MILAN — Gianpaolo Marini, chief executive officer of Rolex Italia, took out several full-page ads in major Italian newspapers to publish a letter addressed to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and minister of the interior Angelino Alfano.
His quibble? Following the riots in Milan last Friday against Expo 2015, which the city is hosting, Renzi and Alfano characterized protesters as hooligans from wealthy backgrounds, evoking their socio-economic status by suggesting they had Rolex watches. That, said Marini, was uncalled for.
“If, personally and as a citizen of Milan, in this occasion I can only appreciate the sacrifice and the dedication of the authorities, in my role I must, on the other hand, express profound regret and disappointment for the implied association in your words between the state of ‘destroying windows’ and wearing a Rolex watch on one’s wrist,” Marini said.
Noting that it would be near impossible to identify a real Rolex in the images of rioters splashed across the press, Marini also pointed out that the brand of watch any individual rioter was wearing was immaterial to the larger point Renzi and Alfano were making — namely, that smashing storefront windows, spray-painting buildings and setting cars on fire were pointless criminal gestures.
“I take the liberty of reminding you that Rolex has been in our country for over 80 years. Rolex Italia SpA has always been an exemplary ‘citizen’ of Milan, respectful of the law and very often called upon by the authorities to collaborate on cases relevant to our business,” Marini added.
“Lastly, I remind you that the word Rolex is a celebrated registered brand name in Italy and worldwide and it is one of the top 10 most recognized brands internationally. Its usage in lower-case letters and as a generic noun is improper and could dilute and compromise its value and distinctiveness,” he said.