Trump and Dufour. (Photo credit: Cristobal Ulashkevich)
Last week’s meeting between Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour and President Donald J. Trump at the US Open was a calculated gamble, a reputational risk for a brand that guards its image closely. In Coronet’s view, it stands as the biggest Rolex story since Watches and Wonders, with a Rolex CEO smiling alongside a polarizing president.
For Dufour, a concern looms larger than Rolex’s own watches. The brand owns Bucherer, including Tourneau in the U.S., a network of more than 30 luxury watch stores. Unlike Rolex, which always sells, these retailers also rely on other Swiss brands, and that’s where a 39% tariff would hit hardest.
Bucherer boutique in Las Vegas. (Photo credit: Bucherer)
Rolex is in a unique spot. Its own demand is strong enough to absorb the tariff and offset it worldwide. But its retail network acquired just two years ago depends on the wider Swiss industry. That’s why the Trump meeting mattered for Dufour, whose concern was how punitive tariffs could ripple through Bucherer’s U.S. retail arm.
For Rolex, the fight over tariffs was less about its own watches, which remain waitlisted across the globe, and more about protecting its growing retail business, which carries brands far harder to sell than a Daytona or Submariner.