Responsible supply chain management is an important topic for Rolex, as it directly and significantly influences the sustainability of its activities.
To control it, the brand relies on the legislative and regulatory framework and has formalized its approach in collaboration with its partners.
In this context, the brand implements risk detection and management measures and is deepening its environmental and social analyses on an ongoing basis. It maintains frequent contact with its suppliers and regularly comes to agreements with them on improvement processes.
Prioritize the brand's actions in countries at risk in terms of human rights.
— Carry out independent audits.
Map supply chains and develop traceability systems according to the level of risk identified.
— Deploy digital traceability for diamonds and precious metals.
Guarantee geographical origins in line with Rolex's CSR criteria.
— Give precedence to ʻdirect purchasing’ flows.
Extend the due diligence system to all CSR risks.
— Roll out the approach to suppliers and then to the entire supply chain
(suppliers of Rolex suppliers).
Responsible procurement and purchasing
Whether purchasing materials, products or services, Rolex ensures the responsible selection and management of all the partners and suppliers involved in its supply chain. This responsibility includes regularly evaluating them, raising their awareness of sustainability and taking measures to ensure their practices comply with regulations and align with the company’s responsible practices.
It should be noted that 96% of direct purchases – purchases related to products, i.e. everything that features in the composition of our watches – are made in Switzerland. As for the remaining percentage, 1% comes from countries bordering Switzerland (Germany, Austria, France, Italy), 2% from countries located in Europe (Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden) and 1% from countries outside Europe (United States and Thailand).
Responsible purchasing policy
Based on a code of conduct dedicated to corporate purchasing, Rolex’s Responsible Purchasing Policy was formalized in 2023. It aims to ensure the standardization of practices within the Purchasing department and incorporates environmental and social aspects into the company’s purchasing decisions. The purpose of this document is also to maintain quality relations with suppliers in the long term and promote in-house purchasing strategies that have positive environmental and social impacts. The Responsible Purchasing Policy is available online at rolex.com.
Among other things, this policy is based on Swiss1 and European2 regulations as well as on the principles developed by the OECD guide3 on due diligence related to supply chains of minerals from conflict-affected or high-risk areas (hereinafter referred to as the ‘OECD guide’). It describes the brand’s due diligence obligations and the best practices implemented over many years in relation to a purchasing management mechanism.
According to the OECD guide, “due diligence is an on-going, proactive and reactive process through which companies can ensure that they respect human rights and do not contribute to conflict... Due diligence can help companies ensure they observe the principles of international law and comply with domestic laws, including those governing the illicit trade in minerals and United Nations sanctions.” It is sometimes also referred to as ‘required carefulness’ or ‘reasonable care’.
The approach is based on Rolex’s voluntary commitments, which originate in its core values, ethics and internal regulations.
¹Ordinance on due diligence and transparency obligations regarding minerals and metals from conflict-affected areas and child labour of 3 December 2021 (status as of 1 January 2022).
²Regulation (EU) 2017/821.
³OECD (2016), OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas: Third edition, OECD Publishing, Paris.
Sustainability is a long-haul journey that has to be prepared for and advocated on a daily basis. It’s also a process and a challenge that concerns us all. This topic is a priority for Rolex because, at our level, we have the power to take very tangible action to support the environment and society.
Sustainable development charter
To encourage its suppliers, service providers, retailers and business partners to adopt a responsible attitude and implement tangible sustainability measures, Rolex drew up a Sustainable Development Charter for them in 2022. Covering corporate environmental, social and governance responsibility, the principles and measures set out in the charter are inspired by Rolex’s values of excellence and its spirit of ongoing innovation, as well as international reference texts such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By signing this document, Rolex’s partners demonstrate their voluntary commitment to society and to the planet, in the interests of as many people as possible and future generations. The charter is available online at rolex.com.
To date, 98% of the turnover of purchases made with suppliers that present a risk has been covered by the signature of the Sustainable Development Charter. The aim is to reach 100% of signatures in 2024.
