In a continued boon for luxury Swiss watchmaker Rolex, pre-owned Daytona models are outperforming the secondary market as well as some of the most in-demand timepieces from rival brands, reported Bloomberg on Tuesday.
Quoting an index launched by Bloomberg and trading platform Subdial, the publication reported that prices for the most recent Daytona model have risen by 4% since March 27, when Rolex discontinued it and unveiled a new version of the timepiece made famous by actor and racing car enthusiast Paul Newman.
This development has surpassed the overall market as well as sought-after timepieces from Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, added the report.
The index tracks prices for the 50 most traded pre-owned luxury watches by US dollar value, providing an insight into the strength of demand in the secondary market.
Prices for discontinued luxury watch models often increase in value because they represent a limited supply of product.
As prices for the Daytona model have risen, the value of Patek Philippe’s discontinued and highly sought-after 5711 Nautilus have dropped 2.2% during the same period. Prices for the most traded version of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak have also fallen about 1.1%.
The overall index for the top 50 most traded luxury watches is unchanged during the same period.
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“The pre-owned watch market is returning to strength with Rolex leading the way,” Christy Davis, a co-founder of Subdial, an online used luxury watch retailer and trading platform based in London, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
Prices for the most recent Rolex Daytona have jumped with the discontinuation of the model “with the number of pieces in circulation now firmly capped,” he said.
After an unprecedented surge in value during the pandemic, prices on the secondary watch market have been falling steadily for the past year. The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index has dropped about 32% in 12 months while the Daytona’s value has declined by about 30%.
Since the start of this year, the Daytona is down about 14% while the overall market has dropped nearly 19%.
In a separate report on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the Swiss watch industry exported almost 300,000 additional watches in one month, an increase of 24% compared with March 2022, for a total of more than 1.5 million.
This spike in exports was recorded as orders from Hong Kong surged after the Chinese territory reopened from harsh Covid restrictions, bolstering strong global demand for luxury timepieces.
As a result, exports climbed 13.8% by value to 2.4 billion Swiss francs ($2.7 billion), with shipments increasing by almost 62% to Hong Kong, added Bloomberg.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that the performance of luxury watches such as has Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet has consistently outpaced the S&P 500 Index, since mid-2018.
In the same month, it was also reported that amidst an unprecedented rise in demand for its timepieces, Rolex is gearing up to create three temporary production facilities that will begin churning out luxury watches in 2025.
Luxury Swiss watchmaker Rolex looks to accelerate production to meet rising demand