(Photo credit: Corey Sipkin/UPI)
Five days after Rolex chief executive Jean-Frédéric Dufour appeared alongside President Donald J. Trump, no details have emerged on what was discussed between the two leaders.
Though Rolex has always been discreet, such complete airtight silence is rare for the brand, which is used to seeing its new models leaked before they are announced. Yet this time, one of the most important Rolex stories of 2025 remains a mystery.
The meeting was unusual for Rolex, a brand that rarely strays into political territory. To be sure, it’s not the first time a Rolex executive has met with a U.S. president. Still, what makes this story unique is that it involved a polarizing political figure whose presence carries risks for a brand that guards its reputation closely.
Rolex may not want to publicize the encounter. Le Temps, a major Swiss daily funded by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, made no mention of the meeting in print or online, even as it reported Trump’s attendance at the US Open. Incredibly, five days on, no one knows what the two men discussed, or if tariffs were even mentioned.