It should be noted that Rolex requires all its metal suppliers to sign its Sustainable Development Charter and follow the principles in the OECD guide to ensure responsible procurement.
Number of suppliers that have signed Rolex’s Sustainable Development Charter.
Compliance questionnaire
The compliance questionnaire enables suppliers to be given a degree of maturity in managing their businesses in relation to social, environmental and governance risk management topics. To date, 64% of the turnover of purchases made with suppliers that present a risk is covered by the compliance questionnaire.
Traceability of raw materials
For Rolex, being able to trace the entire path of a material, from its source to its end use, is crucial. Traceability strengthens guarantees related to transparency and product quality and limits risks throughout the supply chain, especially during the various processing steps that a product undergoes throughout its life cycle.
Among the main risks related to traceability, Rolex has identified forced labour and child labour, non-compliance with workers’ rights and negative environmental impacts as its priorities. The brand ensures compliance with the legal requirements related to gold, tungsten, tantalum and tin as described in the Swiss Ordinance on due diligence and transparency regarding minerals and metals from conflict-affected areas and child labour (ODiTr).
To mitigate these risks, Rolex seeks to map and, as far as possible, trace all the materials that it purchases for the manufacture of its watches. To this end, the brand must control the links that exist between the various actors in its supply chain and work closely with its suppliers, the vast majority of which it has built long-standing relationships with.
Definitions
Mapping
Through ‘mapping’, Rolex collects information about its suppliers and their supply chain to create a global map of its own network for the purchase of materials, products or services. For supply chains that present a risk, Rolex works with its direct suppliers to identify and assess the risks associated with the following tiers. The exercise is repeated for each tier in the supply chain in order to map risks as early as possible. Each supplier must be transparent and provide all the information it can to allow Rolex to map its value chain by compiling the origin of the materials used, the sites and the product manufacturing context.
Traceability
Through ‘tracing’, the brand guarantees and documents the origin and digital tracking of the physical flows of batches of materials, components and products, among other things, as well as the actions that govern their processing, such as production, assembly, packaging – or their transfer – including handling and transport.
Frame of reference
In recent years, Rolex has strengthened the traceability of its supply chains to ensure control of commercial channels when purchasing its raw materials. The brand has also developed a risk mitigation plan to be able to support each supplier in this respect. In addition to national and international regulations and reference frameworks established particularly by the ILO1 and the OECD, the company relies on the following environmental certifications and regulations:
Certifications
Precious metals
— London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)
— London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM)
— Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP)
— Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI)
— The Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) / Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP)
— Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody (RJC CoC)
Diamonds
— The Kimberley Process (KP)
Environmental regulations
— Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
— Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)
Traceability programmes
Thanks to its vertical structure, the brand enjoys direct access to many of its suppliers and can thus reinforce the traceability of its upstream supplies, as close as possible to the risks. In some very-high-risk supply chains, in addition to regulatory obligations, Rolex has set up its own traceability programmes, particularly for gold.
Committees
Rolex has set up internal supervision committees on responsible purchasing practices for precious materials (metals and minerals, as well as for coloured stones). The brand has introduced separate committees for each refiner to assess their respective performance and implement corrective measures, if necessary.
Risk management
Description of the risk management system
In response to the requirements of the Swiss Ordinance on due diligence and transparency regarding minerals and metals from conflict-affected areas and child labour (ODiTr) of 3 December 2021, Rolex has established a risk matrix that identifies and assesses the likelihood and severity of risks in its supply chain, in terms of human rights and the environment. Within this framework, the severity of a negative impact is judged individually and per industrial sector according to the gravity, scale and irremediable nature of the damage. Probability is defined by the possibility of this impact occurring. Updated annually in view of geopolitical, media and sector- specific realities, this risk matrix is an essential governance tool for managing purchasing within each industrial sector worldwide.
