People know Rolex well here and there, however, Rolex, or rather, their peerless and super marketing department, have claimed that each watch takes a year to make, start to the end, leading to some of the most hotly debated threads on the many occasions on the Internet.
These rumors, or even unreliable comments, all add to the inscrutable reputation of the brand, elevating them beyond the status of mere watchmakers and on to a new plane altogether.
However, there are lots of details that have become accepted facts. Below, we’ve put together just what it is that makes the Rolex replica watches different from other models.
Let’s ignore the selling points of the replica Rolex watch, whether it’s a few hundred thousand or closer to the full guestimate of a million, there’s no doubt they make an unbelievable number of watches each year. With that level of mass production, it’s natural to wonder about the level of automation that goes into every piece and cast suspicion on the fake Rolex’s own claim that each watch is handmade.
While it’s true that the six thousand Rolex employees are a world away from the image of the traditional old watchmaker, bent double at his table and going slowly blind as he painstakingly files each minute gear and cog, it’s also fair to say that the human factor is the dispensable element behind each replica Rolex watch.
They may have the most complicated watchmaking machinery in the world, but the assembly and regulating of each component are carried out by hand. Everything from the dials to the bracelets to the incredibly intricate calibers is still finished by highly trained technicians, equal parts scientist, and artisan.
Where machines are used is in the tasks where absolute consistency is required, such as applying totally uniform pressure to constituent parts or aligning each one with total precision. However, these machines are still operated by human beings.
Over its more than one hundred years in operation, the Rolex replica has slowly swallowed up each and every disparate element that goes into fine watchmaking and brought them behind the closed doors of the four separate strongholds that make up their production base.
However, except for the sapphire crystals that cover the watch faces and some of the dial hands, which are brought in from third-party sources, everything else that goes into a Rolex is created by the fake Rolex.
The largest of the three Geneva-based sites, Plan-less-Oates, houses the private foundry where the three 18k gold alloys are cast, together with the 904L steel, that is used to construct many different kinds of cases and bracelets.
It is also home to the central laboratory, one of the most advanced scientific facilities anywhere in the world, which was established to develop new great-performance metals as well as the next generation of oils and lubricants.
A short distance away, the Chêne-Bourg site is where the dial-makers and legions of gemologists work. Every diamond, ruby, or sapphire that comes through the door is x-rayed for quality and tested for authenticity, and is then selected and set by hand onto the pretty small number of precious stone-enhanced Rolex models. Each set is then handcrafted by traditional jewelers.