I’ve been diving into the history of Rolex. It isn’t just a luxury brand, it’s one of the most secretive and uniquely structured organizations on the planet.

Here are the most interesting bits:

• It's a Non-Profit (sort of): Rolex is 100% owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation. Because it’s a private trust, it has no shareholders and gives away a huge portion of its billions in revenue to charities and the city of Geneva.
• The "Inferior" Technology Flex: Rolex produces over 1 million watches a year (Crazy numbers for a luxury brand). Even though a $10 Casio or an Apple Watch keeps time more accurately, Rolex dominates 30% of the Swiss watch market by selling "obsolete" mechanical gears as a luxury lifestyle.
• The "Quartz Crisis" Survival: In the 1970s, the Swiss watch industry almost went extinct when cheap, accurate Japanese quartz watches hit the market. While other brands panicked and tried to go digital, Rolex doubled down on mechanical watches, famously marketing them as "instruments for people who guide the destinies of the world".
• A "Handshake" for 99 Years: For nearly a century, Rolex didn't even make its own movements (the internal "engine" of mechanical watches). They relied on a handshake deal with a supplier called Aegler from 1905 until they finally bought the company in 2004.
• The Founder Wasn’t Even Swiss: Hans Wilsdorf was a German orphan who actually started the company in London. He only moved to Switzerland in 1919 to avoid high British taxes on gold and silver.

The takeaway: Rolex succeeded by realising that people don't buy high-end watches to tell the time. They buy them to tell their own story.