How an outsider who was not even Swiss built the highest-volume luxury watch brand by selling status, not time.
With Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal
"Wealthy people don't need an instrument that tells time, they want a beautiful and exclusive object on their wrist." — Andre HeinigerBen Gilbert & David Rosenthal, on the episode
This is not really an episode about watches. It is about how a company kept selling a product that the digital world made obsolete and grew bigger than ever. Rolex turned an outdated technology into the world's most recognized signal of success. The mechanism behind it is pure business: proof points, lifestyle, and ruthless control of supply and price.
Rolex sent a wristwatch movement through 45 days of testing at Britain's Kew Observatory and, as David recounted, "it receives the First Class A Precision certificate." It was the first wristwatch ever to earn it. Then they stamped the proof on the dial so the customer never had to take their word for it.
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