The news came out last week that Rolex is now offering certified pre-owned timepieces. After the news was released we had a flurry of calls and messages from our clients asking us what our thoughts were so we decided to share them here, for you to read.
First of all, Rolex authorised dealers selling pre-owned Rolex watches aren't anything new. Watches Of Switzerland have been at this game for many years but what is new, is an official endorsement from Rolex. Rolex has so far enrolled Bucherer in their certified pre-owned Rolex watch program and we're sure other companies like Watches Of Switzerland will follow.
Rolex has announced that they will issue a pre-owned warranty card with all of their certified pre-owned watches which guarantees the watch to be authentic and in full working order, you even get a two-year warranty. As part of this new program, Rolex provides a certified pre-owned swing tag, a warranty card that lasts for two years, and a cardholder. We have been told that Rolex is not going to certify pre-owned watches that are less than 3 years old as these watches would still benefit from another 2 years of their original manufacturer's warranty rendering a second warranty pointless.
Taking the above into consideration, Rolex's new certified pre-owned program isn't going to affect the pre-owned market with watches that are 3 years old or less and if you're buying a Rolex watch that is older than 3 years old, you should be buying from a reputable dealer which will likely offer a minimum of a 12 months warranty and it's highly likely that the watch would include the box and papers. All of our watches are sold with a minimum 12 months warranty and their original box and papers, we don't stock modified watches or watches without their box and papers.
Let's get down to the money part!
Having taken a look at the certified pre-owned Rolex watches on Bucherer's website, they seem to be charging roughly 25% more than 3rd party pre-owned dealers. That means you're paying 25% more than you could pay just for a warranty with Rolex. 25% could be a huge figure and it could be more cost-effective to have a service with them that gives you a warranty and a service card, similar to the certified pre-owned warranty card.
How will Rolex certified pre-owned watches affect the pre-owned market?
We think that Rolex selling pre-owned watches shouldn't affect the pre-owned market a great deal. There are thousands of watches available on the pre-owned market and we doubt Rolex is going to be able to buy that many of them that they can control the price of the pre-owned market. Rolex will likely be servicing each watch on their program as part of their warranty and authentication service, this will come at a cost. In addition, the company has staff, price fluctuations and logistics to consider so we can't see them lowering their prices any time soon. This means that the gap between Rolex certified pre-owned watches and the price of other pre-owned watches should remain sizeable. Rolex's pre-owned program could even help lift the prices of pre-owned watches as in our opinion, you aren't getting a great deal more for that additional cost.
We believe that the luxury watch market will continue to grow, allowing room for Rolex's certified pre-owned watches and 3rd party watch-dealing companies to flourish. We don't believe there is much of a comparison between Rolex's pre-owned program and non Rolex certified watches, the way we see it is simple. If you want a certified pre-owned Rolex watch, you're going to have to pay 25% more for your watch than what you could buy it for from a third-party dealer. If you have a third-party dealer, it's likely you have a great relationship with them and that you have done many deals in the past without any issues, in this case, we expect buyers to save that 25% towards their next purchase and continue to buy from there trusted pre-owned dealer.
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