It might be seen as a first world problem, but a common question is being asked in that ‘are Rolex now choosing who they sell to’? Founded in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered Rolex as the brand name of its watches in 1908 and became Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. in 1915. source wikipedia
You can not purchase Rolex timepieces online, it is all about building a relationship with clients and making the most applicable sales. When it comes to the resell side of things there is far less control and much more likely to see fake luxury watches. Only authorised Rolex stores / dealers can resell and service these watches of which there are many located globally, expanding your search to non official sellers you will find many second hand Rolex for sale on eBay and other auctions.
Distribution of Rolex watches and their authorised dealer network are tight in their operation. There are three categories Rolex classify there clients in to:
A: New customer with no Rolex purchasing history.
B: Old customer with no Rolex purchasing history.
C: A client with a Rolex purchase history.
You are then ranked 1 to 11 before you are permitted to by a high demand Rolex watch. You must provide identification (for client type A), your social media accounts will be checked to make sure that you are not dealing with reselling of Rolex watches (for client types A + B), if the client is a director of company then Company’s House needs to be checked to make sure they are in fact a director and the nature of the company (for clients A + B), a Google search is also carried out for the name of the person and their business (for clients A + B). A full check of each purchaser is also taken to make sure they have not applied before and that their name / address / email / business is not already within their system (for clients A, B + C). Even if you have a previous spending history and it has been 12 months since your last purchase then you might be open to ongoing research and criteria from the store you are purchasing. Clients A + B can express interest in the ultra high demand / priced Rolex series and may not be allowed to purchase until they have previously made a standard purchase.
It is obviously not just waiting lists is it? Maybe we thought due to Covid19 that staffing issues or supplies were the problem? Some think it merely a ploy to increase demand thus prices? We think it best you decide…