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! This episode was released on February 23, 2025. Sponsors: * Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora [https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora] * Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta [https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta] * ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 [https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26] * Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 [https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26] 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 [https://www.acquired.fm/email] with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes * Join the Slack [http://acquired.fm/slack] * Subscribe to ACQ2 [https://pod.link/acquiredlp] * Merch Store [https://www.acquired.fm/store]! © Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC ‍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.