Rolex is addressing the global surge in demand for its coveted watches by building three more factories.
These “pop-up” facilities are intended to serve as a temporary solution while the $1.5 billion manufacturing site announced back in January undergoes construction (which won’t be completed until 2029).
Once the latter is operational in Bulle, it’ll create 2,000 jobs spread across two 100,000m² parcels of real estate. In the meantime, the Swiss watchmaker will lean on a smaller-scale 9,000m² location in Romont, plus ad hoc facilities in both Villaz-Saint-Pierre and Bulle to increase supply production from as early as 2025.
While this will only see up to 300 more personnel join the Rolex payroll, watchmakers will be trained in Romont before gradually being filtered into the larger Bulle factory parallel as a means of streamlining the process.
Despite record interest rates and inflation, many Rolex models including the legendary Daytona and Submariner remain almost impossible to buy from Rolex Authorised Dealers with pre-owned prices remaining well above regular RRPs; forcing Rolex to take actions such as establishing its own Certified Pre-Owned program just to satisfy demand.
