High-Profile Watch Auction Could Buoy Industry

(Photo credit: Christie’s)

Eight of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher’s luxury watches will be exhibited at Christie's in New York from May 3 to May 5 before they are going up for auction in Geneva, including a Rolex Daytona reference 6262.

The high-profile auction — a seven-times Formula 1 World Champion selling one of the most iconic racing watches ever made — could be a shot in the arm for an industry that is going through a painful downturn. In April, analysts at WatchCharts and Morgan Stanley said the Swiss watch industry overall could suffer a double-digit decline in exports in 2024. Prices for pre-owned Rolex watches have fallen for the past three years.

Schumacher’s 1971 Rolex Daytona 6262 featuring a Paul Newman dial will be auctioned off on May 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. More details here.

Rolex For-Sale Listings Have Doubled in 2 Years

Source: WatchCharts, Morgan Stanley

Inventory for Rolex watches on the pre-owned market more than doubled in just two years, the latest sign Rolex owners are trying to cash out as prices continue to fall.

According to the latest WatchCharts & Morgan Stanley research, Rolex pre-owned inventory is at 110% what it was in March 2022 with prices now reaching a three-year low.

Rolex pre-owned inventory rose 8% in the first quarter of 2024.

These pages reported last week Rolex official retailers in the Certified Pre-Owned program have added a staggering 1,200 pre-owned pieces in just one quarter, a jump of 33%.

Rolex's Collection Is Becoming More Unisex Than Ever

(Photo credit: Rolex)

Rolex Daytonas with diamond-cut bezels are not new. But it's the first year Rolex is introducing them as official catalog pieces, the brand's acknowledgement diamonds on men's sports watches are joining the main stream.

Professional athletes like baseball player Aaron Judge or soccer player Lionel Messi have been spotted with serti Daytonas.

Still, gem-set bezels on men's watches blur the line between a men's and ladies' collection, a fact acknowledged by the brand.

“This unisex trend has been quite obvious for sometime,” a Rolex representative in Geneva told me. “And it's not just because of gem-setting. For several years now, women have been wearing more masculine watches.”

But Rolex also admitted their popularity depends on the market, as such watches try to strike a balance between elegance and abundance. While they might find a niche in the Americas, the Persian Gulf and South-East Asia, they tend to be less popular in Europe.

As CPO Supply Swells, Rolex Retailers Keep High Premiums

Source: WatchCharts, Morgan Stanley

The Rolex Certified Pre-Owned program continues to expand at a rapid rate, that's according to the latest WatchCharts, Morgan Stanley report out this week, with inventory jumping 1,200 pieces, or 33%, since January, a sign Rolex owners are cashing out during the longest sales decline in recent memory.

Still, official retailers in the CPO program seem to feel less the pressure, as they continue to charge 20% to 40% more than non-CPO dealers in similar areas. They are also few in numbers: Just four CPO dealers hold more than 75% of the total Rolex CPO inventory, according to the latest data.

The 1916 Company remains the most competitive when it comes to Rolex CPO pricing, with an average premium of +18% across more than 900 listings.

Newly Discontinued Rolex Daytona Tops $300,000

(Image: Chrono24)

The Rolex Daytona with the shortest lifespan is now shattering premium records for a modern piece by the Crown.

Discontinued at Watches and Wonders just 10 months after its launch, the white-gold edition of the Daytona Le Mans has skyrocketed in prices, topping $300,000.

Before Watches and Wonders, the watch was trading for around $180,000, already a significant premium over its retail price of $51,400. Just two weeks after its announced discontinuation, the majority of 126529LN listed on Chrono24 exceed $300,000.

Listed prices do not necessarily translate into sold values. But the cheapest Le Mans listed in the U.S. will set you back $280,000.

Why a Rolex GMT 'Coke' in Steel Is Unlikely in 2025

In Rolex parlance, the GMT-Master II was the brand’s flagship piece at Watches and Wonders this year. The model is headlining the official press packet, including a 40-page brochure, a five-minute video and an exhibition dedicated to the GMT’s history. (Last year, it was the Daytona.)

A “Coke” GMT in 2025 would definitely be an important release. But can the GMT be the flagship piece two years in a row? “I don’t think so,” a Rolex representative at Watches and Wonders told me. “It would be very surprising.”

