What a watch market report tells you
A watch market report tracks the trade in luxury watches, usually the secondary (pre-owned) market of dealers, online marketplaces and auction houses, rather than sales of new watches in brand boutiques. The useful measures are how many watches are listed for sale, what they are worth, how prices are moving, and which brands and models are selling. EveryWatch, a data platform that follows more than 350 auction houses and over 300 dealers and marketplaces, publishes a monthly report on exactly these numbers [1]; its July 2024 edition is shown above.
Several firms publish similar data. WatchCharts runs a price index of 300 watches from the ten biggest luxury brands and publishes a monthly market update [3], Chrono24 has its own ChronoPulse index, and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reports monthly exports of new Swiss watches. Read together they give a fair picture of where the market is heading.
How big is the pre-owned watch market?
In July 2024, EveryWatch counted 742,592 watches listed for sale across the dealers and marketplaces it follows, with a combined asking value of $11.3 billion, an average of $15,316 per listing [1]. During that month alone, 176,972 watches worth $2.3 billion were newly listed [1]. Those numbers barely moved from June: listings rose 0.60% and total value fell 0.40% [1].
Auctions are a much smaller and more volatile slice. Auction houses offered 5,219 lots in July 2024, down 36.62% on June, and total auction sales fell 79.66% to $18 million [1]. That fall is likely to be largely seasonal rather than a crash: the major watch auctions cluster in spring and autumn, and the summer months are usually quieter.
Rolex dominates the resale market
Rolex is the backbone of the pre-owned market. In EveryWatch’s July 2024 data, the three most listed models were all Rolex: the Datejust 36 with 20,411 watches on the market, the Daytona with 16,950 and the Submariner with 14,126 [1]. All five of the most listed new references that month were Datejusts, led by the Datejust 41 126334 with 1,240 new listings [1].
The Datejust’s lead reflects how many have been made over the decades and how widely it is worn, rather than rarity. The Daytona and Submariner are the models people tend to buy as stores of value, which is why their prices are watched closely.
The most expensive watches at auction
The top lots at auction in July 2024 were [1]:
| Watch | Sale price | EveryWatch median price |
|---|---|---|
| Rolex Daytona 6263 | $515,377 | $83,680 |
| Patek Philippe World Time 1415 | $300,636 | $280,940 |
| Rolex Daytona 6241 | $291,566 | $258,750 |
| Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 25686PR | $238,340 | $315,490 |
| Cartier Panthère HPI00931 | $217,979 | $217,970 |
The Daytona 6263 sold for about six times its median price (our arithmetic). Vintage Daytonas vary hugely with condition, dial and provenance, and the rare examples, such as “Paul Newman” dials, sell for many times the price of ordinary ones. The Audemars Piguet, by contrast, sold about 24% below its median. EveryWatch does not explain how its medians are calculated [1].
Are luxury watch prices falling?
Pre-owned prices boomed in 2021 and early 2022, when the most wanted steel sports watches traded far above their retail prices, then fell back. By 2025 the market had mostly levelled out, with prices moving by fractions of a percent a month. WatchCharts’ overall market index slipped 0.1% in August 2025 [3]. Of the 25 most notable brands, only five had gained so far that year: Patek Philippe (+2.8%), Rolex (+1.6%), Grand Seiko (+1.6%), Omega (+0.9%) and Cartier (+0.3%) [3]. Others fell sharply, including Blancpain (-12.6%), Piaget (-12.5%) and Jaeger-LeCoultre (-8.5%) [3].
The pattern is that the strongest brands and the most famous sports models hold their value, while dress watches and less in-demand brands lose more. Patek Philippe’s gains in 2025 came mostly from the Nautilus and Aquanaut [3].
New Swiss watch sales
New watch sales have been weaker. Swiss watch exports fell 1.7% in value to 25.6 billion Swiss francs in 2025, after a 2.8% fall in 2024, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, and volumes dropped 4.8% to 14.6 million watches [2]. New US tariffs on Swiss goods and falling demand in China were the main pressures, although exports grew again in December 2025 [2]. In July 2024, the month of EveryWatch’s report, Swiss exports had risen 1.6% on a year earlier, with the US up 11% and China down 33% [4].
Questions about the watch market
What is the most in-demand luxury watch?
The Rolex Daytona and Submariner are the most sought-after models on the resale market, along with Patek Philippe’s Nautilus and Aquanaut and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. By number of listings, the Rolex Datejust 36 is the most common, with 20,411 for sale in July 2024 [1][3].
Are luxury watch prices falling?
Mostly not by much any more. After falling from their 2022 peak, pre-owned prices were broadly flat in 2025, with WatchCharts’ index moving by tenths of a percent a month. Patek Philippe and Rolex rose slightly while several brands fell by around 10% or more [3].
How many watches are for sale on the secondary market?
EveryWatch counted 742,592 watches listed by the dealers and marketplaces it tracks in July 2024, worth $11.3 billion, an average of $15,316 each [1].
What was the most expensive watch sold at auction in July 2024?
A Rolex Daytona 6263, at $515,377, ahead of a Patek Philippe World Time 1415 at $300,636 [1].
What are complications in watches?
A complication is any function beyond telling the hours, minutes and seconds, such as a date, chronograph, world time display or perpetual calendar. Two of July 2024’s top lots were complications: the Patek Philippe World Time and the Audemars Piguet perpetual calendar [1].
Sources
- EveryWatch, Market Report, July 2024, the creator of the report shown above (the July 2024 report page itself could not be opened).
- Luxus Plus, Swiss watch exports declined again in 2025, 30 January 2026, citing the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
- Quill and Pad, WatchCharts September 2025 Watch Market Update, and WatchCharts, Overall Market Index.
- Robb Report, Swiss Watch Exports Rose Slightly Last Month Thanks to Japan and the U.S., 20 August 2024.
Last reviewed 2 November 2026
