Business news

Rolex 2025 Sales Price Increase, Why Are Rolex So Expensive?

ok

Why are Rolex so expensive? has always been a topic of discussion among luxury watch enthusiasts. Rolex’s superb craftsmanship is at the heart of this brand, and their attention to detail and use of high-quality materials put Rolex at the forefront of the luxury watch market. The uniqueness of the Rolex brand, craftsmanship, quality, and market supply and demand contribute to its high price tag as well. So WHY ARE ROLEX SO EXPENSIVE? To fully answer this question, we need to have a deeper understanding of the market significance of Rolex as a luxury brand. It is also important to recognize the difference between Rolex and other luxury watches.

  1. Brand Image of Rolex Watches

Rolex supports renowned tennis tournaments, players, and organizations, including the Grand Slam® events (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon Championships, and U.S. Open), as well as the legendary Swiss player Roger Federer.
Rolex supports equestrian development. The Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, a global equestrian program, was co-hosted by three competitions in 2013: the CHIO Aachen, the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ Tournament, and the CHI Geneva Tournament.
Rolex has been featured in many movies and TV series, and has become an important accessory for actors and characters. Examples include “The James Bond Series”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “The Godfather”, “Sex and the City”, ‘Speed’, ‘Iron Man Series’, “The Thomas Crown Affair,” and more. Through this series of activities, the brand image of Rolex has become a household name.

  1. Rolex – The Symbol of Authority, Power, and Wealth

There are two treasures to show off one’s wealth: luxury cars and famous watches. When it comes to watches, the first reaction of many people is Rolex. But in fact, in front of Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin luxury watches, Rolex can only be regarded as the price of pro-entry-level brands. Rolex, in fact, firmly grasps the world’s rich and powerful heart. How does it do that? In fact, Rolex’s value retention rate tops the list of watch brands. Unlike other famous watches that pursue aesthetic and collection values, Rolex is labeled as accurate, sturdy, and durable. This is also one of the reasons why are Rolex so expensive.

Looking at the international community, Rolex is also a symbol of high-end. The Rolex DAY-DATE series, nicknamed the presidential watch. Such a high-end nickname, in the end, where did it come from?
In 1950, Rolex gave Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War II, a solid gold version of the Datejust watch. He became NATO’s Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in Europe in 1950, and three years later became the 34th President of the United States. He was arguably one of the most powerful men in the world at the time.

Later, Rolex made a big deal out of this, writing in its advertising slogan that Rolex is in the hands of the man who controls the destiny of the world.

A few years later, the new President of the United States, Mr. Johnson, wore Rolex’s new DAY-DATE watch. This time, Rolex made no secret of its ambition and put the phrase “The President’s Watch” directly on the public screen.
Since then, this collection has been known as the Presidential Watches and has been sought after by countless celebrities and dignitaries. The dignitaries of various countries regard Rolex watches as their treasures, and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was nicknamed the Golden President because of his obsession with Rolex.

  1. High-Quality Craftsmanship and Materials

In addition to being a symbol of money, power, and status, Rolex also holds a Guinness World Record. There was a Rolex that was auctioned at a sky-high price: the famous “Paul Newman” Ditonne, which is called the ssr of Rolex.
The cost of materials and labor to make a Rolex watch is huge. Rolex uses high-quality materials such as 18K yellow gold, platinum, and high-quality 904L stainless steel.
It is through this wave of stories that Rolex has gradually taken root in everyone’s heart. Though its history is not as long compared to other watches, Rolex has become the highest-earning luxury watch brand today, accounting for nearly 25% of the market.

  1. Design Innovation Makes Rolex Expensive

In addition to having a research and development department, Rolex has also created different types of specialized and well-equipped laboratories. Rolex not only puts a lot of effort into the development of new models, but they are also very serious about how to improve the quality and performance of the watch, and can be said to be very engrossed in the process of watchmaking. Rolex’s laboratories are highly specialized, with a group of well-trained scientists and a complete range of instruments and equipment. In addition to the scientific laboratory, Rolex also has a stress test room where watches are subjected to various wear and tear simulation tests to ensure that Rolex watches achieve reliable precision and toughness.

