patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
33613
Who here believes the statement "A Rolex Takes A Year To Make" or a derivative close to that?
A lot of sales people at Rolex dealers have said "A Rolex Takes A Year To Make" or some derivation near that.
I remember first hearing that statement when I was an eight year old kid and found it dubious.
I suppose with EXTREMELY LOOSE definitions, like we need to factor in the time those dinosaurs took thousands of years to turn into oil which lubricates a Rolex, then we can make the statement it takes over a thousand years to make a Rolex. Don't forget that we had to dig mines to mine the iron ore that we later turn into metal to make the watch out of. But the statement also implies it requires Rolex a year to make their own watch.
I can even tell you as a fact that a $100,000 Patek Philippe perpetual calendar doesn't take a year to make, at least not by "normal" definitions. But if you count the time the alligator egg is laid by the female alligator to the time it takes for it to become a watch strap, yes, it does take over a year.
Now, obviously, nobody here is going to admit that they ever believed a Rolex required a year to make. I think I've made certain of that. But what kind of demented person would make such a statement. What kind of ill-advised person would believe that statement?
I wouldn't blame you if you tarred and feathered me if I ever make such an awful statement!
Perhaps one of the reasons why I even present this question is because another watch friend sent me this YouTube video with just the acronym "LOL" because the supposed expert here is just so incorrect. At 1min 12sec, she states "...it takes one year to make a Rolex..."
The supposed expert also makes further incorrect statements that she tries to pass on as facts, but the most glaring one to me is the one I mention above.
I suppose I'd be less surprised if I heard the statement from a poorly trained watch salesperson. But it's a bigger and more painful surprise when it comes from a supposed "watch expert."
Moral of the story here: Be careful whom you believe, a little skepticism is usually healthy, and a good dose of logic will dispel most fabrications. "So much for expert witnesses," a phrase used by many trial lawyers.
Caption: BS Meter.
Photo Credit: Not Mine.
Discussion
Explore the psychology of desirability in luxury watches. Patrick_y and WatchProSite members discuss why Rolex Daytona and Patek Philippe become more coveted when hard to get.
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Who here believes the statement "A Rolex Takes A Year To Make" or a derivative close to that?
A lot of sales people at Rolex dealers have said "A Rolex Takes A Year To Make" or some derivation near that. I remember first hearing that statement when I was an eight year old kid and found it dubious. I suppose with EXTREMELY LOOSE definitions, like w...
Consider their "star struck" audience
A couple weeks ago I got a survey request from them and the last question was "do you trust Hodinkee?" Guess what my answer was... 😉
Well, I certainly trust Hodinkee much less after that example!
Everybody makes mistakes, but that one was an extremely appalling one. And she stated multiple assumptions and incorrect facts. For instance, at the very end she claimed the ladies' two tone is the most popular reference ever made. Not true!
Hmmm, maybe to the “mainstream” public who just wants
An expensive watch, it sounds good to their ears. The WIS are probably few and far between so many of these sales people take their chances or odds? Don’t know, just spitballing.
I think you're right! But for an editor of Hodinkee to make that statement?
But I remember I was a very young kid, under ten, when I first heard this and I thought that couldn't make sense. It just couldn't. GDP per capita in Switzerland being what it is, then the watch would have to cost a lot more money than the $8,000 they cha...
Yeah, I don’t know why she said that,
Honestly, she knows/or should know quite a few WISs go on Hodinkee. Misleading may not be the proper term.
Definitely not what I expected from anyone sensible. Especially from a supposed expert.
"So much for expert witnesses," common lawyer quote.
I wouldn't be so surprised if a poorly trained salesperson said this...
I remember I was eight years old at a Ben Bridge Jeweler when I first heard this statement that "a Rolex takes a year to make" and I was thinking it was a salesperson's rhetoric. But for an editor at Hodinkee... That was a big shock. Also, 2.3 million vie...
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
The way information gets around, especially with today’s technology, more so for its falsity, is scary. As you plainly laid out. I don’t know sometimes, what to do about all this, yeah, but it is wrong.
"Business Insider" published the video and they are happy to keep it up
Hardly anything is accurate on their site: ...
If that were true...
