Rolex USA communication to ADs

[HK Islandboy]

Apologies if this has already been posted, but I just came across this letter from Rolex USA to ADs.

Ironically, I found this note when a grey dealer in Hong Kong posted it on his WeChat feed to let customers know that the new watches he sold would increasingly not have stickers!

If Rolex in Asia has not issued a similar decree, I would expect the local premium grey dealers charge for new, stickered 888 (Hong Kong) watches will increase.

[HogwldFLTR]

First I've seen it; thanks for posting it.

[Chewbacca]

Interesting.

[SDDS]

Thanks for sharing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sgwatch]

My AD has removed stickers for the last month or so, regardless of how much of a VIP the buyer is. This instruction was given by Rolex a little while ago.

[jstan9]

I hate to be the one to ask, but is this real?

An American English speaker (this letter is from Rolex USA) wouldn’t use ‘novelty’ in this way (imo). And the gray dealer comment seems weirdly ‘on the nose’ to what’s discussed a lot here on trf. Is this the way ‘Rolex corporate’ speaks about these issues? Something seems off about it.

[DubaiRolex2000]

Originally Posted by jstan9

I hate to be the one to ask, but is this real?

An American English speaker (this letter is from Rolex USA) wouldn’t use ‘novelty’ in this way (imo). And the gray dealer comment seems weirdly ‘on the nose’ to what’s discussed a lot here on trf. Is this the way ‘Rolex corporate’ speaks about these issues? Something seems off about it.

Yep, something looks off about it

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by jstan9

I hate to be the one to ask, but is this real?

An American English speaker (this letter is from Rolex USA) wouldn’t use ‘novelty’ in this way (imo). And the gray dealer comment seems weirdly ‘on the nose’ to what’s discussed a lot here on trf. Is this the way ‘Rolex corporate’ speaks about these issues? Something seems off about it.

Originally Posted by DubaiRolex2000

Yep, something looks off about it

Could be real or could be fake. Language could be crafted in Switzerland and not in the US. It's hard to say but it certainly reflects the current climate of Rolex as well as the inputs we've all been hearing for quite a while now.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by jstan9

I hate to be the one to ask, but is this real?

An American English speaker (this letter is from Rolex USA) wouldn’t use ‘novelty’ in this way (imo). And the gray dealer comment seems weirdly ‘on the nose’ to what’s discussed a lot here on trf. Is this the way ‘Rolex corporate’ speaks about these issues? Something seems off about it.

new release watches are referred to as novelties. Its from the french (nouveauté), which means "new"... the word is Novelty in english. Very common in the watch world to refer to new releases as this in english.

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

Could be real or could be fake. Language could be crafted in Switzerland and not in the US. It's hard to say but it certainly reflects the current climate of Rolex as well as the inputs we've all been hearing for quite a while now.

I can’t argue with this point. But it feels weirdly perfect to your point about the current climate as discussed on this forum. Rolex is a mass market luxury goods manufacturer / marketing behemoth. If they discuss things internally in exactly the same way talked about on a forum representing the top 0.1% of Rolex enthusiasts, I’d be surprised.

And would a letter from Rolex USA, even if originating from Switzerland, not be localized by Rolex USA PR people? Rolex is one of the most sophisticated and successful marketing companies in the history of the world. That’s why it felt off to me.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by jstan9

I can’t argue with this point. But it feels weirdly perfect to your point about the current climate as discussed on this forum. Rolex is a mass market luxury goods manufacturer / marketing behemoth. If they discuss things internally in exactly the same way talked about on a forum representing the top 0.1% of Rolex enthusiasts, I’d be surprised.

And would a letter from Rolex USA, even if originating from Switzerland, not be localized by Rolex USA PR people? Rolex is one of the most sophisticated and successful marketing companies in the history of the world. That’s why it felt off to me.

they track the origin of flipped watches in the UK. They buy some from grey dealers for the purpose of tracking the serial numbers and then confront the AD who sold the watch. They are well aware of the current climate.

[RJRJRJ]

Seems off

[jackcarls0n]

If they want to curb grey dealer. Make the warranty non-transferable for the first one or two year.

Will work for gifts too.



Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[Maxy]

IMHO, it is fake.. I don't see Rolex official letter giving the image of narcissistic.. (product strong, inventory low.. blah blah)

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by Maxy

IMHO, it is fake.. I don't see Rolex official letter giving the image of narcissistic.. (product strong, inventory low.. blah blah)

it just re states things in previous letters that are confirmed authentic... stickers, filling out warranty card completely, the idea that retaining a warranty card is OK etc.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showpost...4&postcount=77

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

new release watches are referred to as novelties. Its from the french (nouveauté), which means "new"... the word is Novelty in english. Very common in the watch world to refer to new releases as this in english.

Appreciate the help. I did know what the word meant. I’m not familiar with industry nomenclature so I definitely need to take that into consideration (much more to learn about this world : )

In standard marketing-speak novelty isn’t commonly used this way. And Rolex is a marketing company as much or more than a manufacturing organization.

That said, I stand corrected if this is a common term in the horological world. And, in fairness, this is a purloined copy of an internal letter.

But it still feels off to me.

Anyhow, I’ve made my comment. Thank you for the clarification.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by jstan9

Appreciate the help. I did know what the word meant. In standard marketing-speak novelty isn’t commonly used this way. And Rolex is a marketing company as much or more than a manufacturing organization.