Risk matrix
The matrix is used to prioritize risk and supply perimeters. On this basis, an annual due diligence programme is carried out to accurately analyse the supply chains and calculate the risks associated with the location of suppliers. This work makes it possible to define the scope of the annual due diligence in accordance with the criteria set out by the applicable regulations. The steps described below are implemented within this scope. The risk matrix includes the following categories:
— Governance: money laundering and funding terrorism, supporting armed groups, non-compliance with taxes, fees and charges, illegal mining, child labour.
— Social: forced labour, discrimination, harassment, non-respect of freedom of assembly and association, deprivation of land; violation of the right to privacy, decent working and living conditions, health and safety, gender equality.
— Environment: soil pollution and biodiversity damage, deforestation, waste and pollutants.
Risk identification channels
Mapping
Rolex launched a mapping campaign, starting with supply chains that present a risk. Within this framework, its purchasers – in collaboration with tier 1 suppliers (Rolex’s direct suppliers) – identify and assess the risks associated with the following tiers in the supply chain.
Each supplier must be transparent and provide all the information it can to allow Rolex to map its supply chain, specifying the origin of the materials used, the sites and the product manufacturing context.
Minerals and metals
For minerals and metals, the mapping involves tracing supply chains by identifying the suppliers of Rolex’s tier 1 suppliers included in the annual scope.
The exercise is repeated for each tier in the supply chain to map risks back to the mine or as far upstream as possible if the supplier is certified.
If the certifications correspond to those recognized by Rolex, the certifications produced by the suppliers and their own suppliers guarantee the absence of minerals and metals sourced from conflict-affected areas upstream in the supply chain. Rolex thus inherits the due diligence performed by its suppliers. In this case, it is not necessary to go up the chain to the mining source.
Child labour
With regard to child labour, Rolex relies on the address of the supplier as well as the ‘made in’ designation (country of production according to the indication of origin) of the product or service sourced. The ‘made in’ designation enables the company to protect itself if a tier 1 supplier is only a distributor located in a territory identified as risk free. In this case, Rolex traces the production location of the good or service supplied.
Given the diversity of goods and services supplied in its supply chain, Rolex takes a large quantity of data into account, including the ‘Swissness’ self-sufficiency rate and the customs certificate of origin. The aim is to determine whether the good or service was produced in Switzerland or in which country most of the added value was provided.
Monitoring
Rolex continuously monitors geopolitical, media and sector-specific current events in connection with industrial sectors and suppliers. This monitoring is integrated into each stage of the life cycle of its suppliers’ goods or services. It is also reinforced when a potentially high-risk supplier (in terms of child labour or minerals and metals) is added. Rolex’s aim is to guard against all risks before entering into a commercial relationship. Monitoring also makes it possible to anticipate the implementation of new regulations concerning due diligence worldwide.
Calculating supplier risk
There are three levels of risk for suppliers across the different supply chains, regardless of their tier.
Minerals and metals
For risks related to minerals and metals from conflict- affected or high-risk areas, Rolex proceeds as follows: each supplier in the supply chain is mapped. Its risk level is then assessed according to its address (country and region) as established by the CAHRAs (conflict- affected and high-risk areas) list:
— Low risk: the supplier is not located in one of the countries mentioned in the reference framework.
— Medium risk: the supplier is located in a country, but not a region, mentioned in the reference framework.
— High risk: the supplier is located in a country and a region mentioned in the reference framework.
A tier 1 supplier who has business relations with low- and medium-risk suppliers in its supply chain will inherit the highest risk in the chain. In this precise case, Rolex assigns it as a medium risk.
If Rolex has a supplier declaration or certification enabling it to exclude origin from a conflict zone (i.e. a region on the CAHRAs list), then the supplier risk is not identified as high. However, as the low risk cannot be proven in this case, Rolex assigns it a medium level of risk.
Child labour
With regard to child labour, Rolex calculates the risk for each good or service provided based on information related to the ‘made in’ country listed in the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF’s) Children’s Rights in the Workplace Index1, including the country score:
— Low risk: the score is between 0 and 3.33 excluded.
