Who is the founder of Bucherer, the world's largest luxury watch retailer?

Rolex, the world's most well-known watch brand, made a press release last Thursday that surprised enthusiasts and announced that it has acquired Bucherer, the world's largest luxury jewelry and watch retailer with 100 stores (Europe/USA).

The announcement created an explosion in the watchmaking world. Blogs, news, and review sites announced this development as "last minute". As it is known, Rolex does not have its own boutiques or a retail chain, nor does it need such a purchase. So does Bucherer. It is a global retail chain with annual revenues of around 2 billion euros (two-thirds come from the sale of Rolex and Tudor watches), according to Bank Vontobel. According to Morgan Stanley, with an annual revenue of approximately 10 billion euros, Rolex suddenly became one of the largest luxury watch retailers in the world. Bucherer will remain an independent business after the takeover, which must be approved by the Competition Commission (Comco).

Respect for values

Things got messy in an instant, but the truth is, Rolex management preferred to show loyalty only to a friend from the past. Although the words capitalism and loyalty may seem strange together, I must first mention an unknown foundation: Rolex is a company affiliated with the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, which is a charitable organization, so its revenues belong to the foundation. Although the founder Hans Wilsdorf is no longer alive, the foundation maintains a management approach that respects his preferences and ethos.

Bucherer AG is a multibrand watch and jewelry retailer based in Switzerland with over 100 stores worldwide. It was founded in 1888 by Carl F. Bucherer, who also became the namesake of a luxury Swiss watch brand. In 2023, Bucherer was bought by Rolex. Bucherer retails brand including Rolex, Carl F. Bucherer, Baume & Mercier, Blancpain, Bregeut, Cartier, Chopard, Girard-Perregaux, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Oris, Panerai, Piaget, Rado, Roger Dubuis, TAG Heuer, Tissot, Tudor, Ulysse Nardin, and Vacheron Constantin.

Terms of sale were not disclosed, but Rolex felt the need to specifically state that there is no situation that will affect its existing dealers around the world. Still, the stock market in London experienced volatile hours. While some may be surprised, experts consider the news a "logical surprise", which is only natural since Bucherer is already Rolex's largest retail partner and the first retailer to participate in the brand's certified pre-owned sales program.

Looking for a permanent word

Hans Wilsdorf was born in 1881 in Bavaria (Germany). He lost his mother when he was a child, and his father when he was 12 years old, and was orphaned with his two siblings. The children, who were taken care of by their wealthy uncles, were well educated. Hans Wilsdorf, who was interested in watches, decided to establish a watch company at the age of 24 and founded the company "Wilsdorf and Davis" in London in 1905 with his brother-in-law Alfred Davis. But then it changed for a name and brand of its own. While searching for a name for the company, he searched for a short and catchy word that would fit on the dial, although he thought of hundreds of names, he did not like any of them. Then one morning, as he was riding in the carriage, he thought of the meaningless word Rolex.

Carl F. Bucherer is a Swiss watch company based in Lucerne, Switzerland, which manufactures luxury men's and women's mechanical watches. From its founding in 1888 until its sale in 2023, the company was wholly owned by the Bucherer family, making it one of the oldest luxury Swiss watchmakers continuously held by the founding family. The company was run by the original family's third generation, with Jörg G. Bucherer serving as chairman of the board.

Produced revolutionary watches

Founded in London in 1908, the Rolex brand moved to Geneva in 1919. Since then, it has obtained hundreds of patents and produced revolutionary watches.

In 1926, the Oyster (oyster), the first waterproof watch in history, appeared.

In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic watch with a 360-degree rotating winding movement in the Oyster Perpetual model.

The Submariner, the first diver's watch with a rotating bezel, was launched in 1953 and remains one of the most imitated watches today.

For the first time in the watchmaking industry, Rolex made the bracelet model (Jubilee) named after him.

The first automatically changing day and date display, the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date, was introduced in 1956.

Rolex is the only watch company with its own gold foundry.

The first watch brand to be shown as an indicator of status, financial power, and self-confidence is Rolex.

Hans Wilsdorf died in Geneva, Switzerland, in July 1960, at the age of 79.

As I mentioned in the main article, the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation is the only institution that manages Rolex and acts according to the principles of the founder.

He made an offer because he had no heir.

The last surviving family member, Jörg G Bucherer, who knew and worked with Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf personally, is now almost 90 years old. Jörg G Bucherer, who has run the company since he took over the business in the third generation in 1977, made a logical buyout offer to Rolex management, apparently because he did not have an heir and was suffering from health problems. This request, accepted by the foundation management, necessarily means a significant structural change for Rolex, one of the world's largest luxury watch brands, and will have serious consequences for the global watch industry in the long run.

A business deal that began in 1924

Carl-Friedrich and his wife Luise Bucherer opened the first store in Switzerland in 1888.

Bucherer also started to manufacture watches in 1919.

His sons Ernst and Carl Eduard Bucherer came to power in the 1920s.

In 1924, Ernst Bucherer made a deal with Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf, which is still ongoing.

Bucherer's development continued despite the economic crisis of the 1930s and the conditions of World War II.

The Bucherer group grew through acquisitions in 1989 and 2001.

Carl F Bucherer, a separate company for watch manufacturing, was founded in 2001.

In 2013, he opened the world's largest watch and jewelry store in Paris.

With the acquisition of The Watch Gallery in 2017, four more stores in London joined the company.

Bucherer management also acquired Tourneau, a luxury watch retailer with 28 stores across the US, in 2018.