Rolex reopens after two months shutdown

For a few weeks, the coronavirus literally managed to stop time, putting the biggest names in Swiss Made to a halt, be it shops, headquarters, workshops and factories. The big names Rolex, Patek Philippe and Hublot were among the first companies to make the decision to close their doors on March 16.

Rolex had announced that its Geneva, Bienne and Crissier sites would remain closed until March 27. This date could be postponed depending on the evolution of the epidemic and the recommendations of the authorities; it finally was, until May 6. "Rolex has reopened its head office and production sites in Switzerland, the company confirmed in a statement after all the security measures recommended by the Swiss government have been put in place to ensure the safety of employees. Manufacturing ceased on March 16 and Rolex has been preparing its sites for reopening since April 29, when the company announced that it was working towards "a gradual opening in the near future."

According to the American specialized site WatchPro, these two months of forced closure due to this total confinement would represent no less than 16.4% of its annual production, or around 160,000 watches that could not be produced. Due to physical distance measures, it is also unlikely that the factory, like others, will be able to run at full speed, which should reduce production capacities by 2020 by the most famous of the watch brands.

Read also: Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe… Nothing new in 2020?

For the moment, the 2020 novelties from Rolex, like its sister brand Tudor, have not yet been unveiled, between the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the Basel show and general confinement. A first ... They were to be presented in each country at the end of April. “In view of the extremely difficult context which continues to affect the whole world, and in order to protect each of us by avoiding gatherings and individual meetings, we have decided to postpone this announcement to a later date which is not still defined, " said the brand. Perhaps they will finally be at the end of the year or over the months, the 2021 edition of Baselworld also having just been canceled, next February.

In mid-April, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Tudor, Chanel and Chopard decided in any case to leave the aisles of the Basel show, and to create their own watch show alongside the Watches & Wonders show, in February 2021, in Geneva. A revolution in the great little watchmaking world, and the end of an era, that of a secular Basel fair, which would seek to reinvent itself under the new name of "Swiss Watch Week" in April 2021 in Lausanne. But with which watch exhibitors? The answer in a few months no doubt.