In 2023, the Rolex Watchmaking Training Center was established to prepare and educate the next generation of American watchmakers. The program’s goal is both to create new educational and career opportunities for people interested in becoming Rolex Certified Watchmakers and to ensure there is a pool of skilled watchmakers to support our retail and service partners long term.

For generations, watchmakers were plentiful worldwide and watchmaking was an ideal career path for those with technical and artistic ambitions. Although there was a decline in interest in the field of watchmaking during the 1970s and 1980s, when mechanical watches experienced a revival in the 1990s, the need for skilled watchmakers quickly became apparent and interest in watchmaking programs increased.

Rolex was at the forefront of the effort to train watchmakers, having opened the Lititz Watch Technicum in 2001 to address the industry’s needs. Since opening the Rolex Watchmaking Training Center in Dallas, Texas, all U.S. Rolex Watchmaking training has been consolidated into an 18-month educational program that trains students as Rolex Certified Watchmakers and helps them pursue careers working in Rolex’s service network across North America.