Riots remark angers Rolex

Luxury watchmaker Rolex has demanded an apology from Italy’s prime minister and interior minister for saying that violent demonstrators who devastated parts of Milan last week were “rich, spoiled brats with Rolexes”.

The company took out full-page advertisements in major national newspapers to contest comments both politicians made after police fired tear gas at protesters who threw stones and petrol bombs and broke shop windows.

In his address to parliament on the riots — protests against Milan’s Expo global fair — interior minister Angelino Alfano said police photos showed that one demonstrator who defaced a bank window appeared to be wearing a Rolex.