Is the Apple watch to blame......

[Formula1]

Hello, just a thought that I have been having lately since Rolex's have been harder to obtain the past few years (lower stock and selling above MSRP for the sports models). Sorry if this has been discussed before but wanted to ask for some opinions. Also, sorry for the long post.

Since the Apple watch came out a few years ago (I think it was released in 2015) it has become extremely common in our society to see all walks of life wearing it. You see the Apple watch on your daily commute, worn by CEO's, celebrities, house wifes, little league coaches, etc. You even see people in suits or formal attire wearing the Apple watch now. I think it was Jony Ive who said that the Swiss watch industry should watch out and that the Apple watch was going to be really popular. Initially when it came out I swore that I would not need one and would never buy one since I already had a regular watch and a phone in my pocket.

Since then however, I have also bought one and do were it quite often. Its almost become my daily wear to work. I find there are benefits to wearing it (health tracker, music, access to siri, quick weather info etc.)

Now here is the question I have. Do you think that Rolex got worried with seeing how popular the Apple watch was becoming across the board and decided to pull back on production and supporting many existing AD's with filling sales requests in an effort to keep an air of exclusivity about the brand? I realize they are two completely different products but seeing it getting more wrist time may have worried them.

I say this because when I bought my Datejust in 2014 the AD I went to was offering a 10% discount on most models including sports models like the Submariner and GMT at the time. I love the Datejust and always have which is why I bought that one and still love it. I frequently visited that AD anytime I went to the mall even after buying my watch to look at the different models and just talk Rolex watches with them.

I went back to the same AD early last year and saw that they barely had any Rolex models on display anymore and the ones they had were all used. I asked them why they did not have any models left. The sales associate I spoke to said that Rolex had so significantly decreased the watches that they were being sent that they decided to not be a Rolex AD anymore. The Christmas before they had over $50,000 worth of deposits for Rolex's that they could not fill since they were not getting the supply from Rolex. They had been an AD with Rolex for the past 20 years.

I read somewhere that Rolex said that they have not decreased production and that demand is just too high. I guess we have to acknowledge the grey market dealers in all this and the possibility that they are buying up the stock but it always bugged me on what my former AD told me about the supply from Rolex and just wondering what your thoughts are on the impact that the Apple watch had and how accepted it has become.

Thank you

[johnorpheus]

I don't know if there's any correlation. It's an interesting question. However, the Apple Watch is not a watch. It is a phone/fitness tracker you wear on your wrist, and is also far more comparable to a Fitbit, Garmin, or whatever. The people I know who have one - brother, cousin, uncle - these were people who never wore watches, but upgraded from Fibits or Garmin's. While I'm sure there are plenty of people who own an Apple Watch and a Rolex/Tudor/Omega/whatever, I can't imagine anyone after one of those fine timepieces will be satisfied with a wrist phone/fitness tracker.

[Spoonage]

Demand is likely high. What we see and hear on the forum is only a small fraction of who actually buys, wears, and sells Rolex. There haven't really been official production numbers that I've ever seen, but I believe I read ~1M watches produced per year. So take that and look at the increased amount of people purchasing watches and which regions typically get more stock (and when) of watches. Plus in order to make new models (whether new movement, dial, case, etc.), The production lines need to switch over at some point and some components will be ahead or behind during the manufacturing process. This along with many companies adopting JIT manufacturing leaves little room to build excessive inventories of watches.

[Abmatt2002]

I bought my iwatch 4 years ago. It got a lot of use, but in the last year I found it quite annoying.
I stopped wearing it regularly about a year ago, in a conscious effort to be less ‘connected’.

I now only wear it when I require one of its functions, mainly training or at the gym. Other than that I wear one of my other watches.

[csaltphoto]

I don't think the Apple watch was a problem but more of a symptom. I think across the board there were some people who reached "Peak Gadget" a few years ago. I know I did and I wasn't alone. I hadn't worn a watch in 10 years before I got my Rolex a year and half ago. For some reason I just got sick of having to take my phone with me if I only wanted to know the time. And about that same time I started noticing watches appearing on other people as well. I'm not sure if it was a marketing move from the industry or if it was some kind of mass reaction to the ubiquity of cell phones. That was about the time some people started going back to flip phones/dumb phones as well. It's not a huge move by any means but it doesn't take a huge move to move the needle on a small industry like Rolex and other high end watches. Maybe people just wanted something that would last in this world of throwing things out every other year.

I think of my Rolex as something of a watch and something of a companion. Might seem weird but there it is. My phone is excellent at what it does but it's soulless.

[GONZO2LR]

A watch is a watch is a watch...it just a watch....but a Rolex on your wrist...come on man!

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by Formula1

Is the Apple watch to blame......

No

[exador]

If anything, Apple Watch sparked an interest In wristwatches amongst the #InstaKiddies who then went on to buy/flex with/flip Rolex...

[Hutrmila]

Left wrist has been the watch wrist ... 4 real one ... 4 Rolex one ... have been however wearing my fitness bracelet on right wrist ... having all the data and sleep tracking ... so there is a solution ... turned off time indication on the bracelet to demonstrate my strict attitude and respect 4 the watch ... one last note; love the gadgets, want the data but trying not be absolute slave of it ... have just recently started to leave my phone at home when walking dog but still wearing one of my Rolex models ... very mesmerizing and freeing... try it


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[Morrison0]

I wear a Fitbit charge, it’s like a band and works better than an Apple Watch and gives me the details I need (heart rate, calories etc). I used to wear an Apple Watch (then I don’t wear anything on the other wrist) but it’s got too much going on for my liking.


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[JimBianchi]

I don’t think a $400 wearable computer will have much impact on sales of a $10,000 watch.

From what I understand the largest emerging market in the world is China. They buy all the Rolex they can, its a status symbol of success.

When I was a working photographer doing major convention on the Las Vegas strip I saw so many gold Rolex on Asian wrists. Just like working class here mostly wear timex and gshocks, they all seem to wear Rolex.

Before all this COVID19 happened they were the owner #1 booming economy in way not seen in Asia ever before. Now they are in recovery mode, but soon it will take off again.

[KBM]

Originally Posted by beshannon

No