Rolex has announced that they have increased many prices depending on the materials used and the Cosmograph Daytona has seen its own set of individual price changes. These price changes will have an interesting effect on the grey market over the next year and are great news for longer-term investments and owners of a variety of different Rolex watches. Here are the price increases at a glance:
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1% increase for steel, Rolesium and platinum.
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2% increase for white gold and steel.
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7% increase for pink or yellow gold with steel and solid gold.
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5% increase for titanium for the Deepsea Challenge
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8% increase for titanium for the Yacht-Master 42.
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Cosmograph Daytona has its own set of price increases. Platinum 1%, steel 3%, yellow Rolesor 6%, full set gold with no gems 14%.
This article covers the price increases, why Rolex has put these into place at the start of this year and how these price increases are likely to affect the grey/pre-owned markets going forward into 2026 and beyond.
At The Watch Boutique, we are leading luxury watch dealers based in Liverpool and London. We have an extensive network created during our many years operating within the market and we are able to use this network and experience to source you the ideal watch. Whether you are looking for a Rolex watch to wear regularly / semi-regularly or as an investment timepiece, get in touch with our team today.
What Has Caused the Decision For the Price Increase?
Despite being on the higher end of production of watches per year for all of the luxury watch manufacturers - Rolex is a brand that still values itself on exclusivity as well as expert craftsmanship and exquisite attention to detail. This is one of the main driving factors for the price increase as Rolex has exceptional demand for new Rolex models. Waiting times depending on models range from 6 to 18 months to 3 years or more. It depends on the type of Rolex that you are trying to order and the rarity and desirability of the model. This is why the grey market continues to be popular as a fast way to obtain a luxury Rolex timepiece.
The other major factor is material costs. We can see this from the substantial price increases for watches featuring gold, gold has risen in value in 2024 and also hit a record high in the same period. JPMorgan also predicts that gold prices could go up to as high as $3000 per ounce in 2025 so it will be interesting to see if price increases keep occurring for watches featuring gold to cater to higher manufacturing costs.
What is the Immediate Impact on the Grey Market?
Immediately, we will likely see pricing fluctuations as will happen with these price rises. Especially with the Rolex Daytonas, we would expect to see increases in prices as time goes on as there will be a natural increase in sales as well as buying of these watches. Precious metals have gone up and this will naturally affect the prices of pre-owned luxury watches that contain precious metals. The Rolex Sprite is likely to be discontinued although it’s unknown when this will occur. If the Rolex Sprite is discontinued then you would expect to see an increase in price so discontinuations are another aspect that could also affect pricing.
The news of the Rolex price rises has stimulated the market, people who were on the fence in terms of purchasing a Rolex have pulled the trigger and gone ahead and purchased a Rolex watch that they were considering purchasing. We have also seen the first batch of 2025 watches be released by Authorised Dealers (ADs) and we would expect prices to increase as more of the 2025 releases are made available to purchase from ADs.
