The Roldeco building in Crissier, near Lausanne, is a modern glass structure that offers little clue to its purpose beyond the logo on its facade. Inside the 7,000-square-meter premises, 120 employees—including 80 craftspeople across 20 trades such as cabinetmaking, leatherwork, quilting and sculpture—create the imaginative décors that fill Rolex storefronts.
(Photo credit: Sébastien Agnetti/Rolex)
Roldeco is an unusual case in Swiss watchmaking. Most watchmakers outsource such work, but Rolex forged ties in the 1950s with decorator Liliane Schmid, who argued that window displays could link brand, retailer and consumer. In a 1977 interview with the Journal suisse d’horlogerie et de bijouterie, she said decorators should convey a watch’s waterproofness, precision and automatic winding while enhancing its appeal. Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex’s founder, was impressed, and gave her studio an exclusive partnership that lasted into the 21st century.
In 1994, Schmid’s studio became Roldeco, with Rolex as an early shareholder. In 2001, the company was fully integrated into the Rolex Group. “Hans Wilsdorf and Liliane Schmid were true entrepreneurs and visionaries,” said Thierry Delay, Roldeco’s director. “Both were fueled by a desire to push back the boundaries of their profession to achieve excellence. They were convinced that window displays reflected a brand's image and that a decorator's creative work could directly boost collections and influence sales of watch models.”
(Photo credit: Sébastien Agnetti/Rolex)
Today, Rolex sets themes about two years in advance. Its Communication & Image department develops the concepts, which are then handed off to Roldeco for prototyping and production. Such prototypes used to be carved directly from wood, but today they are mostly made from resin using digital processes. The resin components are then meticulously sanded and deburred until a "clean" component is obtained. Next, the piece is entirely hand-sheathed in leather or fabric, depending on the season's theme. The themes chosen to evoke the Rolex world are not limited to watchmaking.
A staff member from the Interior Design department, which develops the decoration projects later produced by Roldeco, explained: "It is essential for Rolex to have a company that makes all of the decorations from start to finish. The range of their expertise, particularly when it comes to leather sheathing and the sculpting of components, means that we have unique decorations with a level of finesse and precision that is on par with our watches. Our mission is to reinvent Rolex window displays each season while remaining true to the brand's DNA and principles."
The subjects are broad, often inspired by nature—flora, fauna, jungles, landscapes—but also by architecture and modes of transport. Color is a common thread. A single display can involve several hundred components, and Roldeco produces between 30,000 and 40,000 items annually, including about 18,000 for exterior windows alone.
(Photo credit: Sébastien Agnetti/Rolex)
The cadence is demanding. Rolex windows change four times a year, with additional motifs created for flagship stores. “Whatever the theme, our challenge is to give depth and life to our decorations,” Mr. Delay said. “We play with materials, textures, prints and colors. Our ability to achieve extraordinary things stems from our boundless expertise. Our mission is to bring our values of excellence to our window decorations, and also to try to put emotion into it.”
By owning Roldeco, Rolex has extended the vertical integration it applies to watch calibres and cases into retail presentation, ensuring the imagery surrounding its products is crafted with the same precision as the timepieces themselves.