Still, a “Coke” could mark the 70th anniversary of the model. But Rolex’s approach to anniversaries has been unusual for a luxury watchmaker. “We are going full in on the GMT this year even though the model's anniversary is not until next year,” the rep told me. “It's almost our way of snubbing anniversaries by not marking them. We mark them sometimes, sometimes not. But if we do, it is very subtle, like a red '100' on the Daytona Le Mans’ bezel.”

For popular releases, including the BLRO in 2018 or last year’s GRNR, Rolex confirmed its strategy to offer the piece in precious metal first. “Most of the time, when we release a piece, we present it in gold first, then we’ll vary it,” the Rolex rep finally said.

Rolex Is Aggressively Pricing Its Latest Dress Watch

(Data compiled from the brands)

At $30,900, Rolex has decided to price the ice-blue Perpetual 1908 in platinum below market, in a sign it is serious about competing in the dress-watch segment. Watches in platinum often represent the most exclusive material within a collection — a metal that is more expensive and more difficult to work with than gold.

Moreover, the 1908 presented at Watches and Wonders this year features a guilloché dial, a technique that uses a graver to sculpt a pattern into a surface. Until now, the ice-blue color was reserved for the platinum Day-Date and Daytona, both priced more than double the 1908. The movement of the 1908 uses the Syloxi, Rolex's latest innovation in hairspring.

A representative at Rolex in Geneva seemed to agree the brand’s latest dress watch was being priced competitively though she stopped short of saying so.

“For a watch in platinum with a movement that is visible, displayed… honestly… compared to what other brands are doing and what we've seen at the fair, voilà…” the Rolex representative said.

Rolex Denounces 'Pay-To-Play' Amid Industry Sales Decline

(Photo credit: Cyril Zingaro)

The watch market will continue to sag mainly due to China, where demand has plummeted in recent months, and in Europe, where consumer morale is low with war raging on its borders, watch executives at Geneva's Watches and Wonders said last week.

“2024 will be a challenge. A phase in which all manufacturers were doing well is coming to an end,” Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour said in an interview for the Swiss newspaper NZZ before the opening of the fair.

In declining sales, multi-brand dealers might continue to push hard-to-sell pieces as a condition to own a new Rolex even if Rolex supply has picked up. But a representative for Rolex in Geneva said those sales tactics are being curtailed by the brand.

“There's been a real witch hunt by Rolex which clearly condemns this kind of practices,” the representative said.

For Rolex, Mother of Pearl Is the New Meteorite

(Photo credit: Rolex)

The brand is introducing a mother-of-pearl option for Daytonas with diamond-cut bezels. Mother of pearl is considered “the noblest, oldest part of the shell, and difficult to work with,” Rolex told me.

The new Daytona with a diamond-cut bezel made its entry into the catalog at Watches and Wonders this year. Such Daytonas were considered off-catalog pieces in the past but have grown in popularity, especially among men.

When asked whether mother-of-pearl dials are considered the new meteorite at Rolex, a representative said it would make sense to think that way.

“This is not clearly stated by the brand. But as an external observer, for me, it makes sense. The goal was to offer another dial which has a lot of relief, a lot of texture and a lot of volume.”

Rolex's New GMT Color Could Make the Others Rarer

(Photo credit: Rolex)

Rolex's big surprise at Watches and Wonders this year was not necessarily the new GMT-Master II in black and grey — but that the brand didn't discontinue the Pepsi, the Batman or the Sprite.

Rolex added a color option for the steel GMT, offering more color options than ever in the GMT line. That it hasn't removed any GMTs from the catalog begs the question: Will there be fewer GMTs produced of each color if the line shares the same case and movement?

“I imagine that would make sense to think that way given we are already producing at a near maximum level,” a Rolex representative said. “And if we don’t want to sacrifice quality — which we will never do — I imagine that would be the case.”

But the representative stopped short of confirming that fewer BLRO or BLNR would be produced. The brand doesn’t communicate production data or the ratio among bezels.

Rare GMTs Owned by the Brand on Display for the First Time

(Photo credit: L: Rolex; R: Jason Heaton. Used with permission)

The GMT-Master exhibition inside Rolex's booth at Watches and Wonders this year is showing pieces never seen before by the public, the latest sign the brand has amassed a collection well suited for a museum. (When asked about plans to build one, Rolex responded, “We do not comment on potential future projects.”)

Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert's GMT-Master is among the watches on display for the first time. The first documented Rolex in space left circulation after Swigert gifted the watch to René-Paul Jeanneret, a Rolex executive, in exchange for a gold GMT.

