One of Rolex’s most famous watches, the Daytona, conjures images of high-octane racing. Now the brand itself embraces a philosophy at odds with driving.
Rolex said it is designing its new manufacturing campus in Bulle around access to the train station, the Mobul bus network, nearby cycling paths and a bike-parking hub. The site will have 0.3 parking spaces per employee, about three spots for every 10 workers, an unusually low ratio that assumes most employees will not drive. Rolex said the design is meant to encourage workers to use alternatives to private cars.
Separately, in the canton of Geneva, a foundation financed by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, the sole owner of Rolex, is offering money to residents who agree not to drive. The program aims to reduce car use by offering a 500-franc incentive per participant to rely on public transportation, as well as access to bicycle rentals and shared vehicles from Mobility. Earlier this week, an initial group of 130 participants signed up to go one month without a car.
Rolex’s shift away from driving is not new. In 2024, it ended its Formula 1 partnership amid a dispute over the length of the contract, as the sport’s carbon footprint continues to garner attention. A few months later, Rolex announced it would strengthen its ties with SailGP, often called the “F1 of sailing.” Rolex is now the title sponsor of a sport it says is “geared toward delivering climate-positive events.” The series, which involves state-of-the-art catamarans reaching 50 knots, will return to Rolex’s capital of Geneva this September for the second year in a row.
As Rolex shifts from the gasoline-fueled racetrack to the sailing racecourse, it could do worse than revive the Yacht-Master II with a new design capable of generating the same excitement the Daytona does on land.