Sorry, Sandton: Cape Town Just Took Johannesburg’s Crown (and It’s a Rolex)

In what may be a sign of the times, Cape Town has surged ahead of Johannesburg in bragging rights to one of the world's most exclusive brands – Rolex. 

In December a Sandton jeweler opened Africa's first Rolex boutique store. Six weeks ago Charles Greig Jewellers went one better by launching a standalone Rolex boutique, dedicated to Rolex products, in the V&A's Victoria Wharf luxury wing.

Rolex will now take its place among a constellation of other top international brands at the V&A, notably Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dolce & Gabbana.

Charles Greig Jewellers, founded in 1899, is a five-generation local family business that predates Rolex, founded in 1905. The business is still very much a family affair, with three Greig brothers currently running different Greig Jewelry stores, in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

“Cape Town is really where the growth is,” Donald Greig told Cape Chamber this week during a visit to the new Rolex boutique. “Cape Town has just exploded in the last 30 years. I think it still has a long way to go – it has a lot of momentum. It is just a matter of time until the other big names, like Tiffany, start coming here. They see this as without a doubt the best place to be in Africa.” 

Greig Jewellers has been an authorised Rolex dealer for over a century, making it possibly the oldest authorised dealer worldwide, according to Greig. "We've had Rolex since it was just ten years old.” 

He says watch styles evolve over time, although the brand is underpinned by a common thread of 'timeless elegance'. Some of the antique Rolex watches on display at the boutique store include those with the Greig name on the dial.  “We will get people coming in here saying, ‘My grandfather bought his engagement ring from your great-grandfather.  It's good to know that even a hundred years ago we were wanting to do something that lasts forever’,” Greig said.

Waiting periods for the handmade Rolex models, which take up to a year to produce and are limited production, range from a year to ten years, with Rolex collectors making up a significant share of the market. 

Included in its Rolex archive collection is a rare cushion shaped model officially dated by the Rolex Historical Department in Geneva, 1916 - 1918 at a time when Rolex was just over a decade old, along with an Oyster Imperial in stainless steel, with Arabic numerals, a second’s sub dial and screw in crown.