Rolex's “Certified Pre-Owned” Offers Rare Chance To Own Most Desirable Watches
Rolex Daytona is the front runner in the “impossible to get” category. There are almost none in stock, and waiting list can take weeks, months, and sometimes may be years. Anyone looking for one at the Bucherer AG’s flagship boutique in Geneva is likely to be hugely disappointed.
However, if you head up to the fourth floor of the Rolex-owned store, you might get lucky. But, only if you are ready to take up used watch, and pay hefty for it.
The equivalent from 2020 platinum Rolex Daytona with a light blue dial and brown ceramic bezel which is listed new but unavailable, and comes at 74,400 Swiss francs ($87,600) on the ground floor, can be had second-hand, but at 110,000 francs on the fourth floor of the store. The price is a whopping 9,000 francs for every floor climbed.
However, customers who are looking for the watch from a company that makes probably the world’s most desirable watches is now into second-hand business. Rolex calls it “Certified Pre-Owned”.
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However, all that matters for the customers is knowing the fact that the watch is indeed a Rolex, and not a fake.
For a company that is deep-rooted in tradition and consistency, heading for used-watches business is considered a radical step when it started off a year ago. Right after announcing the pre-owned business, Rolex also served another surprise when it bought Bucherer, a business with an estimated equity value of more than 4 billion francs at the time, according to Vontobel.
As per Deloitte, the second-hand business is proving everything right for the Swiss firm, as the business gives the company direct access to a market worth an estimated $20 billion overall. It is expected to grow to $35 billion by 2030.
It proves to be an extra revenue method at a time when the market for luxury watches are coming down in recent years. The sinking market caused concern in the Swiss watchmakers to the depth that they even approached for government aid.
Second hand business can also be shady. There are a host of legitimate dealers, but often ends up murky, where buyers have to solely rely on trust. The dealings are sometimes filled with fakes, that even it has its own stereotype with the shady guy in a trenchcoat who says “Wanna buy a watch?” as he reveals rows of pieces hanging inside, said Bloomberg.
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Rolex representatives in Geneva told Bloomberg that the CPO program aims to give customers “the opportunity to buy official pre-owned watches while benefiting from the quality and excellence integral to the brand”.
Retailers face also face number of issues in scaling up the market. Sellers are charging customers heavy premiums for the certified watches. As per market analytics firm WatchCharts, CPO prices at Bucherer in Europe were about 36% higher than other used Rolexes in early September. At Watches of Switzerland in the US, the difference was 42%. At the same time, the CPO versus non-CPO premium at The 1916 Company was only 15%.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
