Rolex: A Million Watches a Year, and You Still Can't Buy One

Rolex makes about a million watches a year and, by Morgan Stanley's estimate, takes about a third of all the money spent on Swiss watches. So why is there still a list for a steel Daytona? This is the business behind Rolex: the orphan who named it, the swimmer who sold it, the foundation that owns it, and the shortage that was never really in the factory. In this film: • Hans Wilsdorf, the orphan from Bavaria who started a watch business in London at 24, and the "genie" that gave him the name • The Oyster, Mercedes Gleitze's cold swim and the Daily Mail front page that started Rolex's ambassadors • Who owns Rolex: the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, its one shareholder since 1960, and why Rolex is not a charity • Waiting lists, the grey market boom of 2021 and 2022, and the crash that followed • What most people get wrong: Rolex is not rare, it is about three times the size of the next Swiss brand • Certified Pre-Owned, the Bucherer deal, and the day Watches of Switzerland fell 27% • Bulle, the Oyster at 100, and who decides how long the queue is Chapters 0:00 A million watches, and a list 0:42 The orphan from Bavaria 1:53 A watch in the sea 2:57 Nobody's company 4:12 The list 5:33 Buying the shop 6:56 Who sets the queue Sources Bloomberg via Fortune, 29 Feb 2024 (2023 sales estimate): https://fortune.com/europe/2024/02/29... Monochrome, 18 Feb 2026 (Morgan Stanley 2025 report): https://monochrome-watches.com/indust... The Hour Markers (Morgan Stanley / LuxeConsult 2025 figures): https://thehourmarkers.com/articles/m... Wikipedia, Hans Wilsdorf Foundation (citing NZZ, 2023): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Wi... The Telegraph via Yahoo News, 9 Aug 2025 (Wilsdorf's early life): https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/r... Business Insider (the name): https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-... Rolex newsroom, Oyster story: https://newsroom.rolex.com/watches/oy... Forbes Australia (Mercedes Gleitze): https://www.forbes.com.au/life/watche... Coronet, 2 Sep 2025 (the foundation, citing Blick): https://www.coronet.org/new-1minute-r... University of Geneva press review, 14 Nov 2025 (the foundation's tax): https://revue-presse.unige.ch/files/a... The Local, 31 Aug 2012 (the Hans-Wilsdorf bridge): https://www.thelocal.com/20120831/bir... JCK, Sept 2021 (Rolex on scarcity): https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-a... Hilco Global, Aug 2026 (WatchCharts resale prices): https://hilcoglobal.com/wp-content/up... Bloomberg, 14 Oct 2022 (the index fall): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl... Swisswatches Magazine (Certified Pre-Owned at Bucherer): https://swisswatches-magazine.com/rol... Glossy, 27 Jul 2026 (Certified Pre-Owned sales): https://www.glossy.co/fashion/watch-r... Bloomberg via Fortune, 26 Aug 2023 (Bucherer): https://fortune.com/2023/08/26/rolex-... FH, 14 Sep 2023 (Rolex statement on Bucherer): https://www.fhs.swiss/eng/2023_09_14_... Shares Magazine, Aug 2023 (Watches of Switzerland): https://sharesmagazine.co.uk/news/sha... The Peak (Bulle): https://www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg/wa... Watches & Wonders 2026 coverage (the Oyster at 100): https://www.uhren2000.de/en/blogs/new... Notes on the numbers: Rolex publishes no sales, profit or production figures. Every sales and volume number in this film is an analyst estimate, mostly from Morgan Stanley with LuxeConsult. The 2025 sales figure of about CHF 11 billion is their wholesale estimate. The resale prices are WatchCharts averages. The cost of the Bulle site is as reported, not stated by Rolex. The watches in this film are our own drawings, not Rolex designs, and no Rolex logo is shown. Subscribe for the stories behind the world's biggest fortunes. #Rolex #BusinessDocumentary #Watches