The Watches of Switzerland Group will open a destination Rolex flagship on London’s most famous luxury shopping thoroughfare, Bond Street, next year, WATCHPRO can reveal.
Sources have told WATCHPRO that the three-floor showroom will occupy the corner building currently housing Gucci at 34 Old Bond Street (pictured top), but Watches of Switzerland would not confirm.
The Rolex megastore will have 7,200 sq ft of retail space over three floors, and will replace WoSG ‘s 900 sq ft Rolex boutique on the same street.
Perhaps getting ahead of questions about opening a vast Rolex showroom at a time when it is almost impossible for new customers to buy its watches, WoSG says that the flagship will focus on client hospitality and the history of Rolex.
It will be designed by Rolex Geneva in conjunction with the Watches of Switzerland Group.
Brian Duffy, CEO of the Watches of Switzerland Group, says: “We first opened the Rolex Boutique in the mid-1980s and have represented the brand successfully on Bond Street ever since.
“We have been looking for some time at opportunities for a larger space to present the Rolex brand in the way it deserves.
“We are delighted to be opening this significant Rolex Boutique in partnership with Rolex, in the City which was the birth place of the Rolex brand.
“We will be taking possession of the site in 2023 and aim to open in the same year. We are very proud of our partnership with Rolex, both in the UK and US, and this is an important step on our journey together”.
So it’s not a “megastore”. It’s a museum or history exhibition. Just to be clear on that because it won’t actually “store” any retail merchandise.