Rolex, the Swiss watchmaker, has raised the prices of some of its classic wrist watches by an average of 3.4 percent at the beginning of this year. This was first noticed by the Professional Watches. Rolex also made this news official on its website by displaying the new cost.
While prices of classic pieces such as the Oyster Perpetual and the Day-Date have increased subtly, it was the “Professional Watches” collection that has received a major price jump. This collection includes the Submariner, the GMT-Master II, and the Daytona. However, the fact that has caught the attention of watch collectors is that these are not resale prices.
Here’s what we know about the price hike
Major price hike in “Professional Watches” collection
The price of the 41 mm stainless steel Oyster Perpetual Ref. 124300 has gone up from $5,900 in 2021 to $6,150 in the US market. The 4.2% increase may not affect long-term collectors.
The Ref. 124060 Rolex Submariner (from the Professional Collection) was earlier priced at $8,100 in 2021. Its price has increased by 10.5% amounting to $8,950 in the US market this year. Overall, the price range has increased by 3.4% averaged in the new year.
Sourcing a Rolex
The new Rolex watches are mostly difficult to source, especially in stores. The company has maintained that the current low supply and resulting high demand is “not a strategy on our part.”
In September last year, Rolex said in a statement that “our current production cannot meet the existing demand in an exhaustive way, at least not without reducing the quality of our watches–something we refuse to do as the quality of our products must never be compromised.”
According to Wrist Advisor, Rolex dealers have been given dupes or display replicas to avoid empty sales floors. Though not for sale, the dupes look like real watches with the same movements.
(Main Image Credit: Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, 2016)
The post Rolex Increases Prices of Watches in 2022: Report appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.