— Medium risk: the score is between 3.33 included and 6.66 excluded.
— High risk: the score is between 6.66 included and 10.
For child labour, medium risk is categorized as ‘high’ or ‘low’ to reinforce the weight of control of the standard model that applies to all risks.
— Medium risk: the score is between 3.33 included and 6.66 excluded.
— Low-medium risk: the score is between 3.33 included and 5 excluded.
— High-medium risk: the score is between 5 included and 6.66 excluded.
As when calculating risks related to minerals and metals, if risks have been identified in the supply chain, each supplier is automatically assigned the maximum level of risk.
Focus
Deployed on rolex.com in October 2023, a reporting system is now available to all brand stakeholders to address any well-founded doubts about potential or actual adverse effects observed in the supply chain related to the ODiTr’s requirements for minerals and metals from conflict-affected areas and child labour. Rolex has implemented this mechanism on a third-party platform to ensure data remains anonymous and confidential when an alert is processed internally. The brand expanded the system in March 2024 to register and process any alerts related to the company in relation to human rights, fundamental freedoms, environmental protection and good governance, as well as harassment, discrimination and corruption, among others things.
Risk mitigation plan
Rolex has implemented a risk mitigation plan throughout its supply chain through which it supports each supplier. However, if the risk is too great to be completely controlled, Rolex reserves the right to terminate the business relationship.
Depending on the level of risk identified with the supplier, Rolex organizes, among other things, audits (planned or spontaneous) at the production, subcontracting and raw material extraction sites conducted by approved external auditors.
After analysing the results, Rolex gives its partner six months to remedy any minor non-conformities observed, and requests an immediate action plan for major non-conformities. Risk mitigation action is monitored and measured. It must also demonstrate its relevance and effectiveness.
The risk mitigation plan provides for control proportionate to the risk:
— Low risk: the supplier voluntarily aligns with the brand’s environmental, social and governance commitments by signing Rolex’s Sustainable Development Charter designed for its partners.
— Medium risk: Rolex sets up a document audit to assess the supplier’s risk control. This audit is reviewed every three years. The supplier must also sign Rolex’s Sustainable Development Charter.
With regard to child labour, Rolex has implemented a specific mitigation plan, as mentioned above:
- Low-medium risk: the medium-risk action plan applies.
- High-medium risk: control is strengthened. An audit is carried out by an approved external auditor at the supplier’s site in order to assess risk control, and is reviewed every three years. The supplier must also sign Rolex’s Sustainable Development Charter.
— High risk: an audit is carried out by an approved external auditor at the supplier’s site in order to assess risk control. This audit is reviewed annually. The supplier must also sign Rolex’s Sustainable Development Charter.
Concerning the risk related to minerals and metals, when the supplier has a certification recognized by Rolex, this means that it meets the brand’s regulatory expectations in terms of risk control. In this case, Rolex ensures that the certification is properly renewed.
It should be noted that in certain supply chains – particularly for gold – in addition to the regulatory obligations, Rolex has implemented its own traceability programmes to ensure full control of its supply chain.
Selecting new suppliers
To approve the addition of a new supplier with a high level of risk, a due diligence procedure is conducted as
a matter of course by the Ethics and Compliance team. Each supplier is also required to sign Rolex’s Sustainable Development Charter, which enables the brand to ensure that its core values and environmental, social and governance commitments are shared.
Focus
Rolex takes a diligent approach to approving the selection of new suppliers of gold, tungsten, tin and tantalum. The brand analyses candidates based on their upstream supply chain, their ability to guarantee the traceability of their materials and their internal governance. This approach uses the risk matrix detailed above, which enables Rolex to report on these raw materials and thus cover the requirements of the Ordinance on due diligence and transparency regarding minerals and metals from conflict-affected areas and child labour (ODiTr). It should be noted that, in this context, the brand does not report on tantalum, which is below the thresholds set by the ODiTr.