Imagine how many employees/watchmakers they would need to produce 1,000,000 watches a year.
Do the math
Say 8000 for the Rolex Ave 2000 working hrs in a year Hmm ... $4 per hour? Don’t think so. More realistic guess might be Say $1000 overhead/equipment etc And $500 materials With $1500 labor @ $50/hr = 30 hrs = one person/week And $1500 profit Thus $3500 f...
Exactly. I thought the same thing.
I was better at basic mental math when I was a child than I am even now. So just doing some multiplications in my mind, it didn't make sense.
Development does take years! If a Rolex takes a year to make, imagine how many years that Zeitwerk minute repeater takes to make!
Philippe Dufour ought to charge millions for his work since he's only able to make one or two pieces in his lifetime!
You can’t compare Mr. Dufour with any other watch brands, since all use CNC’s to make the parts.
So yes, the one year to make a Rolex is BS so is the “Hand made” term used on high horology. While very part is supplied by robots, the assembly is still done by watchmakers at Rolex. The videos we see, e.g. AP, Lange, Patek, Kari, depicting a watchmaker ...
You bring up a good point! Ignorance is bliss!
It's just sad that a supposed expert from a horology/watch news outlet is so misinformed and in a position to misinform the public. Supposedly, 2.3 million people viewed that video according to YouTube!
I'm sure she retold what brand managers (Rlx) told her. They are taught to embellish the value of a product. [nt]
It would be strange for her to say that the production time of a Rolex watch is a "couple of months". Then everyone will reasonably ask: why is there a shortage of mass product, where are of Submariners, GMT, Daytona...?
I've been told many times by Rolex brand managers that the watch does not take a year to assemble.
That's actually incorrect in my experience. In the USA I've met many Rolex account executives, managers, and trainers. They actually dispel these myths and ask the sales professionals to not make these erroneous statements. They also instruct their sales ...
Yes, I agree that " I'm sure” is stylish. Sorry.
However, I judge by my experience working with brand managers. My view from Russia) Personally, I don't believe that miss Cara is so out of touch with reality, and this phrase is a figment of her imagination. After all, her boss visited the Rolex factory....
Bad information incoming, bad information outgoing...
Your assumption that she got the incorrect information from her boss or someone else is plausible. I doubt any of her bosses are going to admit to that they fed her this inaccurate information though. We will never know.
How long...
To mine the gold? To mine the iron? For the sun the sea and the wind to make silicone for gaskets. Or even to grow rubber trees? For carbon to be pressurized into diamonds? How long to make the tools to make the tools to make the robots that make the case...
Oh yeah! TSMC takes forever!
I agree, I think I put in above that they're counting the time the alligator is an egg till the alligator strap is produced! And they're counting the thousands of years it took for dinosaurs to turn into oil. They must be counting those years too, but the...
Be less sarcastic please. They might be incubating certain parts used in watch for the year and that can make this statement factually correct.
A watch might take a day or less to be assembled and finished but those one year old parts would qualify the one year time frame... Just my 2 cents..
True, if they had a year supply of watch hands or screws for instance, this part could be factually correct...
I'm not being sarcastic. But I am taking her word somewhat literally. But it's just so misleading.
When you think of it,
this is only talking about watches. Most of us probably realise, that not the smallest part of what we read and hear everyday on internet, TV, Radio, newspapers etc. is far away from truth and reality. What makes me wonder is, how many people take all tha...
You bring up an even bigger problem!
Anyone with this simple logical thought, the labor cost alone is many times more than $5000, the price of a new Rolex Oyster Perpetual. Unless Rolexes are made in a country with extremely low labor costs. But Rolexes are made in Switzerland, which has fai...
It's not "one year" that makes Sport Rolex so expensive...
...it's the 40-60 years of built-up wabi that makes Sports Rolex so expensive! Kind regards, Dan
2.3 Million views!
So there's the possibility that millions of people have absorbed this message and assume it to be factual!
Maybe she genuinely believed that...
Maybe she was like me, I first heard that "a Rolex takes a year to make" statement when I was eight years old. Maybe she heard it when she was very young, assumed it to be true, and has propagated it as fact. Someone should inform her she's very mistaken....