Rolex has been at the forefront of the luxury watch industry since the start of the 20th century, with wearing a Rolex becoming a recognisable symbol of wealth and power across the globe.
Rolex earned this excellent reputation in society by delivering quality products, made from valuable materials. Not only do they look stylish, but they are also highly functional, and are the watch of choice for many working in extreme environments such as military pilots and deep sea divers.
As a global jewellery brand, Rolex sells its products in all corners of the world, but as the price of purchasing a timepiece varies from country to country, Hey Discount can reveal the nations where you can get the best value for your Rolex.
Cost of a Rolex Around the World
Not all Rolex models are sold in every market that the company trades in, however many of the most popular models are sold in a number of countries at different prices. One of the most popular models is the Datejust, which is priced differently in 26 major markets across the globe, with an average price of £8,111.
1 - South Africa, £6,392:
South Africa is where Rolexes are generally the cheapest, and the Datejust is no exception. The RRP is under £6,500, making it the only country with a price lower than this milestone, it is also almost £2,000 less than the average price across the globe.
2 - Taiwan, £6,750:
Taiwan is the second cheapest nation for the Datejust, it costs £358 more than it would in South Africa. It is much closer in price (and geography) to third-ranked Japan, as it is only £35 cheaper.
3 - Japan, £6,785:
Japan is the last country where the RRP of the Datejust is under £7,000, but it is only £15 away from that figure. This price is just over £1,300 cheaper than the global average, a substantial amount being saved for Japanese customers.
1 - Brazil, £10,905:
At the other end of the spectrum, we find Brazil, Rolex customers in the country will have to fork out the most of anyone for a Datejust. The RRP is almost £11,000, making it the only county where it costs five figures.
2 - Israel, £9,456:
Israel is the second most expensive country to buy a Rolex Datejust, with prices recommended to be just under £9,500. Despite this being around £1,500 cheaper than in Brazil, it is also a similar amount higher than the global average.
3 - Mexico, £9,213:
The only other country where the cost of a Datejust is over £9,000 is Mexico. Despite the price almost being £2,000 less than in Brazil it is still the third most expensive country. Moreover, the price is over £700 more than you would expect to pay over the border in the USA.
Most Instagrammed Rolexes
A Rolex could be considered an exquisite work of art in the form of a watch, consequently many want to show off their beautiful pride and joy on social media. There are over 25 million posts under the Rolex hashtag on the site, and the average number of posts for an individual model is 232,123.
1 - Submariner, 1.16 million Instagram posts
The Submariner is the hottest Rolex watch on Instagram, as it was featured in by far the highest number of posts. It was the only one that had more than a million posts, and around half a million higher than the second-ranking model.
2 - Datejust, 690,887 Instagram posts
The Datejust is the second most popular Rolex on Instagram, as it has featured in almost 700,000 posts. Although this is far less than the Submariner, it is well above the third place model, and almost half a million more than the average.
3 - Explorer, 311,045 Instagram posts
Rolex Explorers feature in almost exactly 100,000 more posts than the average, consequently, it is the Rolex model with the third highest number of Instagram posts.
Where to buy Rolex: Goldsmiths
Rare Rolexes
Whilst any Rolex watch is a valuable commodity, there are some that have sold for far more than others. Often this is due to the story associated with the specific watch, perhaps it was owned by a celebrity, or it was a special one-of-a-kind timepiece. Here are the biggest Rolex sales of all time:
1 - Rolex Daytona, owned by Paul Newman
Sale Price - $17.8 million
Not only is this watch the most expensive Rolex ever, but it is also the most expensive watch of any make and model ever sold. The staggering fee is almost $12 million more than the next most expensive Rolex, the Rolex was gifted to Newman by his wife Joanne Woodward while the pair starred in the film Winning.
2 - Rolex ‘Unicorn’ Daytona, built in 1971
Sale Price - $5.9 million
This particular Rolex is completely unique, and as a result, it attracted a very high price tag. In the 1970s almost all Daytonas were made from stainless steel, but this rare example is white gold.
3 - Rolex, owned by Bao Dai
Sale Price - $5.1 million
The last Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam was Bao Dai, and in the 1950s he purchased this rare Rolex that was one of only three ever built in the same configuration. The watch sold for just over $5 million in 2017, having previously been sold for $235,000 in 2002.
New vs Second Hand
Buying a Rolex is an investment, but is it one that will lose or earn you money? While some rare watches have been sold for millions, most are valued at similar prices to the brand new value on second-hand sites. By comparing the average RRP prices for brand new models to the average price of their pre-owned counterparts, we have been able to discover which Rolex’s are the most valuable second-hand.
Oyster Perpetual
Brand New Average RRP - £4,661
Second Hand Average Price - £7,912
Value Increase - 69.77%
The Oyster Perpetual sees the biggest increase in value from brand new models to those available on the second-hand market. There is almost a 70% difference, which equates to around £3,200.
Day-Date
Brand New Average RRP - £47,232
Second Hand Average Price - £38,262
Value Decrease - 18.99%
On the other hand, the Day-Date model loses the most amount of its value. With an average RRP of over £47,000, it is one of the more expensive models, and this value decreases by an average of 19% when it is sold on the second-hand market.
Methodology
- The cost of different Rolex models around the world was sourced from https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=631175
- The most Instagrammed Rolex models were found by searching the hashtag for each model on Instagram. The specific hashtags were ‘#rolex+individual model name’.
- The most expensive Rolex watches ever sold were sourced from LUXE.
- For new prices of Rolexes, we took an average of the RRP for each model.
- For the average prices of second-hand Rolexes, we took an average of all watches listed on Watchfinder for each model.
