Rolex Still Leads Luxury Watch Resales, but Its Grip Is Loosening: Chrono24 Data

What Chrono24's Transaction Data Shows About the Luxury Watch Resale Market

Rolex is still the most traded brand on Chrono24 by a wide margin, but the secondary luxury watch market now looks very different from the pandemic boom. In the second quarter of 2026, Rolex accounted for 30.5 percent of the platform's euro-denominated transaction volume, according to a Chrono24 analysis covering millions of completed sales between 2018 and the second quarter of 2026. Omega followed with 11 percent, ahead of Patek Philippe, Cartier and Audemars Piguet.

That Rolex share is still larger than the next four brands combined, but it is far below the 44.1 percent peak reached in early 2022. The report attributes the decline to a broader shift: buyers are once again spreading their spending across a wider set of luxury watch makers, returning Rolex's share to roughly its 2019 level.

The report also shows that Rolex remains especially dominant in the €10,000–€20,000 price band, where it captures 61.4 percent of transaction volume. Yet since 2023 it has lost market share in all three major price segments, including an 8.4 percentage-point decline in that core band. Cartier gained in the €5,000–€10,000 range, while Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet strengthened above €20,000.

At model level, Rolex's Datejust collection was the largest revenue driver at 28 percent of the brand's volume on Chrono24, ahead of GMT-Master II, Submariner and Daytona. But the individual best-selling references are still largely steel sports models, with the GMT-Master II 'Pepsi' recorded at €23,052 and the Submariner Date 126610LN at €12,513.

Why Rolex's Grip Is Loosening and Where Buyers Are Moving

The Pandemic Premium Is Still Deflating

Rolex's fall from 44.1 percent to 30.5 percent is more than a brand story; it reflects a market moving away from the overheated trading of 2021–2022. Chrono24's broader Rolex price index remains about 55 percent above 2019 and rose around 7 percent over the past twelve months, but it is well below the March 2022 peak of 103 percent above the 2019 baseline. Buyers appear less willing to pay hype premiums across the board, even as selected scarce references continue to appreciate.

Entry-Level Elegance Is Now Driving Rolex Volume

The strongest signal is the Datejust. At 28 percent of Rolex transaction volume, it outsells the GMT-Master II, Submariner and Daytona as a collection. Chrono24 reads this as a move toward more versatile, dressier watches, with the Datejust and Oyster Perpetual functioning as common first purchases. Experienced buyers then migrate toward Daytona or vintage GMT-Master models. The result is a bifurcated market: revenue concentration in everyday luxury watches, but resale heat concentrated in a handful of steel sports references.

Scarcity Still Creates Outliers — the 'Pepsi' Is the Proof

The blue-and-red GMT-Master II 'Pepsi' stands out with a value about 24 percent higher than a year ago, which the report links to the discontinuation of the steel reference. That contrast with the 7 percent increase in the wider Rolex index shows how model-specific supply decisions, rather than brand strength alone, now drive price changes on the secondary market.

Gender Preferences Reveal Two Different Rolex Markets

Female buyers allocate more of their watch spending to Rolex than men do — 37.5 percent versus 30.1 percent. Within Rolex, the Datejust makes up 42.8 percent of spending by women and 23.1 percent by men, while men skew more toward Daytona, Submariner and GMT-Master II. This supports the idea that the brand's growth in softer, versatile models is not one undifferentiated trend but partly a reflection of stronger demand from women.

What the Data Means for Luxury Watch Buyers and Sellers

The Chrono24 data points to a more selective secondary market, with different implications depending on what a buyer or seller is holding or considering.

• If buying as an entry point: the Datejust and Oyster Perpetual are the most traded Rolex entry collections, with the Datejust accounting for 28 percent of Rolex volume and an even larger share of women's Rolex spending at 42.8 percent. They are less dependent on the hype-driven sports-model cycle.
• If paying a premium for a steel sports model: note that while references such as the GMT-Master II 'Pepsi' and Daytona remain among the most traded individual models, Rolex has lost market share in all major price bands since 2023. A model's scarcity, not brand strength alone, appears to be the main driver of above-market price moves.
• If selling Rolex: the brand still represents 30.5 percent of Chrono24's transaction volume — more than Omega, Patek Philippe, Cartier and Audemars Piguet combined — so liquidity remains high, but the report suggests sellers should expect more price-conscious buyers than during the 2022 boom.
• If tracking specific references: the 'Pepsi' GMT-Master II is an outlier at €23,052 and 24 percent higher year over year after the steel reference was discontinued, while other steel references such as the Submariner Date 126610LN sit at €12,513 and the green 'Starbucks' at €13,358.