“Certain GMT-Master watches worn by remarkable individuals have witnessed history in the making,” Rolex said. “Over the years, Rolex has safeguarded this heritage by conserving some of these exceptional timepieces.”

Rolex displayed a collection of vintage Daytonas at Dubai Watch Week in November.

Rolex Continues to Trend Upscale With Latest Launch

(Photo credit: Rolex)

Rolex's ineluctable march upscale continued this morning at Watches and Wonders, as the brand's long-awaited unveiling of its 2024 collection included only one steel model, a black-and-grey GMT-Master II. Meanwhile, it removed the Yacht-Master II from the catalog, the second time in two years Rolex has killed a steel reference after discontinuing the Milgauss in 2023. All the other releases were in precious metal.

With the unveiling of a solid-gold Deepsea, Rolex this year separated the Deepsea from the Sea-Dweller line in its catalog, making the Deepsea collection more visible than ever.

Rolex releasing an ice-blue Perpetual 1908 in platinum just one year after its collection introduction shows the brand is taking the 1908 seriously, and this release has just made Rolex a greater competitor than ever in the dress-watch segment.

You can read my commentary on the new Deepsea here.

Rolex Wishes Swatch Group Would Join Watches and Wonders

(Photo credit: Watches and Wonders)

This week the horological spotlight will be on 54 exhibiting Maisons, but none of them are part of the Swatch Group, the largest watch company in the world.

Still, Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour, who also serves as the chairman of the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation, said he wished the Swatch Group were attending. “We would like the Swatch Group to join us. We hope to be able to show them that everyone has something to gain, that Watches and Wonders is a real success and that there is a place for them,” Mr. Dufour said.

But Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek in an interview in March said he was not interested in taken part in such “beauty contests.”

“Today, the world is more direct. There is no added value in being able to get together for a few days to drink champagne and go from one stand to another,” Mr. Hayek said.

Rolex Releases 2024 Teaser Video

(Source: Rolex via YouTube)

Fueling further speculation ahead of Rolex’s forthcoming new watch releases, which are set to be announced Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Geneva at Watches and Wonders — Rolex dropped a 30-second teaser video on its website and social media platforms this morning.

The video is titled “When the Iconic Meets the Unexpected.” Here’s the link to the video on YouTube.

Scandal in Peru Brings Outsized Attention to Rolex

(Photo credit: Luis Iparraguirre)

In Peru last week, a single watch reported by a local podcaster was enough to turn a suspicion into a scandal and push a third of a government to resign.

Out of the 14 watches spotted on the wrist of Peru president Dina Boluarte only one was a Rolex, a 36mm Datejust in Everose Rolesor. Still, that was enough to turn the podcast episode into an accusation of corruption and a scandal now named “Rolexgate” in Peru.

On Friday, armed police officers broke down the front door of the president's house, but the search yielded no Rolex timepieces though other luxury brands were found.

“As a brand, we have no comment to make on the subject,” a Rolex representative said.

Rolex Gave Author 'Carte Blanche' on Book About Its History

(Photo credit: Osaka University)

Dr. Pierre-Yves Donzé, a professor at the Graduate School of Economics at Osaka University, is the author of a new 300-page book on the business history of Rolex, billing itself as the first to be written “from independent historical research.” The book, titled “La Fabrique de l’excellence,” was published last week in French after two years of research. An English edition is in the works, the author said.

Dr. Donzé, a French native speaker who grew up in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, said he had informed Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour of his plans to write on the history of the brand. They had an amicable conversation on the phone for an hour, he said, and Rolex gave him “carte blanche.” The brand didn't review the manuscript before publication.

Rolex said in a statement: “The brand respect the work carried out by Pierre-Yves Donzé, a recognized expert in the field of watchmaking, for the seriousness and credibility of his work.”

Exact Time of Rolex 2024 Collection Unveiling Released

(Photo credit: Watches and Wonders)

Rolex's new collection will drop at exactly 8:30am CET on Tuesday, April 9, which is 2:30am on the U.S. East coast, 11:30am in Dubai, 14:30 in Hong Kong, 15:30 in Tokyo.

“Everything will be revealed on our platforms at 8:30am Geneva time on April 9,” a Rolex representative in Geneva told me.

While the date is often announced through social media, the time is never made public by Watches and Wonders nor Rolex, allowing the media to break the news. The media service of Watches and Wonders confirms “all Maisons are still under embargo until Tuesday April 9 at 8:30am CET.”

A teaser video from Rolex is expected to be released by April 5th.