Explorer 216575 replica

On June 17, 2017, the Borer family, which once owned the Rolex Bienne movement, announced that Harry Borer had passed away at the age of 89. Harry Borer was a modest and unassuming manuof, the last head of the family to manage the Rolex movement. From 1967 to 2001, Harry Borer served as director of the Bienne plant. Since 1905, the Bienne factory, under the leadership of the Borer family (and the Aegler family), has been the main supplier of movements to Rolex Geneva. In 2004, the Borer family sold Rolex Bienne to Rolex Geneva, and the two companies share a rich historical relationship.

In 1905, the company’s name was not Rolex Bienne, but Aegler S.A. (after the family that owned it at the time). In 1920, Hermann Aegler became a member of the Board of Directors when he purchased a large share of Rolex stock. In the mid-1920s, Aegler’s nephew, Emile Borer, became technical director of Aegler S.A. As the business ties between the two companies grew closer, the Aegler/Borer family decided to rename the company Manufacture des Montres Rolex SA and reached an agreement: Rolex would only buy movements from Bienne, and Bienne would only supply them to Rolex. This agreement lasted for a long time, without interruption and with few exceptions (it is worth noting that starting with Daytona Ref. 16520, Rolex adopted a modified Zenith El Primero calibre) until 2004.

Harry Borer, who seemed to avoid the public eye, held a Ph.D. in law and economics and was in charge of Rolex Bienne during the quartz crisis. According to Swissinfo.ch, which published the obituary, Harry Borer stated: “We have not experienced any crisis in automatic watches, nor have we ever been forced to make any cuts in the mechanical or watchmaking sector.”