This is true. Rolex is NOT constraining or limiting production of anything. If you check at Rolex Forums, you'll see where a couple members have had revealing conversations with (anonymous) ADs in Hong Kong and Singapore. "Greed" is the operative word here, as it usually is. ADs are getting really tired of selling at RRP when they can sell to gray market flippers at RRP + 50%. Flippers turn these around for RRP x 2. One of the Rolex Forums threads has a photo of a Hong Kong shop window with 6 (SIX) white SS Daytonas in it, priced at roughly USD $23,000.
It is essentially impossible for Rolex to police this activity (even if they wanted to). Here's how it goes: AD buys a watch from Rolex at ~62% of RRP. Dealer sells watch to flipper at MSRP + 50%. Dealer runs the Rolex warranty card through his machine. This tells Rolex that:
1. dealer ABC sold watch
2. model # 116500
3. serial number 123456789
3. on June 12, 2019
That's ALL Rolex knows about the sale. The dealer is not required to report who bought the watch or how much they paid. Rolex uses this info to start the warranty clock running. Period.
The only remaining mystery is how Rolex allocates watches to dealers. It would make sense to me that Rolex sells more watches to ADs who (a) sell more watches and (b) sell them quickly. Thus an honest AD in Poughkeepsie sees the Daytona frenzy and holds on to their supply until they find a buyer who's willing to provide them with a large profit from something else---gold, diamonds, etc. The less scrupulous dealer in Hong Kong calls a runner and turns the watches around in a day. Rolex knows exactly how long each watch sits on the shelf, and I'd bet they are quicker to re-supply dealers who move inventory fast.
