A Bulle Market
According to a new report by Swiss newspaper NZZ, as spotted by our friends at Hodinkee, Rolex has released the first official renderings of the facility it plans to build in the fast-growing city of Bulle, Switzerland, and has also applied for a building permit to begin construction.
The facility is massive, consisting of four production buildings connected to a central building administration, meeting areas and other kinds of support. The 100,000-square-meter complex is expected to cost over one billion Swiss francs (~$1.1 billion) and will employ about 2,000 workers.
Rolex is almost entirely vertically integrated and produces most of its own parts. The brand currently operates four production facilities throughout Switzerland, each specializing in a different area of the watches.
The Geneva facility assembles the watches, a manufacture in Biel/Bienne crafts the movements, the Chêne-Bourg factory handles dials, bezel inserts and gems, and the bracelets, bezels, cases are put together in Plan-les-Ouates, which is also the location of the brand’s famous gold foundry.
It’s unclear at this time what parts and materials the new facility in Bulle will handle, but given the fact that there are four production buildings on site, perhaps it will take on some of the overflow from each of the other factories.
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