That said, I’ll stand corrected if this is a common term in the horological world. And, in fairness, this is a purloined copy of an internal letter.

But it still feels off to me.

For me as well.

[RJRJRJ]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

it just re states things in previous letters that are confirmed authentic... stickers, filling out warranty card completely, etc.

Yes it has a few aspects that we know to be authentic, but as a whole it does not add up.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by jstan9

Appreciate the help. I did know what the word meant. In standard marketing-speak novelty isn’t commonly used this way. And Rolex is a marketing company as much or more than a manufacturing organization.

That said, I’ll stand corrected if this is a common term in the horological world. And, in fairness, this is a purloined copy of an internal letter.

But it still feels off to me.

for watches it is. On a side note AP just this past year stopped using it and to describe their new watches on the website because people kept getting confused. Now they say New and not Novelty. So in a way they are dumbing down their language, but in general that is the standard term.

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

they track the origin of flipped watches in the UK. They buy some from grey dealers for the purpose of tracking the serial numbers and then confront the AD who sold the watch. They are well aware of the current climate.

I’m curious. I read this a lot here. How do you know this? It would be worth a thread or a post. I wouldn’t be surprised, but if a company’s mission is to build mystique via scarcity, why is this even an issue for them? If it were, they could fix it with, I dunno, something like increased production? I’d love to read something definitive about this if you’re willing to share it.

And if you can’t, no worries. But this line of speculation always makes me curious.

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by Maxy

IMHO, it is fake.. I don't see Rolex official letter giving the image of narcissistic.. (product strong, inventory low.. blah blah)

That part seems really weird to me, too.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by RJRJRJ

Yes it has a few aspects that we know to be authentic, but as a whole it does not add up.

if its restating everything that is authentic, then this letter is irrelevant. The confirmed real ones have everything of note already. So the content is real reguardles if its a fake letter or not.

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

for watches it is. On a side note AP just this past year stopped using it and to describe their new watches on the website because people kept getting confused. Now they say New and not Novelty. So in a way they are dumbing down their language, but in general that is the standard term.

Totally fair. I stand corrected in that point. Thank you.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by jstan9

I’m curious. I read this a lot here. How do you know this? It would be worth a thread or a post. I wouldn’t be surprised, but if a company’s mission is to build mystique via scarcity, why is this even an issue for them? If it were, they could fix it with, I dunno, something like increased production? I’d love to read something definitive about this if you’re willing to share it.

And if you can’t, no worries. But this line of speculation always makes me curious.

there are threads on this. People have gotten caught and their AD's have blacklisted them. When they are unlucky enough for Rolex to be the one to buy the watch from the grey dealer the AD gets a call and then the AD informs the customer they cant buy any more watches. The AD is usually threatened with losing the Rolex line if they don't properly vet customers and thus AD's only sell to locals or people they already know for a lot of these pieces.

My AD has confirmed some of this. Other members who i trust here have also had it confirmed.

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

if its restating everything that is authentic, then this letter is irrelevant. The confirmed real ones have everything of note already. So the content is real reguardles if its a fake letter or not.

No, reality is the point. If this is a fake it’s no more right to pass off as real as it would be to pass off a fake BLNR because it also ‘tells the truth’ as to what time it is.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by jstan9

No, reality is the point. If this is a fake it’s no more right to pass off as real as it would be to pass off a fake BLNR because it also ‘tells the truth’ as to what time it is.

i am just saying debate the origin of the letter, not the contents. They are different issues. The content is real.

What usually happens is people say the letter is fake, thus anything contained in it is fake. Then the substance is ignored.

[Bruins7]

Real or not. AD's do remove stickers when you purchase a new piece

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

there are threads on this. People have gotten caught and their AD's have blacklisted them. When they are unlucky enough for Rolex to be the one to buy the watch from the grey dealer the AD gets a call and then the AD informs the customer they cant buy any more watches. The AD is usually threatened with losing the Rolex line if they don't properly vet customers and thus AD's only sell to locals or people they already know for a lot of these pieces.

My AD has confirmed some of this. Other members who i trust here have also had it confirmed.

I find this fascinating. If I were a genius running marketing for the ‘Willy Wonka’ of the horological novelty world, I’d plant stories like this. Not saying the threads aren’t there, and not questioning your honesty, but it all seems to play into the marketing efforts to maintain a mystique and scarcity around most Rolex products. Apple does this a lot. We have this amazing new iPhone X, but we just can’t figure out how to make them fast enough....

It’s really interesting that so much of this knowledge is from geeks like us shooting the breeze with frustrated. ADs. It may all be true! But when I saw that blurry letter I thought, this is like a script written by the trf.

Fun, interesting discussion. Thanks for the clarifications and for fleshing it out with us.

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

i am just saying debate the origin of the letter, not the contents. They are different issues. The content is real.

What usually happens is people say the letter is fake, thus anything contained in it is fake. Then the substance is ignored.

The content here mirrors endless threads on trf, so that’s no revelation. Having some real explanation from the home office would be. That’s why I consider the provenance important.

Agree with you 100% on the content.

[jstan9]

Originally Posted by Bruins7

Real or not. AD's do remove stickers when you purchase a new piece

They did from my BLNR last June. It was just before I joined here so didn’t know it hadn’t been done in the past.