Explainer | Why Rolex sports watches such as the Rolex Oyster Perpetual are so hard to find and pre-owned models cost twice as much as new ones
- Stainless steel watches such as the Rolex Daytona and Rolex Oyster Perpetual are in such demand, even official dealers have none to sell
- Pre-owned Rolex watches sell for twice the listed price, or more, of new ones as the global leisurewear trend pushes up sports watch prices in general
A Rolex Oyster Perpetual stainless steel sports watch with a Tiffany blue dial was described in the auction catalogue as having the manufacturer’s stickers and being in “practically unworn condition”. It sold in early November for 18,900 Swiss francs (US$20,700), four times the Rolex catalogue price of a brand new watch of the same type.
Bought new from an authorised retailer, this model should cost about US$4,900 – at the lower end of the Rolex range. Yet Rolex stainless steel sports watches are almost impossible to find at authorised watch dealers, and “nearly new” models sell for big premiums at auction, often in multiples of the catalogue price.
Meanwhile, unauthorised resellers in the grey market also sell so-called “new in box” models, nearly always without guarantees, for well over the Rolex catalogue price.
In a Hong Kong store of one of the world’s largest official Rolex retailers, the shop assistant shakes his head. He regrets he has absolutely no stainless steel men’s Rolex sports watches to sell.
No Rolex Daytonas, or Rolex Sea-Dwellers or even the basic Oyster Perpetual, the entry-level Rolex still nominally in production. None of the massive chain’s other outlets has any of these models either, he says, and no, there’s no waiting list.
