Has your Rolex lost value during COVID?

As watch enthusiasts, we are truly focused on the beauty and uniqueness of the timepieces we collect. We justify to our wives and girlfriends that the watches we are buying are works of art that simply grow in value. We will at times even pay over their MSRP to acquire a specific watch if it is hard to acquire, has a tremendous wait time or simply is not in production. So, now that we are six months into COVID, have we lost our shirts on holding onto these little beauties or has it been a fantastic way to shelter wealth? The answer might surprise you.

For starters, some watches no matter what the financial or health climate will keep their value. For example, the Rolex Daytona is one. For the last fifteen years, this watch has been almost impossible to purchase by just walking into a Rolex Authorized Dealer. Prior to COVID, the Rolex Daytona in all steel (specifically the ceramic bezel one) had been selling for between $20,000 to as high as $25,000. We checked Watchrecon and DavidSW to see where a Rolex Daytona in Steel lands. Currently, DavidSW has one for $27,975.00 which is $13,150 on rolex.com, just a mere $14,825 over retail. You just read that right, DOUBLE! We decided to review watchrecon.com for the latest Rolex Daytona. We found that individuals were selling their Daytona for between $21,000 to as high as $25,000 and similar dealers to DavidSW were selling around his offering prices. So, if you happened to purchase a Rolex Daytona in the last six months, your watch is worth a pretty penny more. You have nothing to worry about.

IMAGE SOURCE: fratellowatches.com

Obviously, the Daytona is a unique and special steel sports watch from Rolex, what about a Rolex Datejust 41 in steel (our favorite is the Wimbledon dial with the white gold fluted bezel and jubilee bracelet). This is still a sought after watch but is much easier to get your hot little horological hands on. Once again we headed over to DavidSW to peak at their Rolex Datejust 41 selection, we were lucky to find our favorite model in stock but at quite a hefty premium. The retail value on rolex.com is $9900.00, while the same watch on DavidSW.com is $11,275.00. Again, another Rolex that is far higher than its MSRP. We decided to verify our find by again going the extra mile by checking Watchrecon. It came at no surprise that we saw this Rolex model selling from $10,200.00 to as high as $11,000.00 depending on the condition and seller type.

Of course we are not suggesting that every watch is going to increase in value 15% to 200% while economically we are struggling, and we need to wear a mask to go get Oreos at the grocery store before we binge Netflix for 5 hour straight. What we are saying is that if before COVID came knocking, your Rolex dealer was to call you and tell you they had a Rolex Submariner Date in stock with your name on it, you didn't lose then and you won't lose now. Rolex is more than a watch, it is a symbol of quality and prestige. Items like that do not lose their value, they are objects that never depreciate but appreciate due to their qualities. So, if you get the call from your Rolex AD, best to ask for forgiveness than to get permission from the MRS. Since your money may be a whole ton safer in a Rolex than in almost any other thing.