Headlines

Rolex Prices Finally Fall in Resale Market

Prices dipped 5% in May.

Published

2 years ago

June 9, 2022

INSTORE Staff

The raging resale market for luxury watches, including Rolexes, has softened a bit.

An WatchCharts index that tracks Rolex prices dipped 5 percent in May, Business Insider reports.

A broader index of luxury watch models from various brands declined 9.3 percent.

“I think that rapid short-term increase that we saw from the end of last year to April of this year was just unsustainable, and I think it just had to come down to earth a bit,” said WatchCharts founder Charles Tian.

Tian anticipates continued growth for luxury watch prices, however, even if the pace slows down.

McKinsey expects the luxury watch resale market to reach $29 billion by 2025.

New Rolexes have been hard to come by for many months, and secondhand models — if you could find them — have commanded extreme prices.

Expensive watches became a more popular purchase during the pandemic, absorbing dollars that otherwise have gone toward travel, events and other luxuries, according to the newspaper. Additionally, some see luxury watches as a solid investment during uncertain economic times.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”