Gold
Categorizing types of procurement
Rolex uses three types of precious metal sourcing: recovered industrial gold reclaimed from Rolex production waste (70% of total supply); mined gold from industrial and small-scale mines (18%) and residual gold from the watchmaking and electronics industries (12%).
By 2025, Rolex aims to achieve the following distribution: 70% recovered industrial gold, 15% mined gold and 15% residual industrial gold.
A certified traceability system
Rolex has developed its own traceability system for gold, certified by the ISAE 3000 type 1 standard, in order to be able to identify all the steps in the yellow metal’s journey: extraction, pre-refining, transport and refining. The control procedure involves frequent travel to the sites by buyers, as well as the installation of segregated equipment at all refiners in order to avoid any mixing in the supply chain. This exclusive flow provides an additional traceability guarantee until it is delivered to Rolex.
Thanks to the system put in place, Rolex has been able to guarantee 99% of the traceability of its gold supply since 2020. The remaining 1% is already fully mapped and does not represent any risk in terms of conflict- affected areas, human rights or environmental concerns. Rolex can thus control the quantities of minerals purchased and their provenance at all stages of their processing. The procedure put in place for gold is a benchmark for Rolex. It will eventually serve other supply chains dedicated to metals and minerals, including platinum.
Gold flow traced in the supply chain
Close collaboration with refiners
Rolex has been working with each of its suppliers – all long-standing partners – for years in order to understand who is involved in its value chain and thus control the risks of environmental and social impacts linked to its gold supply. In this context, the brand works in particular with its refiners to select the mines that it wishes to include or exclude from its panel on an annual basis. Rolex has signed confidentiality agreements with its suppliers. The brand is therefore not allowed to disclose their names. However, it can divulge the countries of origin of the mined gold that it uses: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Finland, Peru, Sweden and the United States. For residual gold, Rolex sources from refiners in Italy, the United States and Japan that have Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody (RJC CoC) certification and who are members of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
Other metals
Silver
As silver and gold come from the same deposits, the silver sector naturally benefits from the traceability efforts implemented for gold. 70% of silver supplies come from mining sources whose physical flows are traced. To further improve its visibility on the provenance of its silver, Rolex is continuing its mapping work while assessing and optimizing all its sources. The aim is to achieve 99% traceability for this material by 2028.
Platinum
Rolex aims to replicate its gold traceability model for platinum. From 2024, the brand will roll out an action plan aimed at segregating its waste and guaranteeing origins outside areas that present a potential risk. At present, Rolex is already working with each of its suppliers to analyse their value chain and control the risks associated with environmental and social impacts. For refining platinum waste recovered from its production, the brand uses London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM)-certified refiners. Ultimately, Rolex also wants to implement closed-loop refining of the platinum waste recovered from its production sites.
Tungsten
In order to exclude countries that present a risk, Rolex has mapped the source areas of the minerals used by its suppliers. These are located exclusively in Europe.
All long-standing partners, Rolex’s suppliers use foundries with Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) certification and Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) certificates. These elements ensure that their value chain has been audited right up to the mine and that human rights are respected throughout their supply chain, including at foundries and refiners.
Brass
Rolex has developed its brass supply chain with the aim of limiting the intermediaries between foundries and processors as much as possible. The brass procured by the brand comes from German foundries. This alloy used by Rolex is mainly composed of copper and zinc, as well as tin in very low proportions (<0.5%). As tin is a mineral potentially linked to conflict-affected or high-risk areas, Rolex has ensured that priority is given to obtaining the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) certificates from all foundries that supply the brand’s ‘processor’ suppliers.
Percentage of recycled raw materials in the brass procured by Rolex
Copper
The foundries used by Rolex are required to perform mapping. The total volume of copper used by the brand is relatively low. At this stage, Rolex has fully mapped its flows and knows all its tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers. However, the brand must continue to identify all those involved in its supply chain right back to the countries in which the mineral is extracted.
