Dubai Watch Week 2025 felt like greater than a celebration of positive watchmaking. Set throughout a sprawling, high-gloss pavilion in Burj Park below the gleam of the Burj Khalifa, the occasion grew to become a convergence of expertise, innovation, and candid dialog, particularly when Jean-Frédéric Dufour, the normally discreet CEO of Rolex, stepped ahead for a uncommon public interview. What he shared provided highly effective insights into custom, expertise, and the values that set Rolex aside.
The viewers (journalists, trade insiders, collectors, and curious onlookers) leaned in as Dufour unveiled the inside workings of an organization typically perceived as distant. He spoke overtly about synthetic intelligence within the workshop, the emotional resonance of mechanical timepieces, and the human contact that is still central to the craft. It felt private, actual, and like a uncommon glimpse backstage of horology’s most iconic model.
Under, we distill the dialog with Jean-Frédéric Dufour, the CEO of Rolex, into 4 defining themes…
#1. Custom, Innovation, and the Tightrope Rolex Walks
Jean-Frédéric Dufour emphasised that innovation at Rolex is rarely about being loud. It’s about being proper. He described designing a brand new mannequin as “strolling a tightrope,” balancing the model’s storied heritage with the calls for of contemporary engineering.
The new Land-Dweller, that includes the primary important escapement innovation in a long time, exemplifies this steadiness: forward-thinking but unmistakably Rolex. Past mechanics, Dufour highlighted the emotional aspect of horology. In contrast to finance or expertise, watchmaking thrives on intuition and sensitivity. A Rolex should spark feeling—timelessness, he insisted, comes from emotion, not trendiness.
When requested about AI, Dufour clarified that machines help however don’t change craftsmanship. Superior instruments help manufacturing, but people retain the sacred function of defining a timepiece’s ending touches. Rolex invests round CHF 100 million yearly to resume its instruments, however the last polish stays resolutely human.
#2. Constructing the Future: Craft, Neighborhood, and the Subsequent Era
Removed from being anchored solely in custom, Rolex actively nurtures the way forward for watchmaking. Dufour revealed that the corporate employs over 500 apprentices throughout 26 fields, a uncommon dedication in luxurious manufacturing.
For him, the trade should stay interesting—even “attractive”—to younger creators. Unbiased manufacturers, with their daring designs and fearless experimentation, problem heritage homes to innovate slightly than relaxation on legacy. On the similar time, the CEO of Rolex burdened endurance: success is constructed over a long time, not viral moments. He cautioned younger manufacturers towards making an attempt to “communicate to the entire world without delay,” underscoring that actual achievement grows from excellence, not quantity.
At Dubai Watch Week 2025, this ethos was tangible. Veterans like François-Paul Journe mingled with rising innovators, a vivid reminder that horology thrives when generations meet, problem, and encourage each other.
#3. Rolex’s Enterprise Philosophy: Discretion, Partnership, and Incomes Belief
For a model as globally acknowledged as Rolex, its enterprise philosophy stays surprisingly conservative and deliberate. Regardless of buying Bucherer, Jean-Frédéric Dufour dispelled hypothesis about turning Rolex right into a retail empire. The corporate is not going to launch its personal retailer community, as an alternative counting on trusted licensed sellers who perceive their communities intimately. This mannequin he known as “the magic recipe.”
Rolex’s Licensed Pre-Owned Program additional displays this ethos. Responding to the booming second-hand market, the model launched authentication and assurance, offering consumers with readability, security, and peace of thoughts. As Dufour remarked, “There’s nothing worse than feeling betrayed if you’ve purchased one thing costly.”
On advertising and marketing, he remained agency: discretion is a part of Rolex’s DNA. The model doesn’t chase hype. It exhibits slightly than tells, making uncommon moments like this interview all of the extra impactful.
#4. The Altering Tradition of Luxurious: Emotion, Expertise, and What Comes Subsequent
Dufour’s reflections prolonged past watches. Evaluating horology to the automotive world, he lamented that automobiles at this time are instruments slightly than desires, a destiny he hopes watchmaking avoids. Emotion and craft, he burdened, are central to the survival of the trade.
He even provided a stunning perspective on the Apple Watch, calling it “a cellphone you put on in your wrist.” Quite than seeing it as a menace, Jean-Frédéric Dufour seen it as increasing the tradition of wristwear, introducing younger folks to the thought of sporting one thing significant on their wrists.
Amid the creators, fanatics, and collectors at Dubai Watch Week 2025, Dufour’s message felt nearly prophetic: luxury watches endure not due to wealth, however due to feeling—a human connection to time, historical past, id, and aspiration. Below the lights of Dubai, Rolex felt each timeless and newly understood.
Featured picture: Dubai Watch Week
