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Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- February 24, 2025
- Duration
- 5h 0m
- Channel
- Acquired
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Rolex is a series of paradoxes. They sell obsolete and objectively inferior mechanical devices for 10-1000x the price of their superior digital successors… and demand is stronger than ever in history! Their products are comparable to a Hermès Birkin bag in price, luxury status and waitlist times… yet they produce over 1m units / year (roughly 10x annual Birkin production). They make the most universally recognized and desired Swiss watches… yet their founder wasn’t Swiss and didn’t start the company in Switzerland! If Rolex were publicly traded, they’d almost certainly be among the top 50 market cap companies in the world… yet they’re 100% owned by a charitable foundation in Geneva that (among other things) literally just gives away money to local people in the city. Tune in for one of the most fascinating and admirable companies we’ve ever covered on Acquired. We had an absolute blast making the episode, and hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Spring ‘25 Season partners: J.P. Morgan Payments https://bit.ly/acquiredJPMProlexyt ServiceNow https://bit.ly/acquiredsn Fundrise https://bit.ly/acquiredfundrise25 Huntress https://bit.ly/acqhuntress Links: The Renaissance of the Swiss Watch Industry - Marc Bridge https://atpresent.substack.com/p/the-renaissance-of-the-swiss-watch HODINKEE - Inside All Four Rolex Manufacturing Facilities https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/inside-rolex “If you were…” campaign https://www.watchprosite.com/rolex/if-you-were-reading-the-new-yorker-tomorrow--you-d-wear-a-rolex-/732.1577316.15622151/ Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Rolex Study https://worldlypartners.com/businesshistory Episode sources https://docs.google.com/document/d/13jbg_6wzcNt7KwCbJAiKhJ0ifcsgkh8AowXoovIfkiU/edit?usp=sharing Carve Outs: Bluey https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7678620/ Acquired on Armchair Expert https://open.spotify.com/episode/6xGGNXHVEVrEqH0kh0xbbz?si=mzd5tDwOTcOIh8zScIqk2A Eleven Reader https://elevenreader.io More Acquired: Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes https://www.acquired.fm/email Join the Slack http://acquired.fm/slack Subscribe to ACQ2 https://pod.link/acquiredlp Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! https://www.acquired.fm/store Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.
SPEAKERS
Ben Gilbert
hostDavid Rosenthal
host
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Acquired, featuring Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, Rolex (Audio) explores How Rolex engineered modern luxury through paradox, precision, and scarcity Rolex’s story is framed as a set of paradoxes: a secretive foundation-owned company with massive scale that sells an obsolete craft product at premium prices and still creates unmet demand.
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