James Bond introduced Rolex to the Silver Screen

How Rolex became the most recognized luxury brand

Rolex positioned the brand to perfectly fit to the aspirations of the modern man

Stavros Kontaktsis
6 min readMay 16, 2021

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Rolex is without a doubt the super brand of the watch world. An icon, its green logo accompanied with the yellow crown, is recognized all over the world. If you ask any seasoned adventurer what to carry with you to get you out of a tight spot if needed, they will reply, wear a Rolex. If things go south, it can be traded for cash or services everywhere in the world.

This wasn’t always the case. The Rolex brand started its meteoric rise to cult status in the late fifties and never stopped. A combination of superior product quality with a carefully planned marketing strategy catapulted the brand that Hans Wilsdorf created in London in the early 20th century to a luxury juggernaut that is the most recognized luxury brand of our time.

It leveraged influence and the modern man’s aspirations. Rolex was one of the first companies to understand the correct use of ambassadors and influence combined with a clear brand message. Rolex’s advertising campaigns built on that idea of influence and made it personal. It was about you. Your own dreams, your own influence. Pure substance.

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Stavros Kontaktsis

With a diploma in Chemical Engineering I ended up in Advertising and Communications. I like gadgets and scuba. Opinions are my own.