The supply and industrial management of gold reflects our commitment to traceability and circularity
We use two types of gold: mined gold – extracted from industrial and artisanal mines, and recycled gold – retrieved mainly from our own production waste but also, to a lesser extent, from the watchmaking and electronics industries.
Our industrial model’s verticalization allows us to control all our internal gold transformation processes. We have direct access to our refiners – all long-standing and trusted partners – and we minimize the number of our subcontractors as much as possible.
We purchase gold externally based on our specific criteria, and manage production flows internally, according to our own method, resulting in a loss rate close to zero. This complete mastery of our industrial apparatus allows us to optimize all the steps involving the transformation of gold throughout the production process, to minimize losses, and, as a consequence, to significantly reduce the need for external gold purchases.
We trace and fully control the origin of 99% of the gold we purchase – both mined and recycled. The recycled gold that comes from the watchmaking and electronics industries cannot be traced back to the extraction mine, but we ensure the traceability of these flows up to our tier 2 suppliers – which currently constitutes our objective.
Rolex’s gold supply and management model relies on the most effective possible management of precious metals throughout the various industrial processes. Because our industrial expertise allows us to reach a close-to-zero loss rate during the manufacturing of our gold parts, our model is one-of-a-kind.
Mined gold 9% + Recycled gold 91%
Mined gold
Mined gold refers to the gold we purchase from industrial mines and ethical artisanal mines, the latter located in Peru. For both categories, we specifically select the mines we wish to work with, according to our own social and environmental criteria.
Recycled gold
In the absence of an existing and applied standard in the industry, we have developed our own definition of recycled gold, according to which it consists both of industrial gold, purchased occasionally and externally, and circular gold, recycled continually and internally.
People-centric
At Rolex, anyone who comes into contact with gold – especially during foundry, forming, stamping, machining, heat treatment or finishing activities – receives specific training that is tailored to their activity and governs their access to the precious metal. This training model, regularly audited internally, hinges on the accountability of each operator throughout the production chain.
Because human capital and industrial expertise constitute Rolex’s two greatest assets, we have chosen to develop our own machines. Designed to accompany and support the daily work of our operators, these tools also respond to a continuous concern for the comfort and well-being of our employees.
Recently, our foundry has, for example, been equipped with new "automatic continuous shot-peening machines" that eliminate a physically demanding action. With this new system, the operator no longer has to manually tilt the shot and only intervenes at the end of the product’s transformation.
Mines
Our Purchasing department’s task is to balance our procurement of mined gold and recycled gold during external sourcing. It also aims to buy the most socially and environmentally responsible precious material possible.
We source our mined gold from both industrial and artisanal mines. We work directly with our refiners to annually select the mines we wish to include in, or exclude from, our panel.
Countries of origin of Rolex’s mined gold
1. Canada
2. United States
3. Peru
4. Chile
5. Argentina
6. Sweden
7. Finland
Traceability
When "tracing" our gold, we guarantee and document the origin and digitally track the physical flows of each batch of precious metal. We have established our own traceability system, audited by an external company according to the ISAE 3000 Type 1 standard, in order to identify all the stages marking the journey of the batch of gold: extraction, pre-refining, transport and refining. The control process notably involves site visits by Rolex buyers, as well as segregated equipment for all refiners to prevent any mixing in the supply chain. This exclusive flow is an additional guarantee of traceability up to delivery at our premises.
Governance
Our governance of gold is ensured internally by the Precious Metals Committee as well as by an entity open to our external partners: a Sourcing Committee for each refiner, bringing together our internal management and that of the supplier.
All our requirements concerning precious metals are formalized in contracts. We also receive monthly summaries from our refiners that allow us to verify the conformity of the gold’s provenance with respect to our expectations.
Recycling manufacturing waste
For us, each gram of gold recovered is one less gram of gold to extract from a mine. We have therefore developed our own methodology, unmatched in the industry, for recovering and sorting our own gold waste (offcuts, metal filings, and dust).
In order to minimize losses during the different manufacturing steps, we have also developed a strict gold tracking system through systematic weighing at every stage of the flow, relying again on constant employee accountability: the precious metal entrusted to an operator is quantified at each workstation using a digital tool, with an extreme tolerance threshold regarding losses, defined for each sector. At the end of this process, the employee transfers the responsibility of the precious material to the next operator. The digital tracking of each manufacturing order traces all this data, which is then consolidated during inventory.
Integration and autonomy
We use our own foundry to create precious metal alloys. Additionally, in 2014 we set up an autonomous laboratory to analyze precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, and palladium) and have a team of in-house sworn assayers.
We currently employ four sworn assayers, all trained by the Precious Metals Control Bureau (BCMP) within the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS). Our laboratory is ISO 17025* certified.
Carbon footprint
For part of our gold supply in 2022, we used our own stock of precious metal for the first time. This gold – which had been factored into the company’s carbon footprint at the time of purchase – then entered our production flow to be transformed, thereby significantly reducing our 2022/2023 carbon footprint.
To permanently clear the remainder of this stock, we injected it into production in 2024, which will mathematically result in a new substantial decrease in our carbon footprint for 2023/2024.
Platinum
In 2024, we established an action plan aimed at segregating our platinum waste and ensuring provenance outside of potentially high-risk areas. From 2027, our traceability model for gold will be fully duplicated to platinum.
