Rolex, Patek Philippe used watch prices fell to three-year low in 2024

Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

Prices for the most sought-after used watch models from top Swiss brands Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet fell again in 2024, hitting fresh three-year lows. 

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The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks prices for the 50 most traded models by transaction value, declined nearly 6% last year to its lowest since 2021.

An index of popular Rolex models dropped about 5% during the year, Patek Philippe prices fell 4%, and Audemars Piguet prices lost about 7.5% on the used market, according to data from Subdial, a UK-based watch trading platform. 

The declines mark the third straight year with lower prices for premium used Swiss watches. The market for pre-owned luxury timepieces soared in 2020 and 2021 to unprecedented levels during the pandemic, before suffering a sharp pullback beginning in April, 2022, amid slowing economic growth and higher interest rates. 

While the price fall-off for used watches in 2024 was less severe than the declines in 2023 or 2022, the Bloomberg Subdial Index is still down about 13% over two years, with used Rolex prices about 8% lower for the period. 

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Cartier is the only brand whose individual index has posted gains since January of 2023, rising about 4% in two years as collector interest in smaller, shaped jewelry watches gained traction. Subdial’s Cartier index declined less than half a percentage point, while Omega prices fell about 1% in 2024.