  1. Hand-Assembled Movements

There have always been rumors that Rolex movements are assembled by machines. Although Rolex does not make much of a statement on this topic, Rolex movements are not made by machines as rumored. In fact, Rolex movements are assembled by hand. Of course, the movement manufacturing process inevitably uses machines, but the precision of Rolex watches requires the use of machines, while some steps still need to be performed by hand. Of course, this group of technicians will also go through Rolex’s professional training beforehand to ensure that the assembly process of the movement is flawless. As we all know, Rolex’s quality control is extremely strict. From the construction of the movement to its delivery to the factory, one of the most important aspects is the constant testing of the movement, with watchmakers and assembly technicians supervising every step of the process, before sending it to C.O.S.C. for certification, and then to the distributor, where Rolex will test the entire watch again to ensure the accuracy of the watch. The watch is then tested again by Rolex before being sent to the dealer to confirm its accuracy.

  1. Watertight Security

In fact, Rolex’s security facilities are very strict, and a series of security checks in place are not enough. Rolex also has a James Bond-like safe on the ground floor to store the watches. Rolex also has a James Bond-like safe on the ground floor for storing watches. In addition, Rolex headquarters has data management staff, and their desks have a fingerprint system. If you want to get the information, you must provide a fingerprint, which also means that all the archive documents are scanned and labeled in advance. Rolex movements and cases are numbered, scanned, and photographed, and correspond to each other. These numbers are scanned and photographed, so that if the watch needs to be serviced in the future, the watchmaker can easily request information about the watch through these numbers.

 

A Rolex advertisement from long ago showed that a Rolex watch takes about a year to build. But Rolex produces nearly a million watches a year, so it would be incredible if a watch took a year to make. However, it does seem that Rolex takes a lot of care and attention in building their watches, taking little to no shortcuts and devoting themselves to producing reliable and exceptional watches, so this is what makes Rolex so admirable. These are the reasons why are Rolex so expensive.

As the “hard currency” of the watch world, the complex socio-economic factors behind the price increase of Rolex are reflected. According to media news, from January 1, 2025, the global price of Rolex watches will be increased again. This is the third price adjustment in a short period of time after January 2024 and June 2024, with an average increase ranging from 5% to 7%. Among them, the solid gold model Cosmograph Daytona has increased by as much as 13.9%, becoming the top rate of increase of all models, which triggered the attention of Rolex watch enthusiasts.
According to the online price list, the price adjustment of pure gold models affected the most, overall:

  • Steel models, platinum steel models, pure platinum models increased by about 1%.
  • Platinum steel models increased by about 2%;
  • Approximately 5% increase for yellow gold steel models, rose gold steel models, and titanium models;
  • Pure gold models (white gold, yellow gold, eternal rose gold) by about 7%;
    The Cosmograph Ditonner is listed separately in this table:
  • White gold models up by approximately 1%;
  • Steel models up by approximately 3%;
  • Steel models in yellow gold by approximately 6%;
  • The solid gold models (excluding diamonds) have increased by up to 14%;

Due to the large number of models involved, it is impossible to list them one by one due to space constraints, so we will only select some of the most popular models to share below. Among them, the steel models are the least volatile and will hardly have an impact on the secondary market in the short term:

  • The Submariner Ref. 124060 is currently priced at €9,550, or €9,700 after adjustments, an increase of 1.57%;
  • Greenwich Type II Ref.126710blro (red and blue circles) currently selling for €11,200, €11,300 adjusted, up 0.89%;
  • Explorer II Ref. 226570 (Explorer II) currently priced at €10,100, €10,200 adjusted, up 0.99%;
    The exception is the Yachting Prestige Ref. 226627 with its RLX titanium case, a non-precious metal watch currently priced at €14,750, up €15,550 after adjustments, or 5.42% more than an 18-carat gold watch.

In terms of precious metals, the white gold case of the Day-Date 40 Ref. 228239 (Führer’s Chain) is currently priced at 45,300 euros, or 48,400 euros after adjustments, an increase of +6.84%.

  • Deep Diver 18K gold Ref. 136668lb currently €56,700, adjusted €60,700, up 7.06%;
  • The Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 126508 is currently priced at €43,200, €49,200 adjusted, an increase of 13.9%;
    The continued rise in Rolex watch prices is unattainable for the average consumer, so how do we enjoy the luxury watch experience at an affordable price? I think Rolex Super Clone is a good choice, as you can hardly tell the difference between them by the appearance, performance, packaging, and certificates, so counterfeit Rolex is the best choice.

Read More From Techbullion

Comments
To Top

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This