from objectivity and can love or leave a Rolex. So I'll make my case in five ways,
matching their magic number of letters in their name and points on their logo.
Number one, was it a visionary founder? The Holy Trinity of watches, Audemars Piguet,
Vacheron Constantine, and Patek Philippe are 100 years older than Rolex. They had learned
their winning formula, had the reputations, and obviously gained access to top resources in
watchmaking. A new company would need to either invent or improve upon if it's going to make
its mark. Otherwise, it would have to quote, spot the missing unquote, as we call it, and seize an
opportunity. Let's start with the background of the founder. Hans Wilsdorf would lose his mother
when he was a boy, and then become orphaned at age 12 when his father passed. Fortunately,
his uncles sold the generational family business to afford Hans and his brother and sister admission
to excellent boarding schools, and therefore became well educated. Hans excelled in math and
languages. That helped his desire to travel and opened up the chance to work in foreign countries.
He began working in watches at the turn of the century in Switzerland as a watchwinder,
which deeply exposed him to mechanics, kinetics, and accuracy. Within five years,
he moved to London, saved up money, and opened his own company with his brother-in-law,
as Wilsdorf and Davis. His aim was high quality at affordable prices. Three years after that,
in 1908, the company would be renamed. Hans wanted it to be five letters, to look good visually,
and to fit on a watch, without having to be abbreviated like he was currently doing,
and shortening his company to W and D. After 100 possibilities and still no inspiration,
it was during a ride on a horse-drawn double-decker carriage, he said,
a good genie whispered in my ear, Rolex. He immediately registered that name in Switzerland,
so he has intuition, or connection to visioning, and the smarts to make good business decisions,
proactively versus reactively. Rolex, as he said, can be easily spoken in many languages. It means
nothing as a word, so interpretation is limitless. And being in Switzerland would prove strategic
within a decade. Next was his mission. Wrist watches were frowned upon, and pocket watches were
favored. Hans wanted their potential realized, and he got his wish in six years, when World War
I broke out. You can't be in combat, and needing to pull an instrument out of a pocket to tell time.
His betting on wrist watches paid off. He finished his own prototype 14 days before the war.
Until 1915, when England imposed a 33% import tax, Hans had been importing movements, which are the
internal workings of a watch, and assembling into cases in England, where the assembled product
was sold. It was better for business to move to Switzerland. So now, he registered the name,
relocated his company, established he has keen hunches, willpower, and business smarts in both
production and profit. Number two, speaking of production, not only did Rolex innovate,
it was also one of the earliest nearly completely vertically integrated manufacturers in the game.
With an in-house foundry and proprietary alloys, Rolex would set itself apart. This means Rolex
orders metals, but then makes its own recipes for both steel and gold that aren't known,
so they can't be easily copied. Does their steel look stronger? Does their rose gold seem pinkier?
Not really, but this is the invisible half of setting the brand apart. The other half is
consistent recognizability in all its components. The link styles, two-tone bezels and their
soda-pop nicknames, distinctive dials, and monikers of their designs in the product lines.
So what did Rolex invent? The brand had back-to-back breakthroughs in the world of watchmaking,
in 1927 the first waterproof watch was launched, called the Rolex Oyster. Four years later,
the company would debut the Rolex Perpetual, the first self-winding mechanism with a perpetual
rotor, which is an oscillating pleat that can swing in either clockwise or counterclockwise motion
and contribute momentum to the running of the timepiece. So now we know Rolex for signature
alloys, creating almost everything top to bottom under the same roof, and two groundbreaking
contributions to modern timepieces. The next step would be how to publicize and promote these
achievements. Number three, innovative marketing. Marketing communications is both a love and
a study of mine. So let's look at Rolex through that lens. Their strength of a strong name,
a symbolic logo, those two are the visual parts. Their slogan that ties into the letter
quote, a crown for every achievement, unquote, and a motto built to last would prove both predictive
and prophetic. Today we hear words that are normalized in the industry of entrepreneur,
especially online. Surprisingly, Rolex was superb at powerful opt-ins, influencer marketing,
and lead generators. Let me break those terms down before I show their executions. Opt-in,
simply said, is when you're being asked to sign up. It is a capture of your contact information
so that you can be approached to do business. Influencer marketing is a current concept of
having someone else use their community to promote your product to their following.
Commonly, the influencer is an expert in a niche or specific area. And lastly, a lead generator is
what a company offers to create interest in consumerism and it's designed to assist in
converting into a sale. It creates the new business for the product or service provider.
