The watch brand Rolex, based in Switzerland and founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf, stands internationally for luxury watches of the finest quality and highest precision. We are undoubtedly dealing with one of the watch brands that enjoy an impeccable reputation worldwide and whose watches are virtually licking their fingers. Because: A Rolex is a status symbol of the extra class, has an excellent value stability and ensures on the wrist that you are guaranteed to attract all eyes on him. But if you think that you only need the necessary budget to be able to call such a luxury watch in a sought-after reference your own, you are very much mistaken. After all, the purchase is usually accompanied by long waiting times. Why? Quite simply: the demand for the noble watches exceeds the supply by far. In this article, we take a close look at the scale of annual production of the Swiss brand Rolex and shed light on the impact of limited quantities on the market.
Curiosity about the annual production volume of Rolex
If you look at the immense demand for Rolex watches and observe how they change hands on the secondary market for many times the list price, the question automatically arises: How many watches does Rolex produce per year? This is a question that every die-hard watch collector, investor, and fan of the brand has probably grappled with at some point - and unfortunately, there is no 100% reliable answer.
No other brand's production is surrounded by as many myths, speculations and riddles as Rolex. Online, there are numerous forums and platforms on which exactly this is discussed thread by thread. And if two watch lovers meet "live," chances are good that their conversation will sooner or later end up on this very topic. Logically, anyone who wants a particular Rolex watch would give a lot to know exactly how much patience they would have to bring along to finally be able to hold the model of their choice in their hands.
As a result, numerous retailers whose product line includes Rolex watches receive a steady stream of customer inquiries asking for figures on Rolex production quantities. Inquiries that even the most renowned concessionaires cannot answer precisely.
The secrecy of Rolex
The reason for the speculation about the number of pieces produced annually in Rolex's collections is obvious: The Swiss luxury watch company makes a secret of exactly this information. So, if you don't get a satisfactory answer from your concessionaire and therefore turn directly to Rolex in the next step, you have to be prepared for disappointment.
In contrast to the production volumes, quite a bit is known about the production sites. Rolex's headquarters are in Geneva, where the development and assembly of the watches take place. Dials and Cerachrom parts are made in Chêne-Bourg, and large parts of the other equipment are made at the Plan-les-Ouates plant. And the movements that are admired all over the world? They are manufactured in Biel, also in Switzerland. In the future, Rolex movements will also be complemented by an entirely new site, which is currently being built in Bulle, in the canton of Fribourg.
Estimates of Rolex's annual production
As already mentioned, Rolex - unlike many other watch manufacturers in the luxury segment - does not publish any figures on annual production, and the chronometer testing body COSC also does not reveal anything about how many models leave the Rolex factory per annum.
Nevertheless, there are estimates, which can be taken from the report "State of the Industry - Swiss Watchmaking in 2022" by the US company Morgan Stanley. As an investment banking firm, Morgan Stanley publishes a respected report every year that looks at the current state of the watchmaking industry. In the 2022 edition, a rough estimate of Rolex's annual production can be found, which is put at 1.05 million.
To put this figure in perspective, let's take a look at how many watches other brands launch per year for comparison. The Swiss manufacturer Patek Philippe produces about 68,000 watches per year, Breitling comes to about 170,000 pieces annually, and Omega manages a proud number of 570,000 copies.
However, there are also brands whose production figures exceed those of Rolex. There is Longines, for example, with 1.8 million, and Swatch with an incredible 3.2 million timepieces that "roll off the production line" every year. Nevertheless, in the overall picture, Rolex is clearly one of the watch brands with higher production, which once again figuratively underscores the brand's great popularity. Finally, despite handsome numbers, there is demand that is extremely far in excess of supply.
The impact of production volume on Rolex
Before we look in detail at what the production volume means for customers, or for prospective customers who would like to become customers, let's turn our attention to the company itself. How does the estimated production volume of 1.05 million affect the Swiss company?
One thing is clear: however many watches Rolex produces exactly, there are nowhere near enough to even come close to saturating the market. And that, of course, has serious advantages for the brand. The astronomically high demand ensures consistently excellent sales figures and virtually guarantees that even newly released models and collections are out of stock in no time. Thus, Rolex has been achieving gigantic sales for years and decades and has a market share of over 28%. Thus, the watch brand is clearly in the lead, followed at a great distance by the Omega brand, which has a market share of just under 8%.
How Rolex manages the high demand for its watches
Worrying about not selling enough of the watches it produces or having to deal with falling demand is definitely not something Rolex has to worry about. Instead, the company has to deal intensively with a completely different matter, which is at the other end of the "problem scale": managing the immense demand.
Which brings us to another question that is burning under the nails of many a watch collector: how is it decided who gets a Rolex and who goes away empty-handed? And what do you have to do as a "normal consumer" to get hold of such an exclusive wristwatch?
The usual way to get a Rolex is through a specialized dealer. These special dealers are provided with a few Rolex watches each year and are responsible for selling them to selected clientele at the set list price. Especially in the case of rare, very popular models - such as the Rolex Daytona - it can be assumed that the dealer will be confronted with a small contingent of watches and a long list of interested buyers. So he will probably turn to the regular clientele first. What then remains may be offered to the lucky new customer.
It is important to know that simply being on the interest list does not mean that one day you will get the chance to invest in a Rolex. Because: The list of interested parties is not the same as the official waiting list. Often, there are far more people on the interested parties list than can be supplied with the model of their choice in decades. Only when the dealer communicates the final inclusion in the actual waiting list is there a certain binding force.
