Rolex plans to open three new luxury watch factories

ROLEX is planning to open three new factories as it races to keep up with the boom in demand for luxury watches.

The Swiss watch maker said the sites will be up and running by 2025 in addition to a £1bn factory in Bulle, Switzerland, which is not expected to open for another six years.

Rolex has previously said the process to make its watches, which can take months for a single piece, has to be done by hand, which restricts its production capacities. It is expecting to employ as up to 300 workers at its new production lines, most of which will be new staff.

A Rolex spokesman said the sites will enable it to expand its production capacity and grow the business. The news was first reported by Swiss newspapers La Gruyère and La Liberté.

The planned increase in production follows a scramble among high-end shoppers to secure luxury watches, following dwindling supplies during the pandemic.

Last month, Watches of Switzerland, the owner of jewellery chain Goldsmiths, said its waiting list for new Rolex watches had continued to grow. On Watchfinder, the UK’S largest seller of second-hand watches, Rolex timepieces are on sale for as much as £95,000, while the value of some Rolex models have increased by 250pc over the last five years.

Luxury watch sales were up 22pc at Watches of Switzerland in the 13 weeks to Jan 29 and it said the US watch market had proven particularly buoyant. It said there was no sign of a drop in demand for luxury watches even with cost of living pressures.

The lower level of supply – and increase in production costs – have prompted watchmakers to increase prices, including Swatch and Rolex.

Rolex, which makes an estimated one million watches every year, raised its prices twice in the UK last year, and then again this January by an average of 2.5pc.

Richard Taylor and Pallav Mittal, analysts from Barclays, said: “Investors are well accustomed to price rises being a key feature of this attractive industry, but it is encouraging to see this continue given that we believe it will have no discernible impact on volumes.”