Posted on Sunday 18 April 2004

Rolex might be a Swiss company but one thing is for certain, it knows its Asian market extremely well.

For example, consider its half gold / half stainless steel watch, the Datejust. Its model number is 16233 which, if we apply the system already discussed in my earlier post on Chinese numerology, would be read in Chinese as:

"all the way easy long life".

As a consequence, this model of watch is said to be much sought after by your up and coming Hong Kong or Singaporean entrepreneurial types. But for the towkay who has already arrived, a solid gold Rolex is the order of the day and that could only mean a Day-Date Rolex which has a model number of 18238. This translates as:

"guaranteed prosperity, easy life and prosperity".

On the other hand, prestige car maker Alfa Romeo could certainly afford to learn a few things from Rolex. Surely only a very foolish company would ever consider naming one of its cars "164".