Rolex Sponsorships and Partnerships in the Sporting World

womenandperspectives.com -Second-hand luxury watches hold their prices in part because of the prestige of the various brands, but also because of the engineering excellence that goes into their design and manufacture. All watch brands have a loyal fan base claiming that their particular favourite is the best on the market, but one of the most enduring of brands is Rolex. From one generation to the next, the iconic watches have become must-have items, whether for practical use in sports or simply as fashion and status symbols.

Rolex and Goodwood

Rolex has a close association with the world of sport in areas as diverse as motor racing, diving and tennis, and this helps keep the brand in the public eye as well as maintaining the company’s reputation for excellent timekeeping. The association with events such as the Goodwood Revival also, arguably, gives a boost to the prices achieved for used Rolex watches, since it focuses heavily on nostalgia and the qualities inherent in days gone by. Celebrating the heyday of motor racing in the 50s and 60s, the link with Rolex marries the company to the event perfectly, with both relying on precision engineering and passionate dedication as shared qualities. Rolex has only sponsored the Goodwood Driver’s Club since 2004, but its association with motor racing goes back much further than that, stretching back 50 years to the Daytona International Speedway.

Rolex and Wimbledon

On a gentler but no less atmospheric and elegant note, Rolex’s long partnership with Wimbledon is another example of perfect marketing. Rolex has been the official Wimbledon timekeeper since 1978. Time-honoured, traditional, respected and essentially British, Wimbledon has a classic heritage that gives it a shared sense of values with Rolex. With the tennis tournament, just as with Rolex watches, you know what you’re getting because standards and traditions are upheld regardless of changing fashions and societal norms.

In addition to sponsoring and partnering with high-profile sporting brands and names, Rolex and other high-end watch brands gather celebrity endorsements from personalities in the public eye. As far as tennis is concerned, Rolex ambassadors have included Roger Federer and Li Na, the Chinese player who made world history when she became the first Asian to win a singles Grand Slam title.

Pioneering heights

Historically, Rolex has earned its place in pioneering hearts. It was Rolex Oysters that accompanied Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary to the top of Everest in 1953. Later in the same year, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual was launched and it's as popular today as it ever was. Successive mountaineering expeditions helped the company hone and refine their watches into the precision machines they are today.

For those interested in buying used watches, this is all good news. Not only does keeping the brand in the public eye continually generate interest and currency, but the knock-on effect of consumer interest is buoyant prices, so those who buy and those who sell used luxury watches stand to benefit. As a brand, Rolex goes from strength to strength, constantly innovating and developing but never losing sight of the standards that define its watches.