A Fake Does Not Come Back: A Rolex Lesson from the King of Luxury

Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH, is known not only as the owner of brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton, but also as a man who does not accept the word “no” and does not know how to lose. These qualities helped him build a fashion empire that has become a symbol of French luxury and to amass a fortune of more than $100 billion. Stopping, by the way, is not part of his plans.

Once, Arnault told a story that immediately shows why luxury brands guard their reputation so strictly. It is a story about Rolex that seemed to us, although short, quite interesting.

Imagine a boutique: perfectly polished display cases, soft lighting, every watch mechanism not just a device for measuring time, but a true art object. And then a person walks in with a counterfeit watch and asks, “Please repair it.”

The staff take the watch, pretend to work on it, but there is one subtlety: this watch is never returned to the client. What do they tell the person if they demand their “time treasures” back? Supposedly a standard inspection procedure, a possible loss, or any other official wording – Rolex keeps the intrigue and does not disclose details.

It is worth noting: we did not verify how accurate this story is, but it illustrates the principle well – in the world of the authentic, the authentic is valued. A fake may enter through the door, but it never leaves the boutique.

This story speaks volumes: about the rigidity and precision of processes, about the fact that reputation matters more than short-term profit, and about the unshakable nature of true luxury. And there is a touch of humor in it: a person comes in with a fake, thinking they can fool the masters, and in the end… they are fooled by the process itself.

The moral is simple: if you want to touch the world of the real – bring the real thing. Everything else disappears as if it never existed.