The exclusivity and market value of Rolex watches
To explain how exclusivity affects the market value of Rolex watches, we must first address the difference between the list price and secondary market prices. By list price, we mean the price that the dealer charges for the models. On the secondary market, on the other hand, demand determines the price. There, timepieces are offered by private individuals and investors, with prices for sought-after models usually far above the list price.
Due to the fact that Rolex does not satisfy the high demand for popular models with the annual production volume, buying on the secondary market is often the fastest and easiest way to get a watch of the Swiss brand. Often, financially strong watch fans gladly accept the sometimes horrendous prices to save themselves the long wait. Accordingly, the market value of a Rolex wristwatch can be many times higher than the list price immediately after purchase from the dealer. Accordingly, such models are ideal as an investment, as they promise an extremely high value stability and are therefore considered a fairly safe investment.
How the availability of Rolex watches influences the collector market
For collectors, it is typically the models that are produced in particularly small numbers and consequently can only be acquired through a concessionaire with a great deal of luck and long waiting periods that are particularly interesting. After all, it is precisely these watches that immensely increase the value of a collection and make the hearts of watch fans beat faster.
In concrete terms, this means that for a Rolex Daytona reference 116500LN, for example, you have to expect about twenty years of waiting. A GMT-Master II "Pepsi" with a red-blue bezel takes about the same amount of time, while the "Batman" variant is much easier to come by with a mere seven years to wait. Still, if you want nothing more than to be able to call the watch your own, seven years is still a time that can feel like half an eternity.
When looking for their favorite Rolex, watch lovers understandably often turn to the secondary market. There, waiting times are eliminated, so the patience of prospective buyers is spared. However, the exact opposite is true for their wallets, which are burdened by prices that are quite steep. If one would like to acquire a Rolex of sought-after reference in good condition, the investment turns out comparatively large and the sums set grow far beyond the purely objective value of the models.
Certainly, most watch collectors would agree with the following in spite of everything: Whether purchased from a dealer or via the secondary market, the hardships have been worth it at the latest when one finally wears the longed-for watch on one's wrist.
Collectors and their perspective on Rolex
Now, one might think that die-hard collectors would get quite angry after all, given the low production quantities and the prices that are called on the secondary market. However, this is only rarely the case. Many people who are specifically interested in high-priced watches more than appreciate the value of these fine pieces. And they are fully aware that this value is largely determined by the high demand facing a low supply.
If a Rolex watch were produced in abundance, so that every interested person could buy one immediately and without detours, these models would be rather uninteresting for most collectors. It is precisely the exclusivity of the Swiss brand - in addition to a number of other factors - that ultimately leads to it being preferred in many cases to other watch brands with higher production levels. The scarcity of products is certainly a serious aspect when it comes to fathoming the fascination that Rolex exerts on watch lovers.
Incidentally, the same is true for investors: if one acquires a Rolex as an investment, it makes perfect sense to opt for models that are in demand. While many watches from other watch brands hardly increase in value or even decrease in value over the years, with an exclusive Rolex model you can be comparatively sure that the price development will be in your favor.
However, there is something that people who want to earn from a Rolex should definitely know: Models purchased through concessionaires should not be sold for profit immediately after purchase. The reason for this is a kind of unwritten law that most dealers hold sacred. It states that a freshly purchased Rolex should not be resold immediately after acquisition for a multiple of the dealer's price.
If you don't comply and are caught in the act, you can expect to find your name on a "blacklist". This in turn means that you should not be surprised if you are not offered a watch by this dealer for years and decades to come. By the way, this procedure is not only common in connection with Rolex, but is also practiced when selling watches of other brands.
So one should remember: If you already know that you want to sell the watch quickly, you can only buy it on the secondary market. Otherwise, you have to live with making yourself unpopular with your trusted dealer for a very long time.
Rolex's strategy and growth prospects
Rolex's strategy is as simple as it is ingenious: the manufacturer increases its production volume only slightly per year, while demand for the models increases enormously year after year. This ensures that demand far outstrips supply in the long term, optimally cultivating the brand's image as a highly exclusive provider. At the same time, the course is set again and again for a rising market value, and Rolex can be sure of generating record sales every year.
Even though the manufacturer itself keeps a low profile in terms of production volume, in all likelihood it is not to be expected that there will be any great leaps upwards in terms of production volume in the near future. Rather, there is much to suggest that Rolex will continue to increase the amount of timepieces produced each year in small increments at best. Instead of suddenly producing a lot of watches, Rolex will probably continue to rely on a comparatively small contingent in the future and thus virtually exclude that collectors and investors lose interest in the legendary models.
Conclusion: The secrets of Rolex's production volume
Whether it's the Rolex Daytona or the GMT-Master II, the Geneva-based watch giant's lineup includes numerous iconic timepieces that many a watch fan would willingly give the shirt off their back for. These incomparably popular watches have ranked at the top of many collectors' and investors' wish lists for many years, and it certainly doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon.
The watch brand founded by Hans Wilsdorf, whose sales, market share and worldwide popularity are hard to beat, is extremely secretive about its production volume. If it weren't for the Morgan Stanley report, almost nothing would be known about it. But at least we know that Rolex produces about 1.05 million timepieces annually. A number that doesn't come close to what the market is crying out for - and that is probably one of the most important ingredients of Rolex's recipe for success.