Recycled copper
Mined copper
*Direct procurement (excluding alloy)
Titanium
The titanium purchasing channel focuses exclusively on suppliers based in Switzerland, who source from certified American and European foundries. It should be noted that the latter benefit from privileged access to waste from the aeronautical sectors, whose recovered flows are controlled and traced.
Rolex uses 40% recycled titanium. This low figure is explained by the lack of waste offering the characteristics sought by the brand, as well as by the need to maintain the mechanical properties of titanium by adding other minerals. The waste from Rolex’s production is currently recovered in a conventional recycling channel.
Steel
Oystersteel is an alloy for which Rolex’s exclusive suppliers use waste from European industry in their manufacturing process (note that one of them operates using 100% renewable electricity). This waste represents 60% of the volume of castings on average, and consists of alloyed (from alloys) and non-alloyed (from pure metals) waste. The remaining percentage is made up of primary ferroalloys, which feature high proportions of the elements that make up Oystersteel and are added in variable proportions to castings to obtain the final desired grade of steel (904L).
Thanks to accurate mapping, Rolex knows the geographical origin of each of the minerals used in the steel alloys delivered by its suppliers. The brand has also secured the origin of the alloy elements used in the manufacture of Oystersteel, excluding areas that present a risk. To increase the share of steel from Rolex’s production in castings, the brand is currently conducting a pilot project to recycle Oystersteel.
Traceability of precious stones
Diamonds
The quality criteria defined by Rolex for its diamond supply suggest that less than 1% of global production meets the quality standards benchmarked by the brand. Suppliers must therefore work with multiple intermediaries, which represents a challenge when it comes to mapping and goes against the culture of discretion that is prominent in this sector.
However, without foregoing the volumes and quality of the stones that the brand needs to produce its watches, Rolex has expressly asked its suppliers to comply with its requirements regarding the origin of diamonds.
In this context, each supplier is required to complete a monthly ‘mapping sheet’ detailing reliable information for each batch of stones sold (for rough and cut diamonds alike). This requirement has made it possible to shorten the channels and reduce the proportion of stones coming from the free market. Today, Rolex has successfully mapped the geographical origin of 97% of the rough round diamonds it purchases (compared with 86% in 2022) and knows 100% of the countries in which they are cut. Today, in-depth visits by Rolex teams have been carried out in factories cutting nearly a third of the brand’s portfolio (29%).
Since 2022, in response to the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Rolex has made major changes in its diamond supply chain to exclude certain channels.
Rolex also calls on its suppliers to pay ever greater attention to responsibility and sustainability criteria in order to assess risks and direct their procurement towards countries that are politically stable, and which fight corruption. The long-term aim is to move from a declared map to a documented map.
Today, 100% of the diamonds used by Rolex are certified by the Kimberley Process, which attests that the rough diamonds purchased have no links to conflict-affected areas. To ensure responsible procurement, the company sources from a limited number of suppliers, all of whom are trusted partners.
For diamonds, Rolex has 100% declarative traceability that lists the countries in which they are extracted and cut. The brand’s aim is to increase its direct sourcing of diamonds from 30% to 50% by 2027. This means that suppliers delivering polished diamonds act as both buyers of rough diamonds and supervisors of the cutting process. This share is expected to rise to 75% by 2030. In the meantime, the brand has set itself the goal of implementing 100% digital traceability, approved by external audits, and evaluating its cutting factories every three years.
Coloured stones
In the long term, the elements put in place to trace diamonds are also set to be applied to all coloured stones to obtain 100% declarative traceability and an assessment of cutting factories on a three-yearly basis. By 2027, Rolex should be able to guarantee a certified geographical origin for all the rubies and emeralds it purchases. As for sapphires, Rolex seeks to promote a direct supply flow between the mines and its suppliers. The aim is to reach 30% of its volume using this channel by 2030.
Other materials
Mother-of-pearl
Mother-of-pearl accounts for 85% of the volume of ornamental stones used to decorate the dials of Rolex watches. The brand maps the origin, although there is currently no recognized international standard for this market.
