Three Rolex and Tudor Watches to Buy Pre-Owned in 2026

The pre-owned watch market has had a strange couple of years. Prices spiked during the pandemic, corrected hard, and have since stabilized and started climbing again. The ChronoPulse Watch Index is up about 3.78% over the past year, with the Rolex index up 4.33%.

Not every watch on this list is a bargain — one of them is still trading well above retail and probably always will be — but each one is interesting for its own reason right now. With that context in mind, here are three Rolex and Tudor watches worth paying attention to.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Blue Boutique Edition (left), and black dial on three-link bracelet. Image Source (left): Monochrome Watches

I've written about the Black Bay Chrono before and I'll keep writing about it as long as the value case holds up — which it does. The 79360N is a 41mm chronograph with 200 meters of water resistance and the MT5813 movement: a column-wheel, vertical-clutch chronometer based on the renowned Breitling B01, with a silicon balance spring and a 70-hour power reserve. Pre-owned prices have been sliding since 2021, and the dial and bracelet configuration matter a lot here because the spread across variants has widened.

The core lineup — black dial and white panda dial — has historically come on the three-link riveted bracelet. Both are down roughly 23% since 2021, with real-world examples trading around $4,000. In early 2024, ahead of Watches & Wonders, Tudor introduced the Pink dial on the five-link Jubilee bracelet with the T-fit clasp — the first time that bracelet appeared on the Chrono. Later that year came the Blue boutique edition (ref. 79360B), also exclusively on the five-link. Tudor followed in 2025 with the Flamingo Blue, also on the five-link, continuing what has become a clear pattern of pairing the colorway releases with the upgraded bracelet. That same year, Tudor extended the five-link option to the core black and white collections as well, and you can now buy the bracelet separately from Tudor, though buying it alone will run you more than the $125 retail premium you'd pay by just ordering the watch with it.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Pink (left) and Blue Boutique Edition (right). Image Source: Hodinkee

The pink trades around $9,000 and the flamingo blue somewhere in that neighborhood too — both carry a premium due to their scarcity and hype around the colorways. Those aren't the value plays here.

The black on three-link at $4,000 is straightforward: a lot of chronograph for the money, no argument needed. The white panda on five-link sits closer to $5,500: a premium reflecting both the age of the watch and the genuinely better bracelet. The one I'd be most interested in right now is the blue boutique edition (ref. 79360B). It's down about 22% since it started trading in September 2024, and real-world examples are landing at and sometimes below $5,000. It's a boutique-exclusive, and to me, it's the best-looking variant in the lineup — a blue satin-brushed dial against a matching blue anodized aluminum bezel insert, on the five-link bracelet, under retail. That's a hard combination to argue against.

Rolex Sea-Dweller ref. 116600

Rolex Sea-Dweller ref. 116600. Image Source: Analgo:Shift

A modern short run that lasted only three years, the 116600 reintroduced the Sea-Dweller after a five-year gap. It debuted at Baselworld 2014 with a 40mm case, ceramic bezel, and Glidelock bracelet, and a clean crystal — no Cyclops lens. In 2017 it was replaced by the 43mm 126600, making the 116600 the last of the classic-proportion Sea-Dwellers, and the first (non-Deepsea) with a ceramic bezel insert.

Prices have come down substantially from pandemic highs above $20,000, and real-world examples are currently trading around $12,000–$15,000, depending on condition, service history, box + papers, etc. That puts the 116600 in roughly the same territory as a current-production Submariner Date 126610LN — but it's more niche, categorically rarer, and scratches a slightly different itch. The 40mm case, ceramic insert, very tapered bracelet — it's a combination with specific proportions that a meaningful number of collectors have a strong preference for, and the three-year production window gives it a level of rarity that the current 43mm Sea-Dweller (which I expect to be updated soon) just doesn't have. If you've been curious about the Sea-Dweller but have resisted the size jump to the 126600, the 116600 is waiting for you.

Rolex Yacht-Master 42 RLX Titanium ref. 226627

Rolex Yacht-Master 42 in RLX Titanium.

The titanium Rolex Yacht-Master is not a value play. It retails at $16,050 and trades around $26,000–27,000 in the real world — a premium of roughly 60% over retail. You are not getting this watch anywhere near what Rolex charges for it. And I understand if that's a dealbreaker.

What's worth noting is the direction in pricing. The 226627 peaked around $62,000 in mid-2023 (absolute madness) and has been correcting since. Over the past year, while the broader Rolex market climbed, the Yacht-Master kept drifting down — off about 6.7% in the last twelve months. The watch itself is Rolex's first full-production titanium sports watch: 42mm RLX titanium on a fully-brushed titanium bracelet, black ceramic bezel, caliber 3235 with a 70-hour power reserve. The titanium bracelet is what makes the wearing experience — Rolex could have put this on Oysterflex and called it done, but the bracelet makes it feel rugged while being dramatically lighter than steel. It's my favorite watch in Rolex's current catalog and the one I most want to own.

The practical advice: if the 226627 is on your list, keep watching. The price is moving in the right direction. At some point the correction finds a floor, and that floor will still carry a significant premium — this watch doesn't make it to near-retail given how scarce it is and how fast it sells. As I mentioned before, trying to time the market is a recipe for disappointment. This watch and its reception proves that Rolex will produce many more titanium watches. But if this is the one for you, and you can't seem to get an allocation, keep your eyes peeled — the price is sliding during overall market growth.