Rolex's example of an opt-in would be the clever placement of a fish tank in a department store
window with their waterproof watch in the bottom. A prospective party walks into the store,
asks about the watch in the fish tank. A brief conversation ensues and at some point you typically
arrive at the end user, which would be the future watch wearer, asking for more information, or
the salesperson offering more. Information gets exchanged and outreach is begun, usually either
in an appointment or a phone call or in today's world via emails. The lead generator is the
company's offering via attraction marketing that you receive if you engage. You get a freebie of
some sort and the business has your attention to see if a sale emerges from your interest.
Rolex's classic move was publishing ads in local papers presenting a free catalog. So you get
their asset and more likely than not, you look through it and then you get a follow-up which
then develops a customer journey. Awareness to consideration, to purchase, to client retention,
and finally their advocacy. This is the importance for both sides to have promotional materials.
Do you suppose the traditional houses had that dash of maverick in them like Rolex?
Switzerland is more conservative than England, where Hans got a taste of different ideas and
approaches to business. What Rolex's influencer marketing looked like was connecting with
industries gaining attention and power stunts with daring individuals. Some examples include
his first brand ambassador, who was female, the swimmer Mercedes Gleitze, who had been the first
woman to swim the English Channel. Her record was allegedly broken, so the media declared a do-over.
Rolex swooped in, having already heavily invested in advertising for its oyster model. She wore
it around her neck in colder temperatures than her first success. And even though she didn't complete
the journey, Rolex used this in marketing from 1927 into modern ads as recent as 2023. Another
power partnership was with Malcolm Campbell, a racing motorist who set many records for both land
and water speed. Rolex is the official watch in World War II for the Royal Air Force. Sir Edmund
Hillary in 1953 is sponsored by Rolex, climbing up Mount Everest. Now the brand is associated with
discoverers and pioneers, as well as areas of interest such as racing and flying. And in 1960,
the US Navy sent a submersible to explore the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean in
the world. A Rolex was externally strapped to the craft. And while a window imploded due to 100
times sea level pressure, or six tons per square inch, the Rolex was unfazed. These stories,
personas, careers, and achievements, as well as mishaps, was free PR on Rolex's reputation,
which is what others say about you or your product. Number four, smart business practices. Did you
know Rolex is a charity? I mentioned earlier that Hans moved the company from England to Switzerland
to bypass war import taxes. Other benefits were Switzerland's neutrality, its local labor,
and it being a tax haven. In 1944, Hans's wife died, and there were no errors. So he established
a trust. In 1960, he transferred all, meaning 100% of his company shares and stake in his own
business to this foundation. He would die the same year. Now the claim is that incomes from
Rolex are donated to charities and causes. But you know what else is part of a European charity?
Non-disclosure in Switzerland. Public record is not required. Plus the absence of corporate
taxes on a not-for-profit status. While Hans insured his legacy would live on,
we will never know the financials of its converted company status.
And number five, product placement. Mid-century heroes and Hollywood. By now,
Rolex has created ADs or authorized dealerships globally. The original watch for the fictional
character, British secret agent James Bond, has European association and affinity. It was also
worn in the filming of Apocalypse Now to reach the USA market. Rolex sponsors the Academy Awards,
America's entertainment event for glamour and cinematic wins. It is also the official
timekeeper for Wimbledon, the prestigious tennis tournament. Rolex earned that partnership in 1978,
at a time when the sport was reaching new transcontinental heights. Legends would face off,
become household names overnight, and gain lucrative endorsement deals for their victories and
attempted championship statuses. And we come full circle to the Tennis Star comment. The Swiss
former player and record breaker Roger Federer, whose quote I opened with about not wearing a Rolex
to tell time, has been compensated $15 million per year to exclusively wear and promote his
timepiece for the company. The brand has mastered a winning formula, strategic branding,
plus superior quality, and controlled growth such as weightless and under production,
which became the Rolex bubble during the pandemic. As FOMO, an acronym for fear of missing out,
and YOLO, you only live once, accelerated the uncertainty and acquisition of the watch of your
dreams. In conclusion, Rolex's arrival as status wasn't only mastery or marketing. The fusion of
planned and unplanned elements in both of these realms have led Rolex to being the champion in
recognizability, familiarity, excellence, what it says about the wearer, and the triple threat of
utility, exclusivity, and prestige. They say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But that limitation
gives no room for opportunity. And those who want to reinvent the wheel further than you might have
done. Thank you for listening and learning with me. I would love you to share this project with
people finding rare beauty in today's world and throughout our times. Until the next episode,
keep your own story sparkling.