For its dials, Rolex uses pink mother-of-pearl from the United States, iridescent and white mother-of-pearl from Australia and the Indo-West Pacific, and black mother-of-pearl from Polynesia.
For a long time, Rolex’s long-standing suppliers have had to deal with intermediaries upstream in the value chain who are unwilling to be transparent about the origin of their batches. However, the way Rolex’s production chain operates is in the process of changing, thanks to some suppliers who are actively working to enhance traceability and certification in line with environmental and social criteria. One of them applies the principles of the independent ecocrest© certification, based on ecological criteria and fair trade principles. The other preferred Rolex suppliers carry out various audits across their entire supply chain. Thanks to the efforts made in recent years, Rolex knows the origin of 75% of the mother-of-pearl it uses to manufacture its watches.
Sapphire crystals
For several years, Rolex has been working closely with its sapphire crystal suppliers to understand who is involved in its value chain and thus control the environmental and social impacts of this material.
To this end, the brand has mapped its flows from the supply of alum powder to the manufacture of the crystals. The aim was to select responsible sources, excluding areas that present a risk. Work was also carried out with suppliers to measure the carbon impact of the supply chain, from the extraction of bauxite to the delivery of sapphire crystals.
To reduce this impact, Rolex favours local procurement, based on edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) technology. This technology, which consists of pulling crystal sheets from a bath of molten sapphire, consumes less energy than the Verneuil process, which uses a shower of droplets of molten material falling on the growing crystal to create the sapphire crystal. By 2029, the EFG process is set to be used for more than 50% of the sapphire crystals procured by the brand.
Oysterflex
The Oysterflex bracelet consists of two curved, supple metal blades – one for each of its sections – overmoulded with a high-performance black elastomer. The shape-memory nickel and titanium alloy used to craft the blades is highly elastic. It also contains brass rivets.
The blades are made in Europe, while the alloy used for them is sourced in the United States. The procurement policy of the relevant suppliers, who are signatories to the brand’s Sustainable Development Charter, is aligned with Rolex’s sustainability expectations.
As regards the elastomer, Rolex co-developed this specific material with its supplier, who is working to significantly reduce its own carbon footprint by using renewable energy. The rubber that makes up most of the elastomer comes from identified suppliers that meet Rolex’s sustainability expectations.
The bracelet sections are overmoulded in factories located in Switzerland.
Leathers
Rolex mainly produces and sells metal watches. Watches with leather straps thus represent a marginal proportion of its output.
To trace the provenance of the leather used in the manufacture of certain straps, Rolex has implemented a management tool to document its supply chain and consolidate data about its suppliers. In 2023, lizard leather was 100% traced, compared with 84% for alligator leather and 61% for calf-skin bracelet sections.
Sourced exclusively from American farms, 99% of the alligator leather purchased comes from tanneries located in the European Union. Most of these tanneries are certified by the Leather Working Group (86%). The alligator leather purchased complies with the provisions laid out by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and 86% is certified by the International Crocodilian Farmers’ Association (ICFA).
For lizard leather, all the tanneries are located in the European Union and certified by the Leather Working Group.
Used to a minor extent for straps and more widely for leather goods, calf-skin passes through a more complex channel and its traceability is thus less fully developed.
While it is possible to trace all the tanneries (66% of the volume comes from the European Union and 34% from outside it), the farms and all the slaughterhouses have a partially known origin. It should be noted that 99.64% of the volume used is ordered from tanneries certified by the Leather Working Group.
Human rights
Rolex takes the utmost care to ensure that its activities are conducted in a manner that respects human rights. To this end, the brand undertakes to perform due diligence throughout its supply chain.
Child labour
Child labour is one of Rolex’s major concerns when it comes to supply chains. The brand has a zero tolerance policy in this area. It is joined in this by all stakeholders, who place this topic at the top of their list of priorities. To address it effectively, Rolex has implemented a framework specifically dedicated to managing this